By: Angela Jia
Although many people say that music is too distracting for studying, I rely heavily on music to motivate me to do homework or study for tests. Personally, I get distracted very easily and procrastinate often (Let’s be honest…who doesn’t procrastinate), yet ironically, music helps me focus on the task at hand. I love many kinds of music, and I spend a lot of my time discovering new songs. Two of my favorite genres are pop punk and rock, and a few of the bands I listen to are Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and Twenty One Pilots. However, this type of music is unsuitable for studying. These songs are often very loud with strong drum beats and bass.
The artists with music that help me focus are Troye Sivan, Halsey, Oh Wonder, and Gnash, to name a few. They have softer beats, more monotone singing voices, and no hardcore background music. These songs help me get in the “zone” to study well and are actually very helpful. By motivating me, they indirectly improve the quality of my work.
Sometimes, the music can be distracting and exasperating if I become too tired or the work I am doing is difficult for me. For example, with math, I listen to guitar covers of songs I am familiar with because the sound of the guitar helps me relax and is not as intense. The lack of vocals prevents me from being too distracted. However, for subjects like history and Latin, I listen to music with vocals because it’s much more motivational rather than relaxing. For these classes, I don’t need to focus as much, rather, I need something to boost my energy.
Music boosts my morale while studying, and without it, I find it much harder to be motivated and work efficiently.