You're Listening to the Wrong Music!

OK, that may be hyperbole, but hear us out. Have you ever considered whether the type of music you listen to improves or diminishes your productivity? Or have you ever noticed a difference in your focus based on the music you choose? Perhaps more so when you study? Well, you’re not alone! Studies have shown that small changes in your environment - such as the type of music you listen to - can greatly improve your work.

We all listen to music. It’s like your keys or wallet— always close by, always with you. But how does the music we listen to affect our ability to function well? Specifically the difference in efficiency and information retention between listening to acoustic music versus vocal music.

We get many messages from students of all ages that they listen to DSQ particularly when they need to study. Does the fact that our music has no lyrics aid to better their studying? Clifford Nass, a professor at Stanford University mentions that “[music] with lyrics is very likely to have a problematic effect when you’re writing or reading … if you’re not using the language parts of your brain.” [1] While listening to vocal music may be fine while studying math, for instance, something completely numbers oriented, it may not be helpful in other activities like reading or writing, and even potentially a deterrent. A study by the University of Phoenix discovered that listening to vocal music while doing school work can decrease your IQ by ten points! [2] It forces your brain to multitask and try to pay attention to two sources of information —the lyrics in the song and whatever you are working on— at the same time. That means extra time on your school work… no one wants that!

In a different experiment conducted by Professor William Forde Thompson at Macquarie University, he had a group of students listen to some Mozart that boosted the students’ comprehension skills. He noted that the “…music has the ability to put us in a better mood, which therefore increases our IQ.” [2]. It seems that there are many opinions on the matter of music choice when doing other tasks. This is not to say that you must listen to one and only one type of music — the choice is all yours. But who wouldn’t want to be more efficient in their everyday life?

That being said, we hope that our music can be used as a productivity aid. All of our tracks are acoustic, so you’ll have no issues trying to concentrate on whatever you are up to. Enjoy this track as you cross out your to-do list, efficiently!

Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla

On our current playlist: Métropole by Anomalie

-DSQ

Links

[1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/college/2012/09/10/should-you-listen-to-music-while-you-study/37397177/

[2] https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/12/04/listening-to-classical-music-vs-music-with-lyrics-vs-complete-silence-while-studying/

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