ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => Topic started by: soccerboi on December 15, 2011, 01:19:45 pm

Title: Listening to music while studying
Post by: soccerboi on December 15, 2011, 01:19:45 pm
Does this actualy have a negative impact? Ive heard that if u isten to classical music it is actually beneficial but what about other music besides classical?
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: nubs on December 15, 2011, 01:22:14 pm
Well I found that listening to music made it a little harder for me to concentrate when doing questions that really required me to think
But that's just me though
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: jane1234 on December 15, 2011, 01:22:37 pm
Haha I tried listening to classical music before my exams, apparently it is supposed to make you smarter or something... I don't think it really did much though :-\

I didn't tend to listen to music while studying, found myself either not listening to it at all or getting too distracted by it - mind you, this wasn't exactly classical music...

I guess just do what works for you, if you find you concentrate better with it on then go for it, otherwise I'd study in silence... :)
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: Special At Specialist on December 15, 2011, 02:04:59 pm
Classical music helps you study.
Other music (such as rock) might relax you, but won't necessarily help.
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: Phy124 on December 15, 2011, 02:06:00 pm
Apparently if you listen to music which has ~60 bpm then it can aid in learning.

Most of the music I listened to had a bpm that was much larger than that and made it harder for me to take in what I was learning, so I rarely listened to music while studying.
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: iloveschool on December 15, 2011, 02:17:26 pm
i listened to electro/house/dance music ~130-140 BPM and it helped me concentrate when doing light study such as further maths, but distracted me for harder subjects that need heavier thinking.

also when i did practice exams i didnt listen to music as i thought it would make sense to replicate the exam environment as much as possible (otherwise i would if they played party music during exams) ;)
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: Camo on December 15, 2011, 02:18:16 pm
From my psychology knowledge, professional musicians have bigger temporal lobes then those that do not play musical instruments and this can be shown through SPECT, PET and fMRI scans off the top of my head. The temporal lobe is responsible for auditory sounds (listening) and many important structures responsible for memory are located here.

It is said that particular music can affect neural processes in the brain, where music such as Mozart can have a calming affect. I don't think the same result can be achieved by other types of music though and I'd advise that music should only be listened to for activities such as reading textbooks.

When I went to the VCE careers expo in Melbourne the teacher (or examinor) that held the Maths Methods lecture suggested listening to no music, and having no distractions as maths requires your full attention.

Then again, while studying for English I listened to lots of music that involved piano as study for the text Maestro.

There are some studies for experiments relating to this:
http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/music-as-a-learning-aid-3360
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: sunintherain on December 15, 2011, 02:28:14 pm
I like listening to music when i work but it distracts me and makes me think of like going to parties and shopping so I usually have to force myself to turn it off haha, I'll try classical though next time, I usually listen to Brittney spears and Justin Beiber so it's pretty distracting..
I've head that binaural beats ( not sure it's spelt) is really helpful and helps you to focus becuase it stimulates the brain or something..But i don't know, when I listened to it I thought is was really weird..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rws1FHmQGS0
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: Special At Specialist on December 15, 2011, 02:31:05 pm
Try opera music like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcrfvP11Hbo
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: tqn on December 15, 2011, 02:41:31 pm
I would listen to the radio while studying/doing homework but with low volume just to make my mind active or else I might get bored very quickly. :) Practice exams are another story though...

...also when i did practice exams i didnt listen to music as i thought it would make sense to replicate the exam environment as much as possible (otherwise i would if they played party music during exams) ;)

LOL this is very true XD
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: chrisjb on December 15, 2011, 02:55:27 pm
I swear that in the two years I have been a member here we have had this discussion at least 4 times...

As for my point of view, I don't think that music helps or hinders study to a great extent, however it's probably different for everyone.
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: Camo on December 15, 2011, 03:11:33 pm
If your studying music, music may help a bit. ;)
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: iloveschool on December 15, 2011, 03:16:48 pm
If your studying music, music may help a bit. ;)

true, and also if u study physics.. because u can examine the speed of sound of the music  ;)
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: Camo on December 15, 2011, 04:01:16 pm
If your studying music, music may help a bit. ;)

true, and also if u study physics.. because u can examine the speed of sound of the music  ;)

From what I know, music subjects, physics and psychology to an extent in dealing with how we listen and communicate.
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: mandy on December 15, 2011, 04:11:53 pm
I swear that in the two years I have been a member here we have had this discussion at least 4 times...

That's true, hahaha.

For me, I've never been able to study with music. I find that I just listen to the music and not concentrate on the work I'm actually meant to be doing. For others though, music helps them concentrate and get into a 'working rhythm'! Best to just try it out yourself to see if it really does benefit your learning :)
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: banditkeith on December 15, 2011, 04:54:51 pm
If it's a writing subjects (Bio, English etc.) then music is a definite no. I find that those with lyrics very easily mess up my train of thought.
At the start of the year, I usually only listen to music when doing work that involves maths/calculations.
As the year went by, I made myself stop listening to it since it would be quiet in the exam room and there won't be any music playing.

The only exception I have is when I am at school and there are too many people around me which forces me to plug the headphones in and drown everyone out. I did this with instrumentals though so that it wasn't just as distracting.
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: ellecee on December 15, 2011, 05:35:56 pm
If it's a writing subjects (Bio, English etc.) then music is a definite no. I find that those with lyrics very easily mess up my train of thought.

Yeah. Lyrics completely mess me up when writing essays especially when a favourite song comes on. Although classical music in the background is often quite good as long as it's not too dramatic and loud.
I have to have music on for other subjects. I like sound. :D
 
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: ShortBlackChick on December 15, 2011, 05:37:57 pm
I usually end up studying with music on because the alternative is listening to my mums annoying, loud voice crack the shits at my brother.

In that sense listening to music helped me, but it did get to a stage where I couldnt study without listening to music.
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: acinod on December 15, 2011, 06:20:49 pm
Study Music Project: http://www.youtube.com/user/StudyMusicProject#p/u

I actually listen to this more outside of studying because it's so beautiful :P
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: pi on December 15, 2011, 06:28:14 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFjLMrI5hZI
Title: Re: Listening to music while studying
Post by: MJay1993 on December 19, 2011, 08:15:21 am
i listened to electro/house/dance music ~130-140 BPM and it helped me concentrate when doing light study such as further maths, but distracted me for harder subjects that need heavier thinking.

also when i did practice exams i didnt listen to music as i thought it would make sense to replicate the exam environment as much as possible (otherwise i would if they played party music during exams) ;)

^^ Pretty much the same here. I actually find it weird to study without music, have no clue why, but it just seems 'right'. But yeah, whenever I studied, regardless of how intense the studying I had to do was, I listened to trance music all the time (~130-140 BPM). I guess the fact that the drum patterns are pretty repetitive, there's (on the whole) a lack of lyrics (but even with lyrics, they seem to put you in the 'zone') and there's a focus on melody in each track just has some kind of remedial effect I guess, not so much a distracting effect. But yeah, if you're gonna listen to any trance (if that's kinda your thing), listen to progressive, melodic or vocal trance (not 'hardstyle', if you can even call that music :P, would be way too much of a distraction, it's more in your face).