A High School student of mine is working on the following question: Many teenagers listen to music while studying and insist that they study "better". Does music help memory, associations, understanding, creativity?
If so, is there a kind of music that is more effective? Classical? Pop music?
Do you know of any research done on this topic?
Thank you!
DC, I do have a similar encounter with some of my students when approaching their studio work. They (my students) told me that music helps them relax their brains and work with minimal stress as well as enable them to connect the right ideas in executing a creative work like in painting and sculpture classes. However, I think it is only when a student is used to a particular culture that he/she finds it enjoyable. On the whole, music could bring inspirations to performing a creative task as well as an anti-dote to stressful moments. Once the tune, rhythm, wordings, and sound is in line with one's hearing comfort, it can be a learning aid magic to promoting memory, understanding, and creativity in the learner as the case may be.
Dear Dominique,
This has been discussed at length on other questions. Use the RG search bar and type in "effects of music," "benefits of music," and similar terms, click the down arrow next to the "little man" and select "questions." I believe you'll find the conversations this way. They contain numerous comments, links, etc.
In the meantime, let me point out that one should not consider any music in regard to what helps studying, remembering, cognitive function, etc. Students who say that listening to music (pop, rock or whatever) helps them are just giving an age-old excuse to listen to their favorite music.
Listening to any music outside of classical is not beneficial in any way to comprehension, memory, and other cognitive functions. In fact, some genres like "heavy metal," for example, can be detrimental.
Countless research studies since the 1970s when I first studied the beneficial cognitive and artistic effects of music have shown that it is listening to BAROQUE classical music that achieves the desired positive results. I described the results with my "test subjects," my children, in one of the "benefits of music" threads I mentioned.
I hope this helps.
Regards, John
Hi,
As far as I am concerned, there are controversial arguments on that. It does help cognitive performance apparently, if listened solely (i.e. not while studying), and definitely depends on types of music. There are some studies available on some Mozart's pieces particularly for visual spatial reasoning.
Hope it helps a bit,
Regards,
Nastaran
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