Some people can’t study without music. Others need complete silence to concentrate. Others still prefer the atmosphere of a library or a café. But do these preferences really match the conditions in which we learn best? And can music, often seen as an ally of concentration, sometimes become a distraction?
Why does the sound environment affect learning?
Imagine three students preparing for the same exam:
- the first settles into their room, closes the door and seeks the most complete silence possible;
- the second puts on their earphones and starts their favourite playlist;
- the third works in the library, surrounded by other students and a gentle background hum.
All three feel they have found the ideal conditions. But which one actually learns best?
The answer is less obvious than it seems. The sound environment can affect attention, memory and the ability to carry out certain tasks. But its effects vary from person to person, from one activity to another and with the type of sound.
Above all, two things need to be distinguished: the comfort you feel while working, and how effective the learning really is. Music can help you get started, make a task more pleasant or lift your mood, without helping you remember more. Conversely, a silent room may feel less pleasant yet support demanding intellectual work.
Studying with music: a good or bad idea?
Music is part of the study habits of many pupils, students and adults. It can give energy, improve mood or make a repetitive activity less monotonous. For some, it is even a ritual that marks the switch from relaxing to working. This is particularly useful for starting a task you tend to put off.
But music also takes up part of our attention.
When we study, the brain has to select useful information, hold it in memory for a moment and sometimes manipulate it to solve a problem. If music calls on the same resources at the same time, it can interfere with the work. This is especially true when reading a complex text, learning vocabulary or writing out an argument.
So music can improve your readiness to work without improving your performance. It all depends on what you are doing.
Music with or without lyrics: an important difference
Not all music has the same effect. A song whose lyrics you know naturally draws your attention: you catch yourself following the words, waiting for the chorus or even singing along in your head.
Reading, writing or memorising verbal information relies on language processing. The lyrics of a song then compete with what you are trying to learn. A student memorising biology definitions while listening to a song in their own language can be disrupted even if they are not consciously paying attention to the words.
Instrumental music generally carries less risk for this kind of task. But not just any music: a very rhythmic piece, full of variations or played loudly, can also pull attention away. Gentle, fairly steady music at low volume is generally better tolerated.
In short:
- for activities that rely heavily on language, silence remains the safest choice;
- if you really want music, unobtrusive instrumental tracks are better than songs with lyrics.
Is silence always the best environment?
In many situations, yes. Silence limits distractions and leaves more attention available for the task. This is particularly useful when discovering a complex idea, understanding a line of reasoning or memorising new information.
But complete silence does not suit everyone. Some find it uncomfortable. Others become very sensitive to the slightest noise when everything is quiet: a door slamming or a conversation in the corridor then bothers them more than a steady background noise.
Tiredness, stress and habits also play a part. Someone used to working in a lively environment may need time to adjust before feeling comfortable in a perfectly silent room.
Silence therefore has real advantages, but the ideal environment is still the one in which you manage to keep your attention over time.
Why do some people like studying with background noise?
The buzz of a café, the murmur of a library, rain or the hum of a fan can feel surprisingly pleasant while working. These atmospheres have something in common: they are fairly constant and predictable. A steady sound can mask more disruptive occasional noises, such as distant conversations or people moving about in the next room.
This explains why some people like white noise, pink noise or the ambient sounds offered by streaming platforms. They are not universal solutions, though: depending on the studies, the tasks, the people and the type of noise, the effects observed are sometimes positive, sometimes neutral and sometimes negative.
It is also important to distinguish a steady background sound from a conversation you can understand. Hearing people talk nearby is particularly disruptive when reading or writing, even if you are not following the conversation: the words grab your attention despite yourself. A quiet library and a busy café are therefore not equivalent, even if their average noise level is similar.
Do all tasks require the same conditions?
This is probably the most important point. We talk about “working” or “studying” as if it were a single activity. Yet learning a new chapter, copying out notes, solving an exercise or revising something you already know do not draw on the same abilities. The ideal sound conditions can therefore change within a single study session.
To understand new material
Discovering a concept takes a lot of attention and working memory: you need to follow explanations, link them to what you already know and gradually build your understanding. Silence or a very calm environment is generally better.
To memorise
Learning definitions, vocabulary or formulas requires you to focus on what needs to be remembered. Music with lyrics is particularly likely to disrupt verbal memorisation. Here too, silence is a good starting point.
To do exercises
It depends on how difficult they are. A new or complex exercise, with several steps of reasoning, is best done in calm surroundings. Repetitive exercises on material you already master, on the other hand, can go with discreet music, which makes the activity more pleasant without necessarily harming results.
For simple or repetitive tasks
Sorting documents or writing up notes neatly takes fewer mental resources. Music can then help keep motivation up and make the work more enjoyable.
That is why the same person may enjoy music for some activities and prefer silence for others.
What about classical music? The famous “Mozart effect”
The idea that listening to Mozart makes you more intelligent became hugely popular. It comes from a study published in 1993, which observed a temporary improvement in certain spatial reasoning tasks after listening to a Mozart sonata. The result was then widely popularised, to the point of suggesting that classical music makes you smarter.
Later research has strongly qualified this interpretation. The effects observed seem better explained by changes in mood or alertness than by any special property of Mozart’s music. So there is no solid evidence that listening to classical music improves memory or school results.
That does not make it useless: if it helps you relax, get started or create a pleasant atmosphere, it has its value. Simply put, no musical genre is a miracle recipe for learning better.
How can you find the conditions that suit you?
Rather than looking for a universal rule, observe your own habits and compare them with your results. Here is a small experiment to try over three comparable sessions, devoted to tasks of similar difficulty:
- First session: work in silence.
- Second session: listen to gentle instrumental music at low volume.
- Third session: try a steady background sound, such as rain or a library atmosphere.
At the end of each session, note how focused you were, how many interruptions there were and how productive you felt. But above all, check what you have actually learned: after a chapter, close your book and try to recall the main ideas; after a set of exercises, compare the number of correct answers and the time it took.
It is not scientific proof, but the exercise helps you get to know your habits better. Repeat it with different types of tasks: you may find that music works well for some exercises but gets in the way when you need to memorise a text or solve a difficult problem.
Learning to create your own study environment
Organising your environment is part of good study skills, just like planning, note-taking or memorisation techniques. Knowing the conditions in which you work effectively is just as useful, in primary school, secondary school, higher education and for adults in training.
A suitable environment makes it easier to concentrate, reduces the fatigue caused by interruptions and improves the quality of the time spent learning. Noise is only one source of distraction among others: we talk about notifications and multitasking in our article “Is our attention span really getting shorter?”, and about organising study time in how to plan your studies.
Learning effectively does not depend only on the knowledge to be acquired. It also means understanding how you learn, and in which conditions you perform at your best.
So should you turn off the music to learn better?
Not necessarily.
Music can be an ally when it supports motivation, lifts your mood or makes a repetitive task more pleasant. But it can become a distraction, especially with lyrics or during demanding intellectual work. Silence generally offers good conditions for understanding, memorising and reasoning. As for background noise, its effects depend on its nature and on each person’s sensitivity.
Rather than pitting music against silence, it is better to adapt your sound environment to the work at hand. The real question may not be “What music do I prefer to study with?”, but “In what conditions do I actually learn best?”. And the answer is worth a few trials.
Getting support
Does your child work for a long time without retaining much, or not know how to organise their study sessions? At My Sherpa, an educational advisor first takes stock with you, then chooses a coach who helps your child find study skills suited to their needs and become more independent. Private tutoring takes place at home anywhere in Belgium, or online.
