Many high school and college students like to to listen to music while they study…and why not?  Having a beat in the background makes studying just a bit more exciting. But, is studying with music negatively impacting your grades? Does the type of music we listen to affect our academic success?

According to Elizabeth Axford, an online instructor at the University of Phoenix College of Humanities and Sciences, “The jury is still out on a definitive answer.” Professor Axford goes on to state, “Based on everything I’ve read, it really depends on the individual. Some students can study effectively with music playing, while others are distracted by any outside stimulus.”  The problem is differentiating between whether you are someone who can use music to your advantage, or if music is ultimately distracting to you while studying. According to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, students who study with music playing in the background had lower average tests scores than those who didn’t. But the Institute also found that the scores varied depending on the type of music played.

Do the newest Drake song and Mozart’s concerto have different effects on your brain?  According to Sheela Doraiswamy of Mind the Science Gap, music without lyrics and excessive use of various instruments will generally enhance your learning.  For example, when studying requires use of your memorization skills, you are using the part of your brain that captures short-term memory.  However, if you are listening to music at the same time you are studying, the transition of this memorization from short-term memory to long-term memory will be interrupted by the repetition of the song lyrics and excessive instrumentation.  In addition, when working on writing assignments while listening to music, the left hemisphere of your brain becomes divided.  Subconsciously, your brain is deciphering the lyrics of the song, and consciously you’re writing homework.  This is why sometimes you’ll find yourself writing down something you are thinking by accident.

Freshman Chase Shea, an avid music listener, remarked, “To me, music is a tool for learning.  It’s inspiring.  It’s invigorating.  It allows my brain to think.  But my main concern would be deciding if I’m listening to music to concentrate, or to distract myself from the boredom homework often comes with.”  Chase brings up an interesting point regarding the positive effects music can have on you.  An article in The Washington Post online notes that listening to music you like will have a huge impact on whether it helps or not.  According to the article, researchers have now proved that listening to music you like benefits you in the study process because of a chemical known as dopamine.  Dopamine is the chemical that causes increased motivation, which ultimately allows you to focus for a longer amount of time.  For now, whether listening to music while trying to learn has a positive or negative effect on your grades remains undecided.  Ultimately, the effect of music upon studying may be dependent on each individual student.  So like Elizabeth Axford said, the critical point is for each student to know if his or her brain learns better with or without the distraction.