The Best Music for Studying During Midterms

By Madison White on February 8, 2017

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

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Everyone has different study habits when it comes to midterms. Maybe you’ve realized that silence is the absolute worst for you. But what kinds of music are great for studying and low on distractions?

When it comes to music, the opportunities are endless, but there are a few key genres to start with. Of course, it may take a bit of searching and some trial and error to find out what works for you. Keep in mind that your music choices may change based on your mood, the time of day, and even the type of studying you’re going to do. Reading chapters out of a book may require one type of music but writing an essay might be a whole different story.

However, when you do find the perfect soundtrack for your study sessions, you’ll be acing those midterms for sure.

1. Classical/Instrumental

The best and most obvious choice for studying is classical or instrumental music. Many, many studies have been done on the benefits of classical music and most are conclusive to the fact that it is the best when it comes to learning. Because of the lack of words in classical music, it eliminates the distraction and the urge to sing.

However, the soothing instruments are really helpful if you get easily distracted by complete silence. Classical music will help you tune out the world around you and focus on the studying you have ahead. If traditional classical music isn’t your thing, try out some alternative instrumentals like movie soundtracks or video game soundtracks. These are a great choice because they can trigger nostalgic and good feelings without completely taking away your focus.

2. Motivational Rock

When you’re first getting started with studying, you may want something that’s going to boost your mood instead of calm you down. Perhaps Mozart will put you right to sleep and then what good is studying? If you’re needing some serious motivation, I suggest taking a look at some rock music with particularly moving beats (think “Eye of the Tiger”).

The generally upbeat tempo and particularly driving music helps ease the long boring hours as well as the initial dread of sitting down to study. These songs are going to make you feel like you can conquer the world and the long hours of studying ahead.

3. Electronic/Dance

If perhaps you aren’t into classical or rock style music, you may be akin to some electronic dance music or EDM. EDM music typically relies on very base-centric beats and remixes of various rhythms. Of course, every song will be different but most EDM songs either contain no lyrics or very few lyrics. This makes this music great for avoiding distractions as well. The heavy base and high tempo beats will keep your brain active and engaged in the work you’re doing. The loudness can also help drown out any other noises that may be bothersome while studying.

4. Soft Indie

If you’re anything like me, music that makes me want to dance can be super distracting. All I want to do is move rather than study! Luckily, I also have a soft spot for some nice, smooth indie music. I find the music soothing but entertaining enough to hold my attention when classical music won’t. You can opt for more popular musicians.

Beware, however, if you know the songs too well you may end up just listening to them rather than studying. Thankfully, though, soft indie music isn’t hard to come by so if you find a playlist of songs you don’t know very well, you can avoid getting distracted by them.

5. What to avoid: Any super catchy or sing-a-long music

Generally, the options of music to listen to while studying are endless. Many of them will be completely based on your taste, mood, and type of studying. However, there is one kind of music you should probably avoid while studying and that is any song that will make you want to sing.

Of course, we all love music like this, but the last thing you need while studying is a catchy lyric to sing while you should be reading. This music is great, however, for study breaks! If you need to get away from the book or screen for a minute and take your mind off things, pop on a great tune and sing and dance around! This will definitely be the nice break you deserve and just what you need to get studying again.

Every single person will have a different study routine. With some people, this includes music and with others, it doesn’t. My best advice is to try some different methods to help find out exactly what works the best for you. And if it works for you, by all means, stick to it, even if it’s different than everyone else’s!

Learn more about Kaplan’s test prep options and start building the confidence you need for Test Day.

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