When words cannot express our feelings, music can always speak a thousand words for us. Therefore, music has been regarded as one of mankind's greatest creations. However, since music is created, can it itself also help people create? This question is interesting because everyone knows that music has become one with modern people.
Ancient soldiers listened to the sound of trumpets every day, and the sound of the trumpets was their music. But in the 21st century, we work in front of computers all day long, looking at the mountains of letters to process and reply to, and we can only sigh. Silently moving the mouse to iTunes and clicking on the music you want to listen to has become our daily outlet. So why do we listen to music while working? It's simple, because music makes long work interesting, or at least elevates "boring" to "acceptable". However, the question arises: Can music really make people more productive? Or is this all just self-comfort?
If you are like me, then discuss this issue carefully, because I almost always play music when I work. I once wrote a 10,529-word article about customer loyalty, and the soundtrack was the SimCity 2000 soundtrack that played on endless repeat. Am I killing my ears, or is music really helping me? Let’s refer to some research.
Music makes repetitive tasks easier
In this study, they believe that to evaluate whether music can improve work efficiency, one feature needs to be considered: whether the current job will It will make you feel dazed. What does it mean? It’s about whether this job is highly repetitive and monotonous. This has to do with the diversity and creativity that work requires. Writing an essay from scratch requires the ability to create and integrate, but writing a letter in reply does not. Therefore, if you think that the job in front of you does not require much inspiration or creative stimulation, then listening to music will definitely help.
Recently, many research units have conducted relevant experiments in an attempt to find out the relationship between background music and work efficiency. Many results show that background music does have a positive impact and can even be used in industry to increase profits. However, other research units believe that it is not the background music that helps. When we hear the music we like, we naturally feel good. When we are in good condition, our work efficiency will also increase.
Here, there is a special experimental result worth mentioning: if the melody of the background music is not coordinated enough, that is, it is not pleasant enough, it will not be helpful. The researcher said: "If the background music heard by the subjects is biased towards major keys in melody, it can improve a certain degree of productivity at work." Another related study also pointed out that when performing repetitive work, if the background music is played, Appropriate background music will increase the joy of the atmosphere. For example, workers on the production line do show higher work efficiency and happiness.
Music is the best way to express yourself in a noisy working environment
Even if music affects everyone differently, we can still be sure of one thing: if the working environment is too noisy, productivity will definitely be low. Bosses, asking employees to wear headphones is actually not a bad thing. In Dr. Lesuik's research, they found that employees who listen to music while working are actually more efficient, perform better at work, and have better ideas. According to researchers, this is all because music makes them feel better and therefore more energetic at work. It can be seen that a person's working mood is the key.
Take an open office as an example. Many people believe that working in an open space increases communication, but how can you avoid small talk and gossip? I've worked in spaces like this, and trust me, you can't do anything without headphones.
Does music affect learning and lyrics distracting?
If we need to focus highly on learning a new thing or receiving a large amount of new information, any external object will cause interference. According to a recent study, music can also be considered a form of external interference. In the study, subjects who completed tasks while listening to music took more time to fully recall what they had done than subjects who did not listen to music. In other words, listening to music while working actually Can affect a person's short-term memory.
Music affects your concentration, even light music. If your job is related to analyzing statistics, don’t listen to music while working. Imagine that you are reading a very difficult paper today. The data is difficult to understand and it is not your major. There is music playing simultaneously in the background. Do you think your concentration will not be disturbed?
For work that doesn’t require high levels of concentration, lyrics won’t matter. Take recent research as an example. Listening to music with lyrics while exercising can greatly improve endurance. On the other hand, if the work at hand is like the above and requires a lot of mental use, the lyrics will only completely destroy your concentration.
Listening to lyrics activates the language centers of our brains. If you happen to be writing, you are using the same part of your brain at the same time, and your concentration will be divided, just like you are talking to two people at the same time and playing the guitar.
On the other hand, if you want to do work that does not require the use of the language center of the brain, whether there are lyrics is not so important, such as design work. A recent study also showed that if a software engineer listens to music while working, his work performance will be better; but if you are a word worker, then take my advice and don't play music with lyrics.
Don’t know what to listen to? Old love is always the most beautiful!
If you are the kind of person who works better when listening to music, you might as well try more ambient music. Recent research shows that when noise reaches the "right" level, it can actually help a person be creative. But the key point is that the volume should be "appropriate", that is, if you want to listen to music while working, avoid being too quiet or too loud, both of which may lead to counterproductive effects. If you like listening to bass or music with a lot of effects, you can actually consider softer music when working.
If you really need to focus on a project and you have to listen to music, listen to old songs. The reason is that new music always brings new surprises. You don’t know what the next section will be, and you don’t know what solo will appear, so you will be distracted and focus on the music, causing a brief delay in the progress of the work.
When you listen to old or familiar songs, you can concentrate on solving current problems because you already know what the next lyrics are and when the song will end. Listening to new and different music is certainly a good thing, but what about at work? Just take the path you are familiar with.
What is the best thing to listen to while working?
What kind of music is good to listen to while working? Many people may choose music they like, but liking it is one thing, and whether it is actually helpful is another. In addition to the music you like, there are actually other types of music you can choose from. As mentioned above, highly repetitive tasks can be paired with different music depending on the situation. If listening to metal band Metallica can help you get through the incoming mail hell, then turn it up to the loudest.
In addition, most people actually listen to a wide range of music. Therefore, it is not difficult to find music that suits you. Next, I will provide a specially compiled music list with links to the songs. If you don’t like it, it’s okay to skip it, but if you like it, you might as well click on the link to find other good songs of the same type.
■ Why is classical music (Baroque period) useful?
Classical music has no lyrics, and highly fluent compositions seem to be a good choice to help with work. One study also found that classical music from the Baroque period was particularly capable of boosting productivity. In this study, of the eight subjects, only one thought the effect was not good, and the rest agreed that classical music from the Baroque period could greatly help work performance.
However, classical music also requires a little selection. Compared with the soft Fur Elise, the ups and downs of Toccata & Fugue in D minor may not be ideal.
Music link:
Reddit thread, "I'm new to classical music, where should I begin?"
Reddit's r/ Baroque music
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Classical music for exams on Spotify
■ Why is electronic music useful?
The classification of electronic music is very detailed, including ambient electronica, chillout, downtempo, and ambient house. They are all considered electronic music. However, they have the same characteristic: they exist but do not affect your mood. It sounds a bit abstract, but this is also the interesting thing about electronic music. The arrangement is repetitive, but it does not affect your mood. Each one has a slightly beautiful difference.
Some electronic music concerts have a special symphonic quality, making them more ups and downs and making them sound more exciting. But it is worth mentioning. , nowadays there are many musicians who specialize in creating so-called "soundscapes", which are to repeat specific melodies and then match them with other tracks. The following music links fall into this category. If you happen to be working right now, you might as well give it a try.
Music links:
Reddit’s r/Chillmusic
Reddit’s r/Futurebeats
Majestic Casual
My playlist!
■ Why are online game soundtracks useful?
Game design requires deep thinking. A good game designer will know the importance of music. What kind of soundtrack is suitable for what scene? How to prevent the soundtrack from affecting the players? Composers need to put a lot of thought into composing music, and then skillfully integrate the background music into the game.
There was a related survey recently on the Internet, asking people what kind of music can best enhance concentration, and the soundtrack of SimCity was voted the most popular.
After listening to it, I immediately understood why its soundtrack was so popular: it was enjoyable to listen to without distracting you, and players were almost building cities while listening to the music. I believe that after listening to it, you will feel exactly the same as me.
Music link:
OverClocked Remix
VGMusic
Reddit’s r/GameMusic
■ Music not set Limited
Different music suits different people. If listening to vocal music doesn’t seem to disturb you while working, then why exclude it? Links below include jazz, hip-hop, hardcore, blues, and other genres. But remember one key word: "atmosphere."
The music you listen to needs to be able to present an atmosphere suitable for work. Especially when performing difficult work, you need to find suitable tracks from certain types of music.
Music link:
Reddit’s r/Music For Concentration
Music for programming
Enjoy the tranquility while listening to music
If you are tired of trying new music and even strong dub steps can't help you, don't be afraid, silence is golden in many cases. Some jobs are just not meant to be done while listening to music, not any music. Sometimes, silence is what you really need.
However, for some people, being too quiet can make them unable to work. So, how can you create an environment that doesn’t play music but isn’t too quiet? You have two methods:
1. Frequency sound: Instead of playing music, choose to play a low-frequency white noise (white noise). It sounds strange, but it can indeed improve work efficiency, because white noise Noise can moderately block external noise and allow a person to enter the situation faster.
2. The sound of rain: Even if it’s sunny outside, you have to change your mood to rainy day mode. Listening to the sound of rain, you will feel as if there is a real storm outside, and then you will imagine that the fire in the fireplace is starting to burn, and then... you can start working while listening to the sound of rain and firewood.