Hey,

I thought it would be interesting to see other people's preferences on this matter. When I am reading a book, or studying something I always prefer (if not have to, in some cases) it to be quiet. If I have music on I find my mind always drifts and I end up thinking to much about the music, even classical, perhaps classical is even more distracting as I follow the different voices in Bach for example.

Its a shame as I can imagine if it didn't affect ones concentration it could make studying that bit more comfortable.

Are you someone who can study with music on?

Absolutely Yes! Its even more easy for me to study with music on, especially when studying kanjis and histories.

When I have music on, its like I am "disconnected" from the world, and I only care about what I'm doing in the moment. I dont know how to explain, but is something like it.

I can't really do it because I always end up humming along to the tune instead of studying =(

Though I can do it playing some random variety show in the background though.

It depends on my mood. I can easily understand both points of view as sometimes I find music distracting and need silence. But some other times it can really help me focus and give me more energy to study.

I tend to have music on a good majority of the time at my computer, but during reviewing is not one of those times. My focus will wander far too often for comfort and the entire review process ends up taking significantly longer. It's silence or nothing for me.
There's also the fact that most of my SRS reviews have accompanying audio (Smart.fm, 2001KO, subs2srs stuff), so music or any background chatter is a no go.

Like Codexus, it also depends on my mood, it does make studying bit more fun for me but I realize I get distracted by the music often and usually end up taking longer to finish my reviews. Also, music makes me sleepy sometimes (probably because I listen to music before I sleep), so I've switched over to just running old episodes of dramas and anime in the background.

All of my sentences have audio, plus I always have some weird music stuck in my head, so I don't bother. Some ppl here swear by it, though--Hashiriya, I think. Phauna probably has a few things to say about it, too. ;p

Oh, but for non-Japanese, definitely. And I choose music to suit the subject. Helps my flow. Usually non-verbal, though.

The voices speak to you in song?

Jarvik7 Wrote:The voices speak to you in song?

Language *is* music. Nothing better than rocking out to LDP speeches on a Saturday night, drinking with my Japanese friends, selling foreigner drugs to Noriko Sakai.

When it comes to math and physics, or really any subject that doesn't have anything to do with words, I generally have the headphones on 100% of the time.

Languages, writing papers, anything to do with words, music only distracts me. But since the silence makes me lonely (and thus unable to work) I usually put on seasons of Futurama or a similar TV show that I've seen enough that I don't have to pay attention to enjoy.

I hate having music on when I'm concentrating. I'm one of those people who only really enjoy music when I'm actively listening to it, having it in the background generally just annoys me.

I used to dislike having music on while doing stuff that requires full mental capacity/focus, but then I discovered the band Perfume. God, I love their mindless music. Programming while listening to Computer City, Computer Driving, Electro World, Linear Motor Girl, Sweet Donuts (they sing it like "sweeto nuts"), etc. is awesome. Highly recommended

nonpoint Wrote:I used to dislike having music on while doing stuff that requires full mental capacity/focus, but then I discovered the band Perfume. God, I love their mindless music. Programming while listening to Computer City, Computer Driving, Electro World, Linear Motor Girl, Sweet Donuts (they sing it like "sweeto nuts"), etc. is awesome. Highly recommended

hehe. Perfume is my secret guilty pleasure, don't tell anyone. Game and Complete Best.

I like to have soft music in the background. Non-vocal is less distracting. If I don't have music on I often feel bored/drained.
Sometimes I have louder music on, and it definitely is distracting.

up now I think I was going forth and back between the 2 positions....
but recently as I took the 2*10*5 technique I solved this problem : when I take my 2 minutes my pause I listen a bit of music full blast just to get rid of my desire and then I resume my work full concentration back and no music.

nest0r Wrote:

nonpoint Wrote:I used to dislike having music on while doing stuff that requires full mental capacity/focus, but then I discovered the band Perfume. God, I love their mindless music. Programming while listening to Computer City, Computer Driving, Electro World, Linear Motor Girl, Sweet Donuts (they sing it like "sweeto nuts"), etc. is awesome. Highly recommended

hehe. Perfume is my secret guilty pleasure, don't tell anyone. Game and Complete Best.

Wow, I'm glad I looked that up. Awesome! Mosaic.wav and Under17 are good too =D

If I'm reviewing kanji, I'll often have music on. The Heisig method uses mostly the visual part of the brain, so it doesn't conflict much. If I'm learning vocabulary though, I have to turn it off, partly to hear recordings of pronunciation, partly because it's difficult for me and I need to concentrate harder, and because the auditory part of the brain needs to be focusing on the words I am learning, not the background music.

I cant do it. Anything playing in the background distracts me to no end although an odd thing, that I noticed in the lab lately, is that if there are some other people listening to music and talking to each other in the background, it doesnt disturb me so much, but if they leave without turning off the music, it completely blows away my concentration!
I just cant do anything until I turn it off..
Random background noise that includes music, is somewhat okay, but just music isnt.. Absolute silence is my ideal background for studying.

I usually only listen to music while driving or if I want to concentrate on listening to a specific song.

I guess, that makes me a higly "non-auditory" learner, or something..

Hey guys (and ladies :-),

Somehow music elevates my thinking to a higher level when studying.

I reach this point where I don't actually notice that I'm hearing
music. My mind is completely relaxed and I am 100% focused without realizing it.

It is only when I start hearing the music again that I break out of my zone.
It's also feels like I've entered some kind of black hole or warp zone.

I lose sense of time and the space around me and effortlessly study (sometimes for HOURS). It's like I'm subliminally listening to the music WITHOUT listening to it on a more conscious level.

I know it sounds weird. But I'm guessing it's a kind of feeling that is similar to enlightenment in Buddhism. Anyway, it's part of the reason why I love studying Japanese.

It's a mental high that I can't get anywhere else...LOL....

I always play music, and I can't help but wonder if it affects my retention.

Either way my retention fails though. ~____~

Nobody has mentioned ambient music. It's made to be as easy to ignore as it is to appreciate. I like me some ambient jams to study by. I think ambient music has certain cognitive benefits, but that's only conjecture.

Here's my favorite podcast/blog of the ambient variety:
http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/

This guy's on top of it, too (and for some reason his site's got all these hanzi/kanji):
http://www.bvdub.org/

vrtgo Wrote:Nobody has mentioned ambient music. It's made to be as easy to ignore as it is to appreciate. I like me some ambient jams to study by. I think ambient music has certain cognitive benefits, but that's only conjecture.

Here's my favorite podcast/blog of the ambient variety:
http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/

This guy's on top of it, too (and for some reason his site's got all these hanzi/kanji):
http://www.bvdub.org/

Not looking to start a music recommendation thread, but in terms of ambient music
"Risotto" by Fluke is a fantastic ambient album (from track 3 onwards. the first 2 songs are not very ambient).

vrtgo Wrote:Nobody has mentioned ambient music. It's made to be as easy to ignore as it is to appreciate. I like me some ambient jams to study by. I think ambient music has certain cognitive benefits, but that's only conjecture.

Post-rock works for me in a big way when studying, though I usually only do it when I'm trying to cover up another distraction with music. Bands like Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and so on. Some of it's really good stuff too.

i turn instrumental music on etc. in the background while i study on smart.fm ... i just turn it on at a really low level while i turn the voice on smart.fm at a higher level...

I'm one of those people who actively listens to and concentrates on music lyrics, so putting on music is always a bit no-no when studying (very distracting).

However, since I started listening to Japanese music, I can't understand the lyrics and therefore I can put it on in the background while doing other things.