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Key Takeaways
Study Soundtracks
Are students more likely to cram to pop jams, review to rap tunes, or study to classical medleys? Does listening to music affect their GPAs? To find the ultimate study songs, we surveyed 1,025 students ages 18 to 23 about their study soundtracks. We also used Spotify’s API to analyze 48,077 songs in study playlists to discover which tunes correlate with higher academic achievement.
Academic Anthems
What makes students hit play when they hit the books, and which genres make for the most focused study jam session? Let’s take a look.
Students study for an average of 10 hours each week, and those who listened to music while they studied most often did so to make it more enjoyable. How frequently they study with music varies: 38% of students said they listen very often, and 27% said they always do. Students also studied with music to reduce stress and get motivated.
However, not all tunes are helpful for zoning in. Students said hip-hop and rap, heavy metal, and pop were the most distracting genres to listen to while studying. For optimal study sessions, students recommended classical, instrumental, and lo-fi music. Lo-fi is so popular for studying that YouTube channels like Lofi Girl stream “beats to study to” for millions of subscribers.
Whether you prefer lo-fi or hip-hop in your study sessions, does the music you listen to while studying affect your learning? Let’s see if playing your favorite genre could increase your GPA.
Overall, students listened to pop music more than any other genre when studying. Beyond dorm rooms, pop music has officially found a home on many college campuses through courses dedicated to pop artists. While female students grooved with the popularity of pop (50%), male students preferred to listen to hip-hop and rap during their study sessions (41%). Male students were also 166% more likely than female students to listen to EDM while studying, which tracks with data showing that the EDM industry is male-centric.
That said, students wanting to increase their grades might want to consider ditching such lyric-heavy music for more studious tunes. Research has found that lyrics can interfere with memory, so students should be careful about which artists they add to their study playlists. Classical music was favored by the highest-achieving students surveyed (55%), whereas only 37% of students who listened to metal while studying had high GPAs.
Classical music might help you focus, but that won’t stop many students from using their favorite artists to get them through long study sessions.
While students might study to the same genres of music, the artists on their playlists are more unique. Female students’ favorite artists included SZA, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd. Male students also claimed The Weeknd as a favorite artist, along with 21 Savage and Kendrick Lamar.
For those looking to boost their grades, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, and SZA were the top favorites of students with the highest GPAs (3.5-4.0). The next time you choose partners for a group project, you might want to skip asking about majors and look at everyone’s Spotify playlists instead.
Aside from student preferences, what makes a song suitable for studying? To find out, we used Spotify’s API to examine the top study playlists and their songs’ characteristics.
The makers behind Spotify’s study playlists must have done some careful studying of their own regarding music’s effects on learning; the songs on each are optimized for learning in terms of lyrics (or lack thereof), tempo, loudness, and valence.
Students won’t find many distracting lyrics on Spotify’s study playlists, as the most common genres were lo-fi, classical/instrumental, and soundtrack. Even the top lo-fi study song was instrumental: “One Summer Day (Spirited Away)” by Kato.
In addition to being instrumental, good study songs pay careful attention to tempo. Tempo is the pace of a song and is measured in beats per minute (BPM), with slow tempos being as low as 25 BPM and fast as high as 200 BPM. With an average BPM of 113, songs on Spotify’s study playlists fell right in the middle with moderate tempos, helping students study without the temptation of falling asleep—or starting a dance party.
Spotify’s study playlists were also quieter than normal. Spotify automatically sets loudness normalization on songs to -14 decibels, but the average loudness of their study playlists was -16 decibels. The lowered loudness level can help students focus on their work, not the music.
Finally, Spotify playlists are officially chill. Valence measures the positive vibe within a song on a scale from 0 to 1. Spotify’s study songs had an average valence of 0.3, a nice melancholy tone to help students stay calm and relaxed while they study.
Students agree that music is a no-brainer when it comes to study sessions. While most students bop to pop while hitting the books, lo-fi, instrumental, and classical music make the grade when it comes to productivity. But whatever the genre, the perfect study song is not too fast, not too loud, and just mellow enough to keep you from falling asleep. So as you spend your good days and midnights hitting the books, try hitting play to boost your GPA.
collegerover.com
- 38% of students said they very often listen to music while studying, and 27% said they always do.
- Taylor Swift is the top artist for students with high GPAs (3.5-4.0).
- People who listen to metal while studying are the least likely to have a high GPA (37%).
- Male students are 166% more likely than female students to listen to EDM while studying.
- The most common genres in studying playlists on Spotify are lo-fi, classical/instrumental, and soundtrack.
Study Soundtracks
Are students more likely to cram to pop jams, review to rap tunes, or study to classical medleys? Does listening to music affect their GPAs? To find the ultimate study songs, we surveyed 1,025 students ages 18 to 23 about their study soundtracks. We also used Spotify’s API to analyze 48,077 songs in study playlists to discover which tunes correlate with higher academic achievement.
Academic Anthems
What makes students hit play when they hit the books, and which genres make for the most focused study jam session? Let’s take a look.
Students study for an average of 10 hours each week, and those who listened to music while they studied most often did so to make it more enjoyable. How frequently they study with music varies: 38% of students said they listen very often, and 27% said they always do. Students also studied with music to reduce stress and get motivated.
However, not all tunes are helpful for zoning in. Students said hip-hop and rap, heavy metal, and pop were the most distracting genres to listen to while studying. For optimal study sessions, students recommended classical, instrumental, and lo-fi music. Lo-fi is so popular for studying that YouTube channels like Lofi Girl stream “beats to study to” for millions of subscribers.
Turn Up Your GPA
Whether you prefer lo-fi or hip-hop in your study sessions, does the music you listen to while studying affect your learning? Let’s see if playing your favorite genre could increase your GPA.
Overall, students listened to pop music more than any other genre when studying. Beyond dorm rooms, pop music has officially found a home on many college campuses through courses dedicated to pop artists. While female students grooved with the popularity of pop (50%), male students preferred to listen to hip-hop and rap during their study sessions (41%). Male students were also 166% more likely than female students to listen to EDM while studying, which tracks with data showing that the EDM industry is male-centric.
That said, students wanting to increase their grades might want to consider ditching such lyric-heavy music for more studious tunes. Research has found that lyrics can interfere with memory, so students should be careful about which artists they add to their study playlists. Classical music was favored by the highest-achieving students surveyed (55%), whereas only 37% of students who listened to metal while studying had high GPAs.
The Most Academic Artists
Classical music might help you focus, but that won’t stop many students from using their favorite artists to get them through long study sessions.
While students might study to the same genres of music, the artists on their playlists are more unique. Female students’ favorite artists included SZA, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd. Male students also claimed The Weeknd as a favorite artist, along with 21 Savage and Kendrick Lamar.
For those looking to boost their grades, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, and SZA were the top favorites of students with the highest GPAs (3.5-4.0). The next time you choose partners for a group project, you might want to skip asking about majors and look at everyone’s Spotify playlists instead.
Spotify’s Study Secrets
Aside from student preferences, what makes a song suitable for studying? To find out, we used Spotify’s API to examine the top study playlists and their songs’ characteristics.
The makers behind Spotify’s study playlists must have done some careful studying of their own regarding music’s effects on learning; the songs on each are optimized for learning in terms of lyrics (or lack thereof), tempo, loudness, and valence.
Students won’t find many distracting lyrics on Spotify’s study playlists, as the most common genres were lo-fi, classical/instrumental, and soundtrack. Even the top lo-fi study song was instrumental: “One Summer Day (Spirited Away)” by Kato.
In addition to being instrumental, good study songs pay careful attention to tempo. Tempo is the pace of a song and is measured in beats per minute (BPM), with slow tempos being as low as 25 BPM and fast as high as 200 BPM. With an average BPM of 113, songs on Spotify’s study playlists fell right in the middle with moderate tempos, helping students study without the temptation of falling asleep—or starting a dance party.
Spotify’s study playlists were also quieter than normal. Spotify automatically sets loudness normalization on songs to -14 decibels, but the average loudness of their study playlists was -16 decibels. The lowered loudness level can help students focus on their work, not the music.
Finally, Spotify playlists are officially chill. Valence measures the positive vibe within a song on a scale from 0 to 1. Spotify’s study songs had an average valence of 0.3, a nice melancholy tone to help students stay calm and relaxed while they study.
Grooving Toward Graduation
Students agree that music is a no-brainer when it comes to study sessions. While most students bop to pop while hitting the books, lo-fi, instrumental, and classical music make the grade when it comes to productivity. But whatever the genre, the perfect study song is not too fast, not too loud, and just mellow enough to keep you from falling asleep. So as you spend your good days and midnights hitting the books, try hitting play to boost your GPA.
The Best Songs To Listen to While Studying - Campus Library
What music makes for the best study sessions? We surveyed students to find the top songs and artists that could boost your GPA.
collegerover.com
