Ever heard of the Mozart Effect?
Well, it’s moot. Listening to Mozart’s music doesn’t make you smarter. Often, it just depends on how strong your working memory is.
Still, music has studying benefits. A 2007 Stanford study suggests that listening to music helps you pay attention. It’s not that simple, though. Some people find music distracting, so it varies from person to person. The type of music also matters. Thus, the key for boosting creativity is soft music.
A favorite writing focus tip of mine is to listen to focus and concentration music while you work. I particularly love music reels on YouTube. You can play them with no interruptions (because they last for hours!), and there are a ton of channels to choose from.
If you can’t dial down the outside distractions, put on some headphones and turn on these tunes to drown out the background. 🎧 Here are some good options.
Quiet Quest – Study Music
This channel specializes in calm, ambient music for focus, concentration, or study. You’ll find videos with three to four hours of dreamy electric guitar and piano set to slowly panning footage of the most inspiring places on Earth. All are made by a guy named Simon – someone who knows the struggle of finding new music to study to. Check out their promotional sample:
Calmed by Nature
This channel has videos with “rooms” featuring themed sounds and ambient scenes. For instance, turn on the Rainy Night Coffee Shop for sounds of rain tapping on windows, soft jazz music in the background, the clink of coffee cups, and a low murmur of conversation. Another video might transport you to a seaside campfire or stormy night – perfect for some writers.
Source: YouTube.com
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Chillhop Music
Featuring “jazzy and lo-fi hip-hop beats,” this channel should appeal to those who like more modern focus music. For each season, find themed mood videos – cozy in winter and groovy in summer – complete with cute animated scenes. On your study breaks, see if you can spot the resident “Raccoon” in each one. See him below?
Source: YouTube.com
Yellow Brick Cinema
This channel has a wide range of music for focus, including some calming classical works in 1.5-hour reels. Most of the videos are livestreams, meaning you can listen for hours without switching selections. Use this channel to sleep as well – with a heavy focus on meditation, the zen tones are crafted for those with insomnia.
Source: YouTube.com
Halidon Music – Classical Music for Reading
This nearly 2.5-hour video includes lovely, gentle classical piano pieces by composers like Debussy, Chopin, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and more. Imagine yourself transported back in time to a music hall in the 1800s where the greatest music minds created some of the most famous and brilliant works. Listen for the more modern pieces as well – not all genius is old. Have a look at the 38 pieces in this video:
Source: YouTube.com
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