The Best Classical Music for Studying for Phenomenal Focus

Imagine yourself coming back from a long day of school. The rain is pouring down on your 3 minute walk back home from the bus stop. Even with a hood over your head, you can feel the raindrops pricking your scalp. You can’t even take your phone out because of the blobs of water that would fall on it, so you have to resort to worrying about that Biology test that’s coming. 3 minutes later, you reach home, and you immediately run to your bedroom to study. You take out the textbook and your notes. You know all the study tips and homework efficiency tips from Diary of the Mind, so you’re more than prepared for a productive study session. But wait, there’s one thing left. What is it? Taking out your AirPods and putting them in your ears, you know the answer. Classical music for studying.

But why? Why is music used for studying? Why is classical music specifically so great for many? And what is the best for you to listen to? These are the questions we’re going to answer today in this article. Being something nearly all of us students do, we should have some knowledge on why we listen to classical music for studying, and how it can benefit or harm us. Let’s get into it, shall we.

Music and Studying

Music studying is not an uncommon thing, and much far from it. In fact, around 60% of students listen to music while studying. We always think that music is really good for our studying but is it? Some studies, such as this one have suggested that music can create a calm and gentle environment fit for study sessions, and that tends to be the general consensus as well. The truth is, there is not nearly enough research on music and studying, and studies including this one all explain that results were unclear on whether or not music had an effect on cognitive performance and overall study habits.

However, some differences are made between classical music and more modern genres. In this study we see that people in higher education are more likely to listen to classical music, while hardly listening to genres like rock and rap. Clearly, those with more rigorous and demanding curriculums opt to use classical music for their studying. In fact, unlike music in general, classical music has proven to be useful for studying. In this study, it was found that the group that listened to classical music had significantly higher test passage rates that those who didn’t.

Why Classical Music?

This brings us down to one point. While music in general might not be good for studying, classical music seemingly is. But why? Why classical music for studying over everything else? Well, we have to look at the cons of all the other music genres. With genres like pop, rock, and rap, the sounds are loud. They are meant to grab your attention, keep you hanging on and focusing on the song, singing along with it. This is great for casual listening, but terrible if you are trying to study. Instead of focusing on the schoolwork in front of you, you’ll be focusing on the lyrics to the next song on your Spotify playlist, or strumming a fake guitar to the loud beats on the radio.

With classical music, it’s not quite the same. Nearly 80% of people who listen to classical music casually are aged 40 and older. In the student generation, genuinely enjoying our classical music artists is far from normal.  But that’s what makes it great for studying. We all think classical music is boring, and tend to do something else to be able to listen to it the whole way through. Subsequently, we are taking our focus off of classical music because we would otherwise be extremely bored. Since classical music won’t draw your attention, that makes it the perfect candidate for your study session music listening, over all the genres and artists you may love and cherish.

The “Mozart Effect”

This is a term that has been coined around for a while. It refers to the affects classical music can have on cognitively. Essentially, it’s this idea that listening to Mozart music boosts your mental abilities and performance. With the popularity of this idea, research has also been conducted to find if Mozart is real, if listening to Mozart’s music can actually help you. Well, in this study, they explained that some studies did see a boost in spatial-temporal reasoning for around 10-12 minutes. 

Well, while this might not seem long, it is something more than many other forms of music. The Mozart effect also has more impact the more acquainted with classical music. This makes sense, with what I’ve said before. When the music is something that you don’t care for much, then you are more likely to be able to do your work with that in the background. It won’t bother you once you get used to it, especially since it is a bit more “boring” of music.

Best Classical Music for Studying

If I’m completely honest, classical is not my often. I am not very well rehearsed Beethoven compositions or the songs for Bach. However, I can always research and find what’s best for you guys, based on accessibility and comments from everyone else. So, without further ado, here are some of the best classical music collections and playlists to listen to for studying.

Classical Music for Brain Power | Mozart, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky (HALIDONMUSIC)- YouTube

This long YouTube collection of classical music is a great option for your study sessions. It’s over 2 hours long, being more than enough for you to continue your study sessions entirely uninterrupted. Numerous comments under the video exclaim it to have helped them numerous times, with some claiming they had listened to it to help with their bachelor’s thesis and during the pandemic. It also has a cute cat sitting there on the screen if you ever look up at your computer, so there’s absolutely nothing unpleasant about it, only an amazing collection being a great help.

Classical Music for Students (HALIDONMUSIC) – YouTube

This is also a great potion for you to use! Being yet another long collection by the same creator of the one before, you can expect the same amount of quality choices to help you throughout your studying process. Numerous comments in the comment section explain how they’ve been using this specific video for years, recommending it for other students to use, and praising the creator for making such a great collection. Obviously, this option is amazing for everyday classical study music.

3-Hour Classical Study Music Playlist: Concentration and Better Learning, Focus Music, ☯170 (Yellow Brick Cinema – Relaxing Music) – YouTube

This is, yet again another amazing YouTube classical music collection. While not by the same creator as the previous two, it is still just as great of an option. It, again, is very long, 3 hours this time, making it more than enough for any study session you might have. There are many comments praising this collection as well, explaining it to be relaxing and refocusing, and praising the creators for what they had collected. Some comments even praised the fact that no ads came in between the music, allowing the study session to flow smoothly with interruption and distraction. This fact alone makes this an amazing option on your list of classical music for studying. 

Classical Music Playlist (Carlos Manuel Delgado Nule) – YouTube

This is most definitely another great option for your classical music study sessions. Unlike the previous few, this is an actual playlist, not a 2-3 hour long collection of classical music. It includes 177 different songs, giving you a large variety of songs to pick from voluntarily. This playlist has also helped the numerous users it has. People who are completely unable to concentrate with any type of music claim this play lets them focus entirely on their work. Clearly, this playlist is incredible for your study sessions where young want to have the authority to choose with full 

Classical Music for Focus (Klassieke Muziek by Maestro Music) – Spotify

This final suggestion is just as great as all the others. Spotify is a well-known and well-loved music streaming platform, making it a great choice for listening throughout your study sessions. The creators themselves on Spotify are professionals in terms of classical music. Clearly, you will be getting the best music possible here, as well as ones tailored to improve your focus during your study sessions.

Conclusion

Classical music for studying and focusing is a great gateway to productivity. While sufficient research has not yet been conducted to fully analyze the impact music has on studying, classical music is still found to be one that improves rather than depletes productivity. Even without research, we see numerous personal testimonies on how helpful classical music is for studying. And classical music for studying isn’t the only thing it’s used for. People all over use classical music for their work, not just in school. These options that I have listed for you in this post are all incredible options, with these same testimonies to support them. They have proven to be great options for improving focus.

So, what are you waiting for? Put on that classical music and start studying and focusing better than you have before!