Opinions on listening to music while working.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I am of the mind set that anything with lyrics divides your attention. My dd swears she would work better listening to her music.

I am all for anything that would help and concentrate on her work but I am having trouble believing this would help.

What sayeth the Hive?

[razorbackmama]

I say it depends on the child. I remember reading about this in Cynthia Tobias's book _The Way They Learn_, how some people have to have complete silence in order to concentrate, yet others have to have music (even with lyrics). It all depends on the way their brain is wired.

 

I allow my oldest to listen to music with lyrics while he works. For one, I find that it helps to him to concentrate better simply because he's not distracted by all the other noise (like siblings) that are around him LOL. I have not noticed one bit of difference in his output. I DO tell him that if he is going to be reading something with a lot of words (IOW, more than just a math problem or instructions), he needs to turn it off. He struggles with comprehension anyway...the last thing he needs is to be hearing one thing while he reads another LOL. He also knows that if his work reflects a lack of concentration, the music will be pulled.

 

It drives. my. husband. crazy. Whenever he is here while the kids are doing school he hounds my ds constantly about turning off the music. He doesn't get that it actually somewhat helps ds concentrate (and he knows what Cynthia Tobias has found! LOL).

[mom2jjka]

My daughter loves to listen to music while she works. I prefer classical and music without words, but I do allow 'mellow' music with lyrics such as hymns or contemporary Christian radio.

My son needs quiet so we bought him some 'noise reducing' earmuffs, (the type shooters use for ear protection,) so DD can listen to her music without bothering him too much.

[Guest]

Whoops --

[Guest]

I agree that it depends on the kid, and that some kids' brains are wired so that music actually helps them focus. If this seems hard to believe, I will add that I wrote my dissertation listening to old movie soundtracks (with lyrics); I've read stories about children's book authors and illustrators who listen to music -- not classical -- from the time period the book is about when they work on historical fiction; and various authors' websites often note what the writer listened to while drafting the most recent work. On the other hand, some people can't abide writing unless they're wearing earplugs and industrial ear protectors to block out anything that would distract them.

[EKS]

My son's neurologist suggested that he listen to music while studying. She said anything familiar would be ok.

[cin]

my kids both have ipods and they listen to multiplication and science songs. They actually work better with those songs than their suzuki violin songs. For some reason, they feel compelled to tell me all about the suzuki songs. Which I listen to at least 2X day while they practice them. :rolleyes:

 

On the flip side, I work best with the TV on in the background. Granted, I'm not studying, but I am reading, planning and sometimes playing a game or two. ;)

[MerryAtHope]

I'd try an experiment and see how it goes. Let her do any subject she wants to while listening to music. If she does as well or better than normal, I'd let her continue. If she does worse, then there's your answer. I tried this experiment with my son, and he did worse. Once he saw that, (and had to re-do a lot of his work from that day), he never brought it up again!

 

Merry :-)

[MeaganS]

Yeah, I'm with everyone else, I think it depends on the person. I cannot study while listening to music with lyrics, but my husband can't study without them. He does very well with his studies, while listening to rock music, so I think it really depends on how the child's mind works. Give it a try, it may help!

[hsmom]

Mine do good with the music on, yet only if I put it on the house stereo. Other wise they gets distracted with changing the songs all the time. Too much temptation I guess. I also enjoy a low music in the back ground, it really doesn't matter to me what it is really.

[KinderSafari]

My kids can listen to music if

 

1. It doesn't distract anyone else

2. Their final work isn't effected.

 

 

I agree the best book is The Way They Learn by Cynthia Tobias to explain all the different ways people learn best.

 

The advantage I see in our house listening to music is that it tunes out the rest of our crazy household and actually helps them to focus more.

[MUJLBE]

In this article, a researcher on multi-tasking discusses how people do not really "multi-task" even when they think they are but that music is different and :

 

"We have a special part of our brain for music, so we can listen to music while we do other things."--Clifford Nass

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/interviews/nass.html

 

Susan

[razorbackmama]

I'd try an experiment and see how it goes. Let her do any subject she wants to while listening to music. If she does as well or better than normal, I'd let her continue. If she does worse, then there's your answer. I tried this experiment with my son, and he did worse. Once he saw that, (and had to re-do a lot of his work from that day), he never brought it up again!

 

Merry :-)

 

Yep, this is pretty much what I did with my ds. I was very clear that if it affected his work at all, it was gone.

 

Mine do good with the music on, yet only if I put it on the house stereo. Other wise they gets distracted with changing the songs all the time. Too much temptation I guess. I also enjoy a low music in the back ground, it really doesn't matter to me what it is really.

 

My ds usually uses an ipod, but lately he has started wanting to sit at the computer and listen to his favorite band on youtube. That went across the line...like you said he was more focused on finding just the right song than on doing his work. That lasted one whole day LOL. He has "obsession" issues as it is LOL.

[Rhonda in TX]

I allow my oldest to listen to music with lyrics while he works. For one, I find that it helps to him to concentrate better simply because he's not distracted by all the other noise (like siblings) that are around him LOL. I have not noticed one bit of difference in his output. I DO tell him that if he is going to be reading something with a lot of words (IOW, more than just a math problem or instructions), he needs to turn it off. He struggles with comprehension anyway...the last thing he needs is to be hearing one thing while he reads another LOL. He also knows that if his work reflects a lack of concentration, the music will be pulled.

 

It drives. my. husband. crazy. Whenever he is here while the kids are doing school he hounds my ds constantly about turning off the music. He doesn't get that it actually somewhat helps ds concentrate (and he knows what Cynthia Tobias has found! LOL).

 

Same rules, same results, same DH. :)

[radiobrain]

I always needed *something* going on or my brain would drift off and away....

 

I think that having a "distraction" for that part of your brain that needs to be doing something else, can help the other part that is concentrating stay focused. Some brains need that, or a physical distraction, or a combination. I think it is a personal preference.

 

There is a difference between being a whole mind distraction or just a wiggly brain bit attention grabber.

[amydavis]

I agree that it really depends on the person. We are a very music-oriented family. So, we do end up having background music while the dc work sometimes. I do tend to stick to mellow music with lyrics, or most often I have jazz or classical. If I played something contemporary, pop or christian, then the kids would get caught up in the lyrics, singing along, etc.

[Night Elf]

Ugh! Silence is so LOUD. I can't focus at all.

 

I say the proof is in the pudding. If she is doing well with music on, why fix what isn't broken? If her school work is suffering, a compromise might be in order, such as music during some but not all subjects.

 

My dd17 and ds13 also prefer studying with noises around them. My dd17 sings to the songs as she studies, and her grades are very good. My dd11 will go into her room for silence, especially when she's reading.

[Caribbean Queen]

I am all for anything that would help and concentrate on her work

 

In that case, let her try it.

 

I would take issue with it, but not for productivity reasons. Kids needing electronics constantly is why the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Grown women on message boards all day is okay, though. ;) Ha!

[dsacco]

I have decided "sunshine" is more distracting to my kids than music ;) Both have iPods and I have no problem with them listening to what they want AS LONG AS the work they have to do is done correctly and within a reasonable amount of time.

 

Everyone in my house seems to have earphones attached to their head a lot of the time (including me who usually has a book or 2 going!)

[Tabrett]

I have found that if I play classical music quietly in the back ground, my kids concentrate better. But it has to be music without lyrics. With my older dd the rule was she can only play music with out lyrics during school time.

I find word distracting, because my children want to song along.

Music played in the back ground activates both side of your brain and helps with retention.

[runamuk]

Our oldest daughter listened to music while she worked. She has ADHD and the music would serve to block out the other sounds the house so she could concentrate better. She'd listen to cds of various types of music, some had lyrics, some didn't.

 

Our two youngest children do well when there is classical music playing in the background. It cuts down on the chit-chat while they work. If I put on something with a faster beat (jazz, rock, r&b), they spend more time dancing than they do working.

[TammyinTN]

I am of the mind set that anything with lyrics divides your attention. My dd swears she would work better listening to her music.

I am all for anything that would help and concentrate on her work but I am having trouble believing this would help.

What sayeth the Hive?

 

I listen to classical music from the time we get up until late afternoon. It definitely makes me work better.

[WiseOwlKnits]

I'd say let her try it! I can't study without music and it's usually music with lyrics. If someone made me study in silence, I wouldn't get nearly as much done or remember as much because I'd be constantly distracted by the ice maker, the heater turning on/off...every little noise. Music covers all of that so I can concentrate on the book.

[LaissezFaire]

I have always felt that I need silence to study to absorb what I am doing. My husband offered a very different perspective though. He listens to music with lyrics while studying because it gives him better recall. On a test he is able to recall what he was reading when he thinks of the song he was listening to while studying. This is just for testing however not just doing homework. I always thought that was interesting as I am so opposite.

[Karie]

We were just having this conversation in my house a few weeks ago. Ds got an ipod for Christmas and was wanting to listen to it while he was doing his work. I told him absolutely not because it is a distraction. My dh jumped in and said that music actually helps him to concentrate and that maybe my son needed that. I was telling him "no" based upon what works for ME! I cannot read or do any type of mental work unless it's perfectly quiet. So, I told ds he could listen to his ipod. In this short time, he seems to concentrate better. I don't know how, because it would drive me crazy, but if it works for ds and he gets his work done with recall, then I'll let him do it.

 

It just goes to show that our brains are all wired so differently!!

[Lightly Salted]

It doesn't bother my DS one way or another, but DD's concentration goes WAY UP if she can listen to music. We usually do classical or at least some kind of instrumental/no lyrics stuff.