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There's nothing wrong with it. Just be sure it doesn't hinder your concentration. I found that I could easily listen to music and even sing along when I was doing math homework, but I had to have silence when reading a textbook or writing a paper.
Posts: 486 | Registered: Feb 2005
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I recently started listening to music at work when doing some specific tasks, primarily because I discovered that the tasks were so boring if I didn't listen to something to break the monotony I WENT ABSOLUTLELY BUGGED-OUT CRAZY!!!!!
Eh, ahem, which is to say that sometimes listening to music can enhance the homework process, if done properly and in moderation.
Posts: 2473 | Registered: Jan 2000
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I'm one of those people who can't do a boring, repetitive task without something else going on. Homework often qualified. Music was eminently helpful. (When I actually did it instead of doing it right before it was due; the pressure helped.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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It depends on the person doing the homework. If you can get your work done (correctly) while listening to music (an you are not distracting anyone else) there is nothing wrong with it. If you can't do your homework correctly when listing to music, then turn it off.
Posts: 1901 | Registered: May 2004
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Good, I keep getting into fights with my parents and older sister over this. In fact I tend to NOT concentrate with them bugging me about me not concentrating on my homework. Posts: 1567 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I listen to music during homework all the time. It conceals the noise of me typing away at my computer instead of doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
Posts: 1401 | Registered: Jun 2004
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There have been studies showing that when you study with music going on, your long-term retention is actually better.
I listen to music constantly while I'm working. The music I listen to affects the work I'm writing, sometimes. I was listening to The Wild, the Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle while writing Lost Boys (could you tell?); I was listening to Bruce Cockburn's "The Charity of Night" album while writing Enchantment.
Pick the music. Something with attention-demanding rhythms or shouted words is going to interfere. Music without words, or which can be kept in the mental background, is far less likely to distract. It becomes the foundation on which you build the memory you'll need for later test-taking.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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Listening to music while I study distracts me enough to keep me interested and stimulates me, but not enough to make me stop learning.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Good music is essential for everything Good music, not the offal that they play at the supermarket. I totally used to listen to easy listening jazz while doing my homework in school. Made it a bit more fun.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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light, non-distracting music is great for homework... seems kinda dull with silence, if you know what I mean.
But here's a hint... don't listen to music with english lyrics when trying to do spanish homework. You get confused as hell.
Posts: 19 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Since the battle is with your parents over whether you should listen or not, let me offer my experience from when I had the same battle with my parents:
My parents subscribed to the belief that music was too distracting. I was adamant that having the background noise helped me to stay focused. We agreed (after much yelling and sulking all around) that I would spend one quarter of the school year doing my homework in silence. No music, no TV on anywhere in the house, even the phone was unplugged so its ring couldn't distract me. At the halfway point, three of my seven teachers sent notes home through the regular mail (so I couldn't intercept them, they didn't know of our experiment) advising my parents that they were concerned about my sudden decline. Needless to say, once they managed to get through all the parent teacher conferences, they ended the music ban ahead of schedule - and never said a word when my brother studied under headphones.
My point - give their side a try. And I mean an honest try. Don't intentionally throw your grades to make them see your way; most parents and teachers are smarter than that. If the music truly does help you to focus, as it did for me, your grades will reflect it when the background noise is removed.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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When I was in school, I always studied to music. I can't even imagine studying in silence. I only used instrumental music, though... anything with words would just distract me. But instrumental music could really focus my attention. I compiled a huge collection of jazz, classical, film scores, minimalism/ambient and electronica while I was still in school. I love most of it anyway, but I gained an appreciation for it when I was using it to help me study that was irreplaceable.
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I can only listen to music without words while I study or do homework. When there are words, I lose all concentration.
Posts: 132 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Yeah, TV is a whole different thing. The second that thing comes on, forget about getting any homework done. It's not even possible for me.
I have a vague recollection of Wyrms from when I read it, aeons ago. I remember a girl who had to solve a complex problem in her head and listen to a story at the same time. By the time the story was done, she had to be able to give the solution to the problem and recite the details of the story. I don't know about her, but my brain wasn't built that way. The second I start following anything with a plot, especially when it's accompanied by the pretty televisual images, forget about me using processing power on anything else.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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"I was listening to The Wild, the Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle while writing Lost Boys (could you tell?); I was listening to Bruce Cockburn's "The Charity of Night" album while writing Enchantment."
That is so incredibly cool to know. Thank you for sharing!
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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I learned a while back that listening to The Eagles improves my cognitive ability when writing papers. Same with most showtunes. However, for me, country music demands too much attention.
Posts: 786 | Registered: Jun 2003
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I went so far as to listen to different bands/styles of music for every subject. I found it definitely aided in memory recall.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Feb 2004
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For me it depends on what I am doing and what I am listening to. Some hard rock while doing mindless workbook stuff for French, yeah. Some violin adagios while I'm working on a research paper, yeah. Usually when I'm reading a book that I REALLY need to retain information on though, I need silence.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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I always studied and did homework better with music. In medschool I discovered I liked studying to the sound of Taiwanese pop music. It sounded like pop music but I couldn't understand any of the words, which made it a little less likely to interfere with my concentration, while still helping me focus like American music often did.
Posts: 1990 | Registered: Feb 2001
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That stuff they say about different sides of your brain is true. I can easily listen to rock music when I am doing math stuff, but when I need to read a book, I can't listen to anything with lyrics. I have to turn on some classical music or read in silence.
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When I've got ample time and I'm not in a big hurry, I'll put on the music. The right kind of music is good for sparking ideas and helping me get the right tone.
When it's crunch time and I'm pounding away at the keyboard just to stay afloat, then no music. In fact, if there's too much noise at the office, sometimes I'll put on my big, insulated headphones just for silence.
Favorite music includes long instrumental pieces by Pink Floyd, Debussy and Chopin piano pieces, and anything by Radiohead (because I know it so well that it doesn't distract me).
If I'm dinking around in Photoshop or Flash during a free moment, then let the music saturate my head. Visual design and music were made for each other.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I'll have music on most of the time. That said, if I'm really concentrating on something, I zone out enough that I hardly hear it. I don't ever watch TV while working, since unless my roomates are all away, it generally turns into a bull session.
Posts: 1621 | Registered: Oct 2001
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There is homework, then there is cramming for a test. In the case of the latter, it is very helpful if your study environment resembles your test environment. There is something about music which binds with whatcha study.
And if there is no music during testing, you will do better studying in silence. Similarly, if your instructor is enlightened enough to play background music for test-takers, you will do better listening to the same variety of music while studying.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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