
Does Music Help You Become More Productive? - Nurdok
http://facilethings.com/blog/en/music-and-productivity
======
kps
From _Peopleware_ , which many C-level folks should be beaten over the head
with:

    
    
        During the 1960s, researchers at Cornell University conducted a series
        of tests on the effects of working with music. They polled a group of
        computer science students and divided the students into two groups, those
        who liked to have music in the background while they worked (studied) and
        those who did not. Then they put half of each group together in a silent
        room, and the other half of each group in a different room equipped with
        earphones and a musical selection. Participants in both rooms were given
        a Fortran programming problem to work out from specification. To no
        one's surprise, participants in the two rooms performed about the same
        in speed and accuracy of programming. As any kid who does his arithmetic
        homework with the music on knows, the part of the brain required for
        arithmetic and related logic is unbothered by music—there's another
        brain center that listens to the music.
    
        The Cornell experiment, however, contained a hidden wild card. The
        specification required that an output data stream be formed through a
        series of manipulations on numbers in the input data stream. For example,
        participants had to shift each number two digits to the left and then
        divide by one hundred and so on, perhaps completing a dozen operations
        in total. Although the specification never said it, the net effect of
        all the operations was that each output number was necessarily equal to
        its input number. Some people realized this and others did not. Of those
        who figured it out, the overwhelming majority came from the quiet room.

~~~
eCa
> half of each group ... in a silent room

For many, the alternative to music is not a silent room. Would be interesting
to have that study done in an open office situation with the typical
background noice and interuptions.

~~~
saulrh
Yep. For me, the alternative to music is an open office. And I sit right on
the edge of the dev area, next to a major thoroughfare. In an office with
hardwood floors. I bought a pair of really nice insulating headphones and I
still hear things.

------
gwern
This is a topic that has been studied since at least the 1920s, and there's
easily 50 randomized experiments on it, so OP is incomplete to the point of
being badly misleading. I've been trying to compile citations in
[http://www.gwern.net/Music%20distraction](http://www.gwern.net/Music%20distraction)
but the single best overview at the moment is "The impact of background music
on adult listeners: A meta-analysis", Kampfe et al 2011
[https://www.dropbox.com/s/ny6r5x32albjn3t/2011-kampfe.pdf](https://www.dropbox.com/s/ny6r5x32albjn3t/2011-kampfe.pdf)

"Background music has been found to have beneficial, detrimental, or no effect
on a variety of behavioral and psychological outcome measures. This article
reports a meta-analysis that attempts to summarize the impact of background
music. A global analysis shows a null effect, but a detailed examination of
the studies that allow the calculation of effects sizes reveals that this null
effect is most probably due to averaging out specific effects. In our
analysis, the probability of detecting such specific effects was not very high
as a result of the scarcity of studies that allowed the calculation of
respective effect sizes. Nonetheless, we could identify several such cases: a
comparison of studies that examined background music compared to no music
indicates that background music disturbs the reading process, has some small
detrimental effects on memory, but has a positive impact on emotional
reactions and improves achievements in sports. A comparison of different types
of background music reveals that the tempo of the music influences the tempo
of activities that are performed while being exposed to background music. It
is suggested that effort should be made to develop more specific theories
about the impact of background music and to increase the methodological
quality of relevant studies."

(It's worth noting that despite a lot of theorizing and a few results, there's
still not a lot of evidence for personality traits mattering much, and it's
definitely worth noting that there's a fairly consistent pattern of small
negative mental effects even when people claim music helps.)

------
mmatants
> If someone wants to interact with you, they will definitely find a way to
> get your attention

Fair enough. However, this does not account for a whole class of subtle little
interactions and questions that might be inconsequential one at a time but add
up in aggregate to a whole new useful body of communication.

It's when you turn to a co-worker to ask a quick question and open your mouth
and then pause because you see them with headphones on, and then give up on
asking the question, because the question is actually tiny.

In many many cases, that's how it should be - people deserve their focus time,
and we know how much programmer distraction costs. But there is also huge
value in team members being available, in the serendipitous "overheard"
tidbits that often save duplicated effort, keep the team cohesive and un-
siloed. In kind exchanges, not requests to RTFM.

My point being that some (not all!) periods of time deserve to be "open office
hours", where people sacrifice some of their focus and invite others to bug
them seemingly frivolously. That means taking off headphones and letting
oneself be distracted, soliciting easy quick questions. It may seem to
conflict a lot of _individual_ productivity advice, but it can help grow the
brain trust of the team as a whole.

------
endymi0n
I wish I could listen to music at work. But as I'm both an ENFP personality
type and former semi-pro composer, I immediately get into the music and
analyze chords, rhythm, melodies, counterpoint, filters, compressor settings,
room / atmo setup and lyrics. It's fun but I can't work anymore when I listen
to anything but my rain & noise montage... :)

~~~
danielvinson
Also a musician. I have a similar problem - I just get an urge to write music
when I hear something new that is really good. When I'm working I make sure to
only listen to music I already know really well so it isn't too distracting.

~~~
jeremysmyth
Ditto. I've a go-to playlist for work that is repetitive music I don't really
like but don't find too offensive - Enigma's back catalogue. I used to do the
same with a movie soundtrack but it was too interesting.

------
DanAndersen
>For activities that are not repetitive but also don’t require great
creativity, music without lyrics usually works best (classical music,
instrumental, electronic…). Listening to words activates the part of our brain
associated with language, which may distract us if the activity we are doing
involves the use of language (such as writing an article, for example).

I would agree with this. I'll typically listen to very ambient spacey music,
something without strong beats or lyrics. Once I hear a person in my music it
becomes frustrating. Alternately, I'll choose a few video game soundtracks,
out of the belief that they're designed to be engaging without being
distracting.

~~~
anon3_
Can you give some examples of the "ambient spacey" music? Video game music
too?

In other comments: If you listen to music can you list some on youtube we can
grab?

By the way, if you're music mac, bsd or linux, you can use Youtube-dl to
download youtube / video site music:

    
    
      pip install youtube-dl
      youtube-dl --extract-audio --audio-format mp3 <url>

~~~
Nurdok
I listen to the FTL Soundtrack:
[https://benprunty.bandcamp.com/album/ftl](https://benprunty.bandcamp.com/album/ftl)

~~~
anon3_
This sounds nice.

So this bandcamp site, is it like an indie itunes? I notice you can sample the
_whole_ song without paying. I use soundcloud is good for free music.

I'm kind of thinking it'd be nice to have a monthly what are you listening to
while working thread.

~~~
QuantumRoar
Bands on Bandcamp usually pay more for their equipment and concerts than they
earn from it. Those tiny independent bands are the most honest bunch of
musicians you can find who do music by themselves and for the sake of music --
not for the sole purpose of generating revenue. There are people in there who
rehearse in their own basements and who pay with the own money for recording
sessions just for you to be able to listen to it.

You can listen to whole songs on Bandcamp because they want you to hear their
music and they want you to enjoy it. That is the most important aspect (in
contrast to these money-making, oppressive, DMCA-take-down-wielding music
giants). If you don't like it, move on with your life. But if you like their
music, consider tossing them a few dollars. It's a better investment than
anything else related to buying music.

Support the music you like!

(Or there won't be any left of it...)

------
iQuercus
The research in this area is still too inconclusive to prescribe how to listen
to music for productivity. Not to mention the act of "listening to music" can
vary dramatically from person to person. For some it involves picking music
from thousands of choices and making choices takes time and drains valuable
mental resources. They start spending more time picking music than getting
work done.

One has to wonder, if your goal is productivity, could it be more effective to
just have a cup of coffee/tea? Maybe with some cream and sugar to help get
some glucose to your brain as well?

------
bryans
There is a very important point missing from this: volume. Despite the decibel
range being vast, you really only have three options when choosing the volume
of your music in regards to how it affects your brain.

At higher volumes, music will drown your internal monologue. If you find that
your brain tends to constantly bikeshed instead of being productive, louder
music will probably help with this. The downside is that if you are the type
of person who focuses on lyrics instead of melody, you may find yourself more
easily distracted by them. Something else to consider is that music containing
very loud bass (think dubstep) might actually be detrimental to focus at
higher volumes.

At lower volumes, the issue with lyrics goes away, but your internal monologue
persists. A counter-intuitive benefit (though usually at _very_ low volumes),
is that you tend to lose a lot of the quieter frequencies in the music, and
your brain starts to process _everything_ differently while it attempts to
fill in the blanks or discern unintelligible lyrics. This can actually lead to
more creative potential for some people. I can reliably recreate this on-
demand, and it has greatly helped with both songwriting and programming over
the years. Though, to be honest, I end up blasting death metal 99% of the
time, because it's just more fun when it's loud.

Then there is the Goldilocks zone. The perfect volume for you, and you alone.
It is a very small decibel range and can be very difficult to find, especially
considering the drastically different audio production between albums. But if
you can manage to find it, you'll notice that lyrics and dynamics don't
distract you, it drowns out the monologue, and likely helps with creativity.

Source: None. This is completely anecdotal, albeit from many people.

~~~
toothbrush
Be careful with your ears, please. With in-ear headphones, it's _extremely_
easy to have 80+dB over a large amount of contiguous hours, which is Not Good
For Your Ears™. I have tinnitus, you really don't want tinnitus. And i thought
i was one of the careful ones ( _i.e._ , i almost always use earplugs at
concerts and try to avoid loud bars)! In fact, much as i like bars, these days
i find myself wondering if i should (1) not go to bars on account of the loud
music, (2) go but wear earplugs (i heartily recommend the Etymotic range), but
therefore be regarded as a weird old fogey, (3) suck it up and have regrets
the same evening lying in bed listening to the worsened tinnitus...

[http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/noise.aspx](http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/noise.aspx)
[http://www.soundadvice.info/thewholestory/san1.htm](http://www.soundadvice.info/thewholestory/san1.htm)

~~~
bryans
I have tinnitus as well, due to stupidly playing in a band for years without
wearing ear protection. So I'm quite familiar with the risks. But to clarify,
when I say higher volume, I don't mean damagingly high. The benefit of having
your internal monologue drowned out happens long before the decibel level
becomes dangerous.

------
Retric
Many people are less productive while listening to music. They get less done,
but because the day feels shorter they feel more productive.

~~~
pyre
For me personally, music can help to focus me when I'm feeling distracted and
unfocused.

------
fapjacks
I am going to venture a guess here that the _type_ (and volume) of music you
listen to vastly affects your output productivity. I know people that write
code to loud death metal. You see them hammering their fingers on the keyboard
obviously in sync to the music, their feet making beats on the floor. Other
people listen to altrock or whatever the kids listen to these days; I'm such
an awful hipster. I feel like I can guarantee these people aren't making
breakthroughs.

I cannot listen to any kind of music while programming except ambient/chillout
electronic (Solar Fields, Carbon-Based Lifeforms, Sync24, Aes Dana, Asura,
etc). This music has no lyrics, and most importantly _gets me into flow
extremely quickly and keeps me there longer_ than if I didn't listen to music.
When I am in flow, I have personal "genius breakthroughs", full stop. If there
is a benefit to working in a quiet room, I have never noticed it over the
twenty years I've been programming.

------
debarshisarkar
Sometimes when i am lazying around and increasing my chances to miss what i
have planned for i simply put on songs like "Eye of the Tiger" or "Start me
up". This helps lift up my subconscious and i am back in the groove. I usually
work by putting on some heavy metal, and unlike others it helps me concentrate
much better. I believe it depends on person to person how one perceives the
music. You need to find the right kind of music that uplifts you. Definitely
melodic music or music w/o lyrics can work on certain situations (as per
studies), however, if you ask me, i will tend to listen to my kind of music.
So, i have 2 perspectives here: 1\. When i am totally unwilling to work and
yet have to work - i listen to meaningful rock songs, that lifts me up. 2\.
When i am already in the groove, i put on some heavy metal to continue the
streak.

------
Pigo
I don't really care. I'm GOING to listen to music while I do some of my best
work, while doing my best to quickly break for necessary communications. If a
team doesn't appreciate it, then I don't really belong there. The Broken Bells
and Thom Yorke are my most valuable co-workers.

------
spectrum1234
This is very personality dependent, which the article didn't mention (I don't
think). As an INTJ music almost always is helpful, except for maybe extremely
challenging tasks. However, often to see those challenging tasks in a
different light, music is helpful.

~~~
dsfsdfd
INFJ (not sure this has useful interpretation in the practical world) here.

Like listening to music, any voices in the background completely derail my
thought processes. But then I am easily over stimulated.

------
nirmel
Replace "listening to music" and "headphones" with "working remotely" and it
makes a sound argument too:

 _Some companies and managers don’t like you listening to music. They argue
that your headphones will isolate you from possible important interactions
with others and that a person who spends their days listening to music cannot
do their job well. These are not solid arguments for me. If someone wants to
interact with you, they will definitely find a way to get your attention._

~~~
pvaldes
And in some countries if you have any kind of music system installed in your
workplace you must pay a tax to another companies each month or you'll face a
trial by copyright infringement. This can be an endless source of problems if
you refuse to pay; and they will suck as many money as they can from your
startup really fast.

------
mhurwi
Something interesting, and backed by some clinical research: 'rhythmic
entrainment'.

[https://brainshiftradio.com/about.html](https://brainshiftradio.com/about.html)

Their web app plays 2 tracks simultaneously: rhythm & ambient. Personally, I
listen to 'focus' tracks constantly while working.

------
jph
Focus At Will is excellent for this. The site curates music to match your
timeframe for working and your goals for attention throughout the session. I'm
a paying customer.
[https://www.focusatwill.com/](https://www.focusatwill.com/)

------
DEinspanjer
I've mentioned it a while back on a different HN post, but I used to listen to
music while programming and found it both soothing and helpful, but after
starting to take Provigil on a daily basis, I found that listening to music
became too distracting and I had to stop.

------
ww520
Music help to block out other noise and distraction. Yeah it help
productivity.

------
hybby
i like to think that music makes me more productive as a sysadmin, but it
really doesn't. i'll start thinking about the song i'm listening to more than
the task i'm performing. it reduces my alertness and productivity.

however, the act of simply having headphones on my head makes me a great deal
more productive! the number of drive-bys i receive at my desk drops
dramatically when i go into antisocial mode.

