You’ll have to dig past the “hot tracks” of Apple Music and the “Fresh Finds” of Spotify. Way past. Older than “Ice Cream Paint Job” and “Throw Some D’s” and into the depths of the robot-curated playlists. Beyond the allure of fan-favorite tunes lies the most useful, and probably the oldest, genre of music on these platforms: classical.
I don’t remember how or why I first got hooked on classical music. I probably thought it made me feel cultured or intelligent as an 18-year-old college freshman. Since then, though, it’s become clear that the music itself has nothing to do with making someone smart or boosting mental performance. But it has everything to do with keeping you focused, calm, and creative, of which getting shit done is usually a byproduct.
The Mozart Effect (the theory that listening to Mozart positively alters the brain) has been debunked. But Duke University’s Dr. Kevin Labar says that classical music can still improve intellectual performance without raising your IQ. He notes that classical music can produce a calming effect by releasing dopamine and stopping the release of stress hormones, generating a pleasant mood. “And inducing a pleasant mood,” says Labar, “seems to clarify thinking.”
Classical music, or any music for that matter, obviously can’t compensate for a lack of effort or chronic procrastination. That’s like spending $300 a month on nutrition supplements but refusing to go to the gym. Instead, it eliminates unconscious thoughts and lowers your heart rate, streamlining the creative process. We can agree that no meaningful work gets done, whether it’s writing, studying, etc., when the mind is racing or the body is tense. Classical music alleviates both of these issues.
In one of Spotify’s blog posts, classical music (unsurprisingly) didn’t crack its top 10 list of most-streamed genres, getting beat out by “indietronica,” “indie poptimism,” and the ever-popular “stomp and holler.” Forget these rankings, though. If you’re not listening to classical music, you’re doing yourself and your work a disservice.
It’s not for everyone, though.
I know classmates who listen to pop hits when they write papers. Their rationale for doing so? I love my music! I’m they do. That’s also why they produce 6th grade level work and can barely put together a coherent sentence. They use music to distract themselves from the task and pass the time, not to concentrate.
There’s something about the music not having words, its simplicity, that makes it so effective. Bach, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Chopin – you can’t go wrong with any of them. Maybe it’s a placebo effect and this whole article is pointless. Or maybe these old dead guys really are the saving grace for a culture drowning in a sea of trivial distractions. Either way, it’s worth a listen.
Just make sure you don’t accidentally play a cello suite when when someone rides in your car. It’s embarrassing.
Dominic Vaiana studies writing and media strategy at Xavier University. His personal articles, essays, interviews, and book recommendations are sent in his monthly newsletter.
