We all have our favorite genres of music to listen to and there are countless factors that go into influencing these preferences. Sometimes, we prefer to listen to one over the other, because of the scenario we are in at the time. For example, blasting a rock anthem that you can’t help but sing along to while we’re trying to relax probably isn’t the best idea.
At work, there is often a big debate about whether music can help or hinder us in getting more done.
In the modern open-plan office environment, background noise — from ringing phones, people smashing keyboards too hard as they type and other people’s conversations — can all make it hard to focus. But, in a similar vein, many people struggle when there’s nothing but silence.
It’s not just office workers either. In live poker tournaments, where there can be dozens of tables and hundreds of people in the same room creating quite the racket, some players will choose to wear headphones at the table; this can be useful if you’re trying to calculate the pod odds ahead of the showdown, as it requires a strong understanding of probabilities, poker hands and the general mechanics of the game. They’re not alone either. Formula 1 drivers are regularly seen listening to music just before the race starts; they do this to help drown out the loud noises around them and to signal to journalists that they don’t want to be disturbed. For some people, drowning out the background noise with music is one of the most important tools for improving productivity. For others, they’d rather just block it out with a pair of quality earplugs.
It is a debate that is unlikely to ever be settled as, ultimately, it comes down to personal preference more than anything else. But, this hasn’t stopped science trying to weigh in on the matter. A lot of research has come down on the side of music helping productivity, but there are many caveats to that conclusion. By comparing EDM and reggae, we can see some of the key differences.
Speed Is Key:
Much of the research into music and productivity has looked at the speed of the tunes we listen to. Some older research found that songs with higher BPMs could improve the productivity of factory workers. The pace of work is often matched by people when they’re listening to tracks with a more upbeat tempo. In the 1940s, one factory reported that playing higher tempo tracks increased output by as much as 15%.
On the opposite end of the scale, many supermarkets play slower music in their stores as it has been found to increase sales. In a study conducted in the 1980s, Ronald R. Milliman found that this boat in sales could be as high as 38%. The conclusion drawn from the research was that shoppers slowed their walking pace down to match the tempo of the songs playing in the background.
So if you’re a factory owner, you’ll want to be blasting the EDM bangers (BPM of 128) on your production lines, while supermarkets may benefit from the slower pace of some reggae tunes like Skanks Roots Project’s “Moonlight“, which has a BPM of 90.
However, EDM tracks are more prone to changing beats, as they can be much more experimental. Varying tempos can be distracting, so perhaps you should make a playlist with faster reggae songs. For reading, research has also found that slower tempo music can help you comprehend more of the words.
Lyrics Matter:
The speed of the song is only one element. Another key factor to consider is the lyrics of the music. We have two different ‘attention systems’ — one that is conscious and one that isn’t.
Your unconscious attention system is like the background tasks on your computer, continually scanning different things to keep things running smoothly. It’s what alerts you to potential danger from noises or smells. You can’t switch it off, even when your conscious attention system is focused on an important work task.
Music with a lot of lyrics, especially ones that are meaningful can be a big distraction. So, if you’re trying to concentrate, you should look for music that is instrumental or in a language you don’t speak. For this, EDM music may be better as it tends to have fewer words than reggae tracks.
Conclusion:
Music and productivity do appear to be linked, yet there are so many different variables that it is almost impossible to draw any definitive conclusions. Personal preference does seem to play a major part, but it also seems there are times where reggae works best and others where EDM is clearly more preferable.