LISTENING TO MUSIC IMPAIRS CREATIVITY

[Judi Lynn]

Last edited Sat Mar 2, 2019, 03:40 AM - Edit history (2)

New research suggests that background music, with or without lyrics, "consistently disrupts creative performance."

TOM JACOBSFEB 27, 2019

Do you need to come up with a creative solution to a problem? If so, your inclination may be to close your office door, turn on some music, and hope it provides some inspiration.

In fact, those melodious sounds may be inhibiting your imagination.

Newly published research debunks the notion that listening to music can increase creativity. Its three studies suggest precisely the opposite, indicating that background music, with or without lyrics, "consistently disrupts creative performance in insight problems."

The researchers, led by psychologists Emma Threadgold and John Marsh of the University of Central Lancashire in England, describe the three studies in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology. In each, the team measured subjects' creative problem-solving by their score on a Compound Remote Association Task—a common test, in which subjects were presented with lists of three words (such as "dress, dial, and flower" )and asked to come up with a fourth that paired naturally with each ("sun" ).

The first study featured 15 male and 15 female university students, who were assigned 38 such tasks: 20 that were considered relatively easy, and 18 that were notably difficult. Half did so while listening to a 1990s pop song that had been translated into Spanish. The idea was to discover whether vocal music in a foreign language would be distracting enough to inhibit their performance.

More:
https://psmag.com/news/listening-to-music-impairs-creativity

[Kurt V.]

1. Anecdotal but i always do my art in silence. (except for the birds chirping)

[erronis]

3. Kurt - you posted your very similar response as I was composing mine.

Ever read Mark's Eden Express?

[Kurt V.]

4. wow. they are similar. not so anecdotal after all. i have read eden express.

[erronis]

2. Just anecdotally- I've tried music (classical) to mask office chatter (sometimes home noises)

and while it is enjoyable I find my creative rhythms don't necessarily match the movements of the Pastoral, etc.

Now, living in the country with birdsong and distant train whistles, I find this much more conducive to problem solving.

[fierywoman]

5. I was a professional (classical) musician by trade, and found that if I wanted

to do anything creative (write, paint) I absolutely could NOT listen to music. This is so interesting, thanks for putting it up!

[Judi Lynn]

11. Interesting you followed a career in classical music. It didn't become automatic for you.

Really good music is compelling, as it's deeper, more complex, more moving.

Great hearing you have a similar response to non-musical creative artists.

This has been an eye-opening thread.

Thank you.

[fierywoman]

14. Thanks for your reply. I stopped playing about 12 years ago -- someone here said they got

"played out" playing golf; I felt that way about music. I can't stand what you call "automatic" playing (SO TRUE!).
I do love hearing people who play with great, profound intention, like this guy:

(Anouar Brahem)

[htuttle]

6. I write my best software while listening to music

But it's usually an electronic drone zone/EDM type of music that I've typically heard before (I usually listen to a couple of internet radio stations, and they have rotating playlists).

Writing software isn't quite like painting, so maybe it's just that the tasks that I'm doing (decomposing complicated problems into familiar ones that I have solutions for) are helped by droning, somewhat repetitive sounds.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Interesting. Thank you. n/t

[SWBTATTReg]

7. Being profoundly hard of hearing, I don't listen to the radio, TV, or music, or anything else...

it's amazing what your mind can do without the distractions.

[Judi Lynn]

13. Good to learn about this. Thank you. n/t

[gtar100]

8. I would recommend following your own subjective experience on this one.

Interesting that researchers found this out but it is no one size fits all conclusion. Not even in me. When I program, I prefer having music. When I write, silence. When I play guitar, other people's music is a distraction. Cooking, definitely music on. Drawing...music or not, it doesn't help. But I reserve the right to mix that up on the whims of circumstance. Deciding what to do based on a study like this doesn't sound like a good idea to me. It's really a personal choice. What is right is what works. There is no golden rule they've discovered here.

[OhZone]

9. Exactly this!

I do some minor coding stuff, and I do it better with silence, mostly. Mostly.

I write stories, and I do it better without much music. Usually.

But, with repetitive tasks, certain kinds of music speeds me up and helps me focus. Also when I clean house.

And also, with my workouts, certain kinds of music makes me feel fantastic and keeps me going farther, longer. It's almost like a drug. Keeps me a happy skinny bitch.

So it depends.

[BigmanPigman]

10. As an illustrator I definately do better with misic in the background BUT

it has to be music I like. If it isn't then whatever I am working on gets fucked up really fast.