The Worst Music Genres To Listen To While Studying
Studying is meant to be done with a clear space of mind, so the worst music genres to listen to while doing so will never provide you that headspace. As a disclaimer, this list won’t be applicable to everyone, as music taste all depends upon the individuals themselves and how they let it affect their focus.
Metal
Oh, boy. Metalheads everywhere, we offer an apology, but your music does not make for a thoughtful peace of mind. The loud, uproarious vocals mixed with hard, jagged instrumentals cause distraction and a very preoccupied head.
Listening to Metal music demands you pay attention to it and appreciate its fine musical talents. Which is all well and good, until you remember you’re actually in the middle of chapter three in your Chemistry 144 textbook in preparation for the midterm tomorrow. You’re more inclined to pay attention to Metal more than your actual studies!
Screamo
Screamo is, aptly put, loud. It’s loud and it’s something that arguably demands even more of your attention than Metal does. Screamo is characterized by its aggressive, hardcore aesthetic with tons of influences from its rock and punk parent-genres.
It can prove to be a distracting musical choice, bringing out more feelings than it should if you’re sitting down and quizzing yourself on your notecards. Screamo isn’t going to create a controlled academic sphere for most people.
Hard Rock
The rock genre can actually be really soothing to listen to in the case of studying. It’s just, there’s a certain level of intensity that the Hard Rock subgenre makes for itself to be a contender on this list. Music genres like Rock are very versatile and have branched out into multiple subgenres. Hard Rock takes the more extreme, hard-pounding route of those subgenres.
Hard rock heavily utilizes an array of intense instruments, like electric guitars, bass, drums, and so on. Paired with aggressive vocals, Hard Rock looks badass, but not practical for most studious sessions.
EDM
If there’s one thing EDM (Electronic Dance Music) is known for, it’s for flashing, blaring beats powered by rhythmic electronic tools. That whole description itself was not very relaxing. In fact. it kind of describes a rave! It describes clubbing music with bass drops to create a mental atmosphere for dancing. It’s easily a genre you can lose yourself in.
Techno and Dubstep offshoots of EDM are also unsafe choices, as they also rely on hard bass drops, pumped out instruments, and a rhythm that gets you to dance! So, unfortunately, EDM is not among the music genres that make for a great study track.
Pop-Rock
Listening to mainstream music genres may vary on a case by case basis for people needing to study. Pop-Rock is catchy, quick-paced, and upbeat, making it easily likable and widespread. They’re easy to pop in and listen to for almost any situation. But, Pop-Rock’s use of this commercial appeal leave it to be a somewhat distracting tone.
Its highs and lows create a rollercoaster of emotions packed into Pop-Rock songs. But reading your Economics class notes should be more of a pleasant ride through train tracks rather than roller coaster tracks.
Pop Punk/Emo
We’re starting to find a commonality among our listed music genres, as many of them are quite popular with the alternative subcultures of the United States and the United Kingdom. Pop Punk and Emo were genres who saw their heyday in the 2000s and have fallen quite a ways since then.
So, naturally, nostalgic scholars will find themselves blasting these classics for a trip down memory lane. Too bad you need to be studying! You’ll be too busy reminiscing about back then that you’ll never progress quite as far as you were expecting.
Nightcore
So, we realize this genre might only resonate with readers of a very specific subculture, age, and timeframe, but it needs to be said: Nightcore isn’t studious music. Whether you believe Nightcore is more remix track than genre, there’s definitely a case to be made with its fair share of YouTube uploads.
We don’t know who still listens to Nightcore in this day and age, though. But, perhaps some semblance of people from the early 2010s in their rebellious alternative scene/emo/rave subculture phases as young teenagers may find this useful. Hey, we did say this genre was going to resonate with a very specific group, didn’t we?
Trap
A subgenre of hip hop, trap music is a crowd-pleaser at party scenes and pumped up dances. Trap music is just something you can’t help but feel a certain way about, regardless if those feelings are good or negative. Trap can be fun and boisterous, but mostly if you’re physically active.
Like EDM, Trap music is more reliant on the club/party culture it plays for rather than your desk table. If you can study through it all, more power to you. But to others, you may have to just play this genre at a different time.
Musical Numbers
Avoid the dreaded musical tunes. For they shall overtake you as your voice unwillingly leaves your body. Well, okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But if you’re listening to Musicals at all, that implies you’re into them, and Musical fans cannot help themselves when it comes to these catchy songs.
Musicals are designed for their audiences to follow along. They are meant to be memorable, to be ear-pleasing, and most of all, memorable. That’s not something you should play if you’re trying to memorize more important things, like your Calculus equations.
Hardcore Genres
Every genre has its own “Hardcore” subgenre below it. Whether it’s Hardcore Rap, Hardcore Punk, or Metalcore, fans of any music genres inevitably conceive of avenues that channel the base elements of their preferred genre.
However, Hardcore subgenres allow for tumultuous levels of vocals and instrumentals being played insanely harder than their parent genres. The performances in Hardcore subgenres may be too distracting for most listeners.
