Pace
There is a lot to consider when it comes to the pace of the music, since it has the biggest influence on our body. While slower songs calm us down, quicker songs stimulate us. You can take advantage of these effects. For example, you can use quicker music to wake yourself up when you’re already a little bit tired.
The behavioural psychologist Dr Emma Gray has formulated very specific recommendations regarding the pace. She argues that slower rhythms affect our left hemisphere (logic) positively and quicker music stimulates our right hemisphere (creativity). Based on this hypothesis she recommends the perfect pace for different fields of study.
According to this, you should listen to music with 50-80 beats per minute if you’re studying strongly logical fields like mathematics, physics or biology. The slower music stimulates your left hemisphere and helps you comprehend and remember complex facts better.
If you’re studying arts, the researcher recommends music with 145bpm, since this pace activates your right, creative hemisphere. Therefore, creative thinking is encouraged.
For students of human sciences songs with 80-145 bpm are perfect. The combination of logic and creativity activates both hemispheres.
The neurologist Eckart Altenmüller disagrees with this allocation of pace and brain area. On the contrary, he argues that music activates and connects all parts of our brain. Therefore, you can try out Emma Gray’s recommendations, but don’t let them limit you.