We stumbled upon an article on Entrepreneur.com recently that attempted to answer the age old question, “Does studying or working with music on help you focus or provide another distraction?” The article breaks down the pros and cons of music on one’s ability to focus including: “Music may help make repetitive tasks easier,” “In a noisy workplace, music may be an escape,” and “Music seems to interfere with learning.” That last one had us perturbed until we continued to read and found a separate section that detailed certain genres of electronic music’s effect on the brain.
The article’s statement on electronic music is as follows: 
In electronic music, “ambient electronica”—and its sub-genres of chillout, downtempo, ambient house, and far too many others—all tend to fit our need for ‘present but unobtrusive.’
This genre also tends to be repetitive, in a good way.
Unlike all of the ups and downs of a symphonic piece, there are quite a few producers out there who aim to create ‘soundscapes’ (anyone remember Gabe from The Office?) that focus on a few melodies that repeat and build on each other.
The song’s focus will help your focus, as the repeating tones are nice to have going in the background.
The evidence for this is supplemented by other sections that suggest repetitiveness and ambient noise tend to be the best background soundtracks for your work day. Check out the full article here to learn more and hopefully this will change your perceptions on your relationship with music as a catalyst for work and play.
I’ve called EDM “Brain Food” for over almost two decades now…. Just sayin’
Chill music is the bomb,I just spread the chill everywhere I go !!
Hmm. Perhaps I should start listening to chill music whilst studying for an exam. Problem is the chillest music I have on my playlists is Chillstep or Minimal 😀 I also have a habit of listening to music in class whilst learning, I feel so bored at class when I don’t have music to accommodate me.