Do lo-fi beats actually help improve your studies? Photo credit: Jiaqi Ding via The Oxford Scientist
Background music has always been a staple for concentration and productivity. A quick search on Spotify or YouTube for ‘revision playlist’ or ‘study playlist’ reveals hundreds of playlists, all specially curated for the specific purpose of focus. Take a closer look at these playlists and you see that a lot of them have the same type of music: lo-fi. Most students will recognise the familiar face of “Lo-fi Girl”—with over fourteen million YouTube subscribers and more than fifty thousand people tuning into the “24/7 radio” livestreams, there is no arguing that Lo-fi Girl and her “chill beats” have taken the world of study by storm.
Most students will recognise the familiar face of “Lo-fi Girl”…
Who is the Lo-fi Girl?
Since her emergence on YouTube in 2017, the Lo-fi Girl has been a go-to study companion for many students. The YouTube channel (originally known as ChilledCow) has videos and livestreams of lo-fi music, accompanied by an animated image of a girl studying in front of a cityscape. Having the animation in the background of the videos gives students someone to connect with. As Lo-fi Girl is studying herself, you may feel compelled to join her. As said by Nora Saks on the Endless Thread podcast, Lo-fi Girl is a ‘safe companion that you don’t need to expend any energy interacting with and yet helps you feel calm and stay focused’. The softly-lit, cosy background that Lo-fi Girl sits in also helps to create a safe and familiar environment that listeners can enter—a place to hide from the distractions of the real world.
Lofi girl—the iconic study buddy for many students.
What is lo-fi music?
As Lo-fi Girl is studying herself, you may feel compelled to join her.
For those unfamiliar with the genre, lo-fi hip hop (more commonly known as “lo-fi beats”, or just “lo-fi”) refers to the subgenre of downtempo music that rose to popularity in the early 2010s. The word “lo-fi” stands for “low fidelity”, referring to the “flawed” or less-than-professional quality of a recording. Lo-fi hip hop embraces the imperfections of DIY music, with artists often including hisses or crackles to emanate the retro-feel of analogue recording techniques.
The genre is characterised by three key elements: a simple beat, a warm (usually jazzy) chord progression, and the addition of ambience through textures and sound effects. The simple (often looped) beat forms the foundation of a lo-fi track; as well as being simple, they are slow and gentle, adding to the cosy feeling that some may get from listening to lo-fi. Jazz chord progressions are also often featured for their relaxed and thoughtful quality. The final touch on a lo-fi track is the inclusion of samples and sound effects as “immersive elements”. As the base instrumental is usually quite basic, adding these in can increase the complexity of the track to keep the song from becoming too repetitive and boring.
How does lo-fi affect our working brain?
To understand the magic of lo-fi, we must first understand the effect that music in general has on the brain. When we listen to music, the sounds we hear are transformed into electric signals, which can be processed in a region of the brain called the auditory cortex. Many other regions of the brain are also switched on by music: the prefrontal cortex, responsible for cognitive functions; the limbic system, which is responsible for emotional regulation and mood; and the body’s motor system. Because music activates so many areas of the brain at once, it can have a strong impact on mood, memory, and attention. The very appeal of using lo-fi as background music is due to its very properties as a genre and the way it’s made—each defining characteristic of the genre plays its own part in the creation of the perfect background music.
Slow tempo songs have been shown to reduce cortisol levels and induce feelings of relaxation: listening to slower music even slows down our heart rate! With their downtempo beats, lo-fi songs are able to reduce any anxiety that listeners may have, allowing them to focus on the task at hand. The looped nature of these beats provides a sense of predictability that keeps you “in the zone”. Furthermore, when gentle ambience—in the form of a vinyl record crackling, rain pattering, or waves crashing—is added into a track, it acts as a buffer. The constant hum that this ambience adds drowns out any sudden noises or distractions enhancing the stress-free environment created.
The magic question: Can it fix my concentration?
There have been multiple studies suggesting an effect of background music on students’ concentration. One such study was conducted on students aged 18–30. Researchers found that participants who had listened to background music experiences improved working memory. Music has also been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, which are both known to affect cognitive function and concentration. But playing music in the background isn’t a fix-all solution for a lack of productivity; the effects depend on the type of music being played. Music that is too loud, too fast, or that contains lyrics can become distracting and negatively impact focus. So where does lo-fi land on this scale?
Another study in 2023 compared the effects of lo-fi, classical music, and silence on students’ concentration. While listening to either lo-fi, classical music, or silence, students aged 15–17 took a 20-minute assessment on their comprehension and maths skills. The study found that students who had taken the test listening to lo-fi and classical music performed significantly better than those who had taken the test in silence. Whilst they were similar, the average score of students listening to classical music was marginally (2.75%) higher than those listening to lo-fi. Nonetheless, the positive impact of lo-fi on test scores was clearly demonstrated.
Altogether, these elements blend to create a soundscape that facilitates the brain to switch from “stress-mode” to “focus-mode” It is, however, important to note that despite the science showing positive effects of lo-fi, it is not a fix-all solution for concentration struggles. The way our brains interact with music is specific to each person, so don’t feel too bad if the Lo-fi Girl isn’t your chosen study buddy!
