Homework Music
The homework music that works for most kids is quiet and instrumental, with nothing to sing along to. Words in a song compete with the words on the worksheet, so lyrics are the first thing to cut. This playlist is 30 soft instrumental pieces from relaxdaily, a project many students already know from YouTube, and it runs for close to three hours. That covers a long school night, including the essay somebody remembered at nine.
Why It Works
In 2002, Susan Hallam and two colleagues at the Institute of Education in London played music to 10- and 12-year-olds while they did arithmetic and memory tasks. Music the children found calming helped them do better. Music they found arousing and unpleasant made them do worse. For homework the lesson is short: keep it calm and keep the volume low.
Why Mixtuby
The tracks follow one another without a gap, so there is no silence that sends a hand to the phone. On a laptop they also cross-fade. Two honest limits: YouTube can show an ad between some videos, and on an iPhone the music stops when the screen locks, so leave the screen on next to the notebook. Press Start and the first track is relaxdaily's “The Way I Am”.
History
Parents have argued about music and homework for as long as kids have had radios in their bedrooms. The research has been calmer than the argument. In 1989 Pierre Salamé and Alan Baddeley showed that vocal music disturbs short-term memory for written material more than instrumental music does.
Later studies, Hallam's among them, kept finding the same split. Quiet music without words is mostly harmless and sometimes helps.
Lyrics and loud, busy tracks cost attention. Lo-fi streams turned homework music into a YouTube habit in the late 2010s, but the advice from the lab has not moved.
Perfect For
How to Listen
Keep the volume low enough to hear someone call from the next room.
For younger kids, use a speaker instead of headphones so a parent can hear what is playing.
Start the music when the homework comes out of the bag and stop it when it goes back in.
If a task has to be read out loud, pause the music for that part.
🎁 Pick The Perfect Gift For The People You Love
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Small gifts that make homework time easier for a child, and for the parent sitting next to them.
🛒 Shop Homework Music
Things that help a kid sit down, start, and finish the worksheet.
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iClever HS19 Kids Headphones (Volume Limited)
Volume capped for young ears, cable so they never need charging
Time Timer MOD 60-Minute Visual Timer
The red disc shrinks, so kids can see how long is left
AXX Small Rechargeable Desk Lamp
Good light on the page, no cord across the table
ProCase Kids Noise Reduction Ear Muffs
For when a sibling is louder than the music
Deep Work — Cal Newport
The science of focused productivity
TickTime Pomodoro Timer Cube
Focus blocks made tactile
TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp with USB Port
Eye-care brightness for long sessions
JBL Clip 4 Portable Bluetooth Speaker
Waterproof, clip it anywhere
Homework Music — FAQ
What gift helps a child focus on homework?
A visual timer and volume-limited headphones are the two most useful. The timer shows how long is left, and the headphones keep music at a level that is safe for young ears.
Is it okay for kids to listen to music while doing homework?
For most kids, yes, as long as it is instrumental and quiet. Judge it by the homework. If the same worksheet takes longer with music on, try a night without it and compare.
What music is best for maths homework?
Calm music without words. Maths leans less on verbal memory than reading does, so it is the subject where background music gets in the way least. Songs with lyrics are better saved for drawing or tidying the desk.
Should reading homework be done in silence?
Reading is where lyrics hurt most, so choose silence or wordless music like this playlist. If a child keeps rereading the same paragraph, turn the volume down before turning it off.
How long is this homework playlist?
30 tracks and about 2 hours 50 minutes. When the last one ends, the playlist starts again from the first.
Can I use it as a homework timer?
Yes. The sleep timer stops the music after the number of minutes you pick, which makes a simple signal that homework time is over.
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