Guest post by Marcela De Vivo

Best Music To Help You Get Creative

If you are a creative person, you’ve probably experienced a time when your imagination becomes limited or blocked. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a tight deadline to turn in a paper or trying to write the next great American novel on your own. It can happen as quickly as switching off a light.

Different people have different ways to get the creative juices flowing again. You might opt for a run in hopes that ideas will pop in your head at any moment. Or maybe clearing your mind through meditation will allow inspiration to strike. However, the one tried and true way of bringing back your creativity: listening to music.

Music Can Make You More Productive

Although it varies from person to person, listening to music while working can make you more prolific. The University of Illinois did a study that concluded that listening to music could increase productivity by around 6%; however, similar studies also showed that people working on the computer were more productive when there was no music. That’s why it’s important to take your own state of mind into account. If you have a short attention span or are easily distracted, listening to music to enhance creativity might not be the right path for you.

Music Can Boost Your Imagination

Even the most creative person sometimes needs a little help being more imaginative. Music can give you more energy, which can allow your brain to work more effectively. Working out your brain can be just like working out your body. With stimulus, it works faster, therefore, it also performs better. Certain music can even give you more confidence to face whatever creativity block that’s worrying you.

Classical Music

The one tried-and-true music genre for creativity boosting is classical music. Putting on a recording of Bach’s concerto or Beethoven’s piano sonatas might be able to relax your mind just enough to tap into your creativity.

Classical music usually does not contain any lyrics whatsoever, allowing you to focus on your work and nothing more. There are plenty of free resources where you can listen to classical music and other genres for free, including Pandora, Musopen and Arena.

Ambient Music

The trick to utilizing music to your creative advantage is to have your brain engaged on a subconscious level, without becoming too engaged. If your brain becomes too focused on the music, you will likely get distracted easily.

The safe sounds of ambient music can make you feel more relaxed without being completely pulled away from the task at hand. Ambient music is usually considered to be great background music, with its use of acoustic and atmospheric sounds.

Variety

Playing the same sort of music over and over can get boring for your brain and can ultimately stifle your creativity. Your mind needs a change of pace, just like when you exercise your body. You can start out by listening to something slow and calm, like ambient music, then to a fast-paced song, like dubstep. Switching your music up every once in awhile will allow your brain to have the workout it needs to get the creative juices flowing.

Familiarity

Listening to familiar music can help you work faster and more creatively. You want to be able to hum along while you work, but without needing to stop to belt the lyrics or actively listen. When you listen to new music, your mind tries to get familiar with it, which can stop the creative process. Familiar music is a comfort that will allow you to be as creative as possible.

Overall, it’s up to you to test out what sort of music or sounds will help you become more creative and productive. Every person is different, with varied tastes and temperaments. Once you find your perfect working music, you’ll be ready to get back to your creative self.

Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer, mother of three and business owner whose writing covers the music, health and marketing industries. As a writer, she must always have a clear and creative mind, so she listens to a variety of music to keep her creative juices flowing. Follow her on Twitter and Pinterest today!