Creativity can feel like the most unpredictable of mental states — here one moment, gone the next. We tend to see it as something that either strikes or does not, yet the conditions around us have a real influence on how freely ideas flow. Music is one of those conditions. Many people instinctively put something on when they want to brainstorm, sketch or write, and research suggests that instinct is partly well-founded, with an interesting catch.
Music and the flow of ideas
A 2017 study by Simone Ritter and Sam Ferguson, published in PLOS ONE, looked at how music affects divergent thinking — the kind of open-ended idea generation where you try to come up with many possible answers rather than one correct one. Participants who listened to upbeat, positive-sounding music produced more original and varied ideas than those who worked in silence. The researchers suggested that the mood the music created, rather than the notes themselves, helped open up this more exploratory way of thinking.
The case for a little background buzz
It is not only bright music that seems to help. A well-known 2012 study by Ravi Mehta and colleagues in the Journal of Consumer Research found that a moderate level of ambient noise — around the hum of a busy cafe — was associated with better performance on creative tasks than either near-silence or loud noise. A gentle wash of sound, it seems, can nudge the mind into a slightly looser, more associative state, which is often where unexpected connections are made. This is part of why so many people find they think differently in a coffee shop than at a silent desk.
When music gets in the way
Here is the catch, and it is worth taking seriously. A 2019 study by Emma Threadgold and colleagues in Applied Cognitive Psychology found that background music actually impaired performance on a particular kind of creative problem — verbal puzzles that require finding a single word linking several others. When the task leans heavily on language and precise focus, music with words or a strong presence can compete for the very resources the problem needs. In other words, music may open the door for free-flowing idea generation while getting in the way of tight, verbal problem-solving.
Using music at the right moment
The practical lesson is to match the sound to the stage of creative work you are in. When you want to generate lots of ideas, wander, and stay loose, upbeat or gently ambient music can help set an open, positive frame of mind. When you shift into focused refining — choosing the right word, untangling a specific problem — it often pays to turn the music down or switch to something quieter and wordless, so it stops competing for attention. Thinking of creativity as having these two gears makes the choice of soundtrack much easier.
Finding your creative sound
Because mood does so much of the work, it helps to start from how you want to feel. Our look at how music affects mood explains the mechanism, and music to lift a low mood can be a good on-ramp when inspiration feels flat. For the energetic, idea-generating phase, music for energy and motivation fits well, while music for focus suits the quieter, refining stage. And when you simply need to clear your head before starting, music and mindfulness offers a way in.
If you want a soundtrack to think with, our Know Yourself section explores moods tied to imagination and focus.
Sources
- Ritter SM, Ferguson S. Happy creativity: Listening to happy music facilitates divergent thinking. PLOS ONE, 2017. Read the study
- Mehta R, Zhu R, Cheema A. Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition. Journal of Consumer Research, 2012. Read the study
- Threadgold E, et al. Background music stints creativity: Evidence from compound remote associate tasks. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2019. Read the study
Image credit: Envato Elements.
Created with the help of artificial intelligence.
