4 Music Genres to Listen to When You Need Productivity

Listening to music while working can interfere with full immersion, so it’s not helpful for cognitive labor. Yet many people still listen to music while working, likely either to fill background silence or for the familiarity and comfort the music provides. I also look for music for those reasons. When coding or writing blog posts — when I truly need efficiency, I seek white noise, but when I have some leeway, I turn to the following genres.

Lo-fi

A genre that grew significantly during the COVID pandemic — I first encountered it during this time and fell for its charm. Lo-fi is characterized by simple melodies repeating without clear structure, and by that nature it demands little concentration, serving as a comforting white-noise-like presence. Yet it fills the awkwardness of total silence, so there’s no burden leaving it on as background music.

I visit the famous lo-fi YouTube channel Lofi Girl, but I also create playlists by searching for songs from artists like Kulpa, l’Outlander, Sleepy Fish that play during live streams. Among them, The Past, The Present, Valentine were especially good.

Notable mentions

Nujabes

A genre I discovered as a derivative of lo-fi. The combination of lyrical beats with clean piano, saxophone, flute, and other instruments feels pleasant, and surprisingly this combination creates a calming atmosphere, so I often seek it out. Nujabes’s tracks are great on their own, and when a different mood is needed, cover versions by other bands are also enjoyable to find and listen to. Among them, I pleasantly listen to Counting Stars, A Day By Atmosphere Supreme, Aruarian Dance.

Interestingly, there’s something called yes24’s Nujabes playlist, which actually has a calm, soothing vibe that pairs especially well with reading. Creating a 30-minute to 1-hour playlist and taking a break when one cycle completes works well.

Notable mentions

Pop

Pop is a genre I’ve enjoyed for a long time. From Connie Talbot’s song cited as an example to Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Coldplay, Avicii, The Weeknd, Pharrell Williams, Conan Gray, Troye Sivan, and many other artists’ various songs — I like them all, and I also frequently listen to the previous generation’s classics like Michael Bublé, Bee Gees, Billy Joel, The Beatles without preference.

Many pop songs are well-known with clear melodies and beats, making them good for quick mood shifts. I know some foreign languages to some degree, but only at a cultured level, so not being able to understand the lyrics is also a reason I listen to pop. However, a not-insignificant number of songs feel stimulating and distracting.

Also worth mentioning: surprisingly, J-POP also has clear melodic lines and impact like pop, making it useful for similar purposes. Especially Boundey’s Dancer (踊り子), Love Carried on a Cold (恋風邪にのせて) were pleasant to listen to.

Notable mentions

Movie OST

Frequently used when I want to borrow the atmosphere of a specific scene. For example, Caravan from Whiplash is something I often use, because Caravan contains the film’s unusual ending regarding the narrative, and metaphorically recalls the atmosphere and meaning of that ending. I find myself solemnly steadying my mind as the drum sound reaches its climax.

Joe Hisaishi’s music, famous from Ghibli animations, is also pleasant to listen to casually. It’s well-known but feels classic rather than cliché, and like Caravan, most tracks have no lyrics, so I can approach work with the relaxed mindset of watching a movie.

Other tracks I listen to include City of Stars from La La Land, Lost Stars from Begin Again, Photograph from Me Before You — good choices worth seeking out on their own apart from the films.

Notable mentions