music
Music, an art form whose mediums are sound, silence, and other common elements, such as; pitches, rhythms, and dunamics. There is no certain origin of music, but one thing's for sure is that music affects our education and our learning ability. How?

 According to a study conducted by the University of California at Irvine, pre-school age kids who received daily music lessons (either playing instrument or just singing) were significantly better at completing puzzles than those who didn't. Although this one study doesn't show much proofs, it has been proven that music does affect learning abilities, one of it is abstract learning. 
Abstract learning is the most complex type of learning, known as the ability to solve problems or figure something out by coming to a logical conclusion based on observation.

 To put it in simpler terms, you make a few tests to prove something that you think is actually true after going through some observations. This is also known as abstract reasoning, which means, music enhances our ability to learn about the world and other stuffs by;
  • Forming a theory about the nature of ideas
  • Solving problems using such theories
  • Analyzing and evaluating ideas and objects
  • Solving problems using abstract methods, such as the usage of metaphors and analogies.


 Learning music also creates, what neuroscientists call "neural pathways" which acts as our brain's highway used to retrieved information. Hence, leading to better learning abilities.

 Another study at the University of Wales shows that background music affects student's ability to recall, in other words, improves memory. There were 5 conditions during the test

  1. A quiet environment
  2. With "steady state" speech, which means a single word was repeated for the duration of the test
  3. With "changing state" speech. This means variety of words were played during the test
  4. With "liked" music
  5. With "disliked" music

Surprisingly, the results shows no difference between test score with liked music, disliked music, and changing state speech. This means, whether they liked the music or not, having it on while working was just as distracting as hearing someone talk, while the quiet and steady state speech condition scored higher.

 It's just the same as the condition in where you are trying to do your homeworks while your friends are chatting with you, but unfortunately, it depends on the person. Some may find listening to music distracting, some may not, and some may find it undistracting at all.

 We'll need to wait for more results, but if you're asking me what type of music that might improve learning ability, my suggestions are some calm music, just to lighten your stressed brain, such as; jazz, classical music, bluegrass, or some soft rock. Avoid music with lyrics, as lyrics will distract you from concentrating (I've tried it before).
Source:
http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2012/10/08/does-music-help-you-study/
http://www.quantumjumping.com/articles/subconscious/how-music-affects-the-brain-enhance-learning-attitude-and-health/