  Recent advances in sound engineering have led to the development of so-called
streamlined music designed to reduce exogenous attention and improve endogenous
attention. Although anecdotal reports suggest that streamlined music does
indeed improve focus on daily work tasks and may improve mood, the specific
influences of streamlined music on cognition and mood have yet to be examined.
In this paper, we report the results of a series of online experiments that
examined the impact of one form of streamlined music on cognition and mood. The
tested form of streamlined music, which was tested primarily by listeners who
felt they benefited from this type of music, significantly outperformed plain
music on measures of perceived focus, task persistence, precognition, and
creative thinking, with borderline effects on mood. In contrast, this same form
of streamlined music did not significantly influence measures assessing visual
attention, verbal memory, logical thinking, self-efficacy, perceived stress, or
self-transcendence. We also found that improvements in perceived focus over a
2-month period were correlated with improvements in emotional state, including
mood. Overall the results suggest that at least for individuals who enjoy using
streamlined music as a focus tool, streamlined music can have a beneficial
impact on cognition without any obvious costs, while at the same time it may
potentially boost mood.
