Music for studying. No lyrics, no ads, nothing to pick.
Your exam has a date. Your notes are open. And you’re scrolling for something to play. Answer a few questions and Hum sets your sound for studying, so the only decision left is where to start.
Your revision has enough problems. Your music shouldn’t be one of them
- A lyric you know by heart while you’re on page 40
- Hum is wordless, from the first note to the last.
- An ad in the middle of your one good hour
- No ads, in the app or on this site.
- Picking the perfect playlist before opening the textbook
- A few questions and your sound is set. Tomorrow, just press play.
- One playlist for flashcards, essays and past papers
- Studying, Reading and Hard thinking each keep their own settings.
- Flatmates, corridors, a loud library
- Tell the setup it’s noisy and Hum adds a steady rain layer while you study. Nearby talk is among the most distracting sounds.
- No idea when you actually revise best
- Rate a session in one tap. Your coach maps your day, so you can see when your focus feels best.
What Hum does when you sit down to study
Memorising: sparse and slower
Background music tends to cost a little on memory tasks, so the Studying setup is sparse and slower, with the pulse kept light and no noise.
Reading: our quietest setup
All background sound has a small cost when reading, and lyrics cost the most. So this is Hum’s quietest wordless setup, and it tells you silence is a fair choice too.
Past papers: low in the mix
Hard thinking keeps the music low, because background music often makes hard tasks a little harder. Turn it down or off any time.
The days you can’t start: Getting going
Can’t open the book? This one is faster and fuller, to get you moving. Switch back once you’re rolling.
What the research says about studying with music
65 studies, and lyrics came last
Researchers pooled 65 studies on background sound and reading. Music with lyrics got in the way more than anything else they measured, more than speech, more than noise. Words fight words.
The same sound, opposite results
A review of 13 studies found white and pink noise lifted attention on lab tasks for people with ADHD or many ADHD traits, and pulled it down for people without attention difficulties. One sound for everybody was never going to work.
16 pulses a second
In a 2024 study in Communications Biology, people who reported more ADHD traits did better over time when their music pulsed at 16 Hz. Hum puts that pulse in your hands, with the rate on screen.
One app for the whole exam season
The long afternoon
Your coach suggests a work and break rhythm from your own sessions, and the timer starts it when you tap.
Between two blocks
Short nap is there for the gap between two study blocks.
The night before
Breathe plays a slow swell, about 5.5 times a minute, so there’s nothing to count. Across 12 trials and 785 people, breathwork eased stress. The breathing does the work, and Hum gives you something to follow.
Lights out
Falling asleep plays 45 minutes of music, then a 15-minute fade to nothing, with no chime. Across 13 trials and 1,007 adults with insomnia, people rated their sleep better with music at bedtime.
Built in the middle of medical school, by someone with exams too
Hum was started by Younes, a third-year medical student, who went through the research on sound and focus, then built the sound from it. That’s why every setting comes with its reason and its source, and why the weak results get printed too.
Less than the coffee you’d buy to stay awake
$59.99 a year is about $1.15 a week. Only need Hum for exam season? Go monthly at $7.99 and cancel from your account when the last paper’s done. Either way your first 14 days cost $1, and if you change your mind within those 14 days, even if you’ve listened every day, you get back everything you paid. See the prices.
Questions
What’s the best music for studying?
Music with no words, low in the mix, with nothing you’ll want to sing along to. In a review of 65 studies on reading, lyrics got in the way most. Hum plays only wordless music and sets the level, the pulse and the layers for your task.
Is it better to study with music or in silence?
Silence is a fair choice when you can get it: in that review, all background sound had a small cost on reading, and lyrics cost the most. When you can’t get it, speech around you cost more than music without words. Try a session of each and see which you rate higher.
Is lo-fi good for studying?
Wordless lo-fi clears the biggest hurdle: no lyrics. What a playlist can’t do is change for your task or read your ratings. Hum does both, and lo-fi is one of the five styles it writes live.
Is there a student discount?
There’s no separate student price. The yearly plan is $59.99, about $1.15 a week, and your first 14 days cost $1. Just need it for exam season? Go monthly at $7.99 and cancel whenever you like.
Will Hum improve my grades?
The grades are yours to earn. What you get is music off your to-do list, a coach that shows when your studying feels best, and a blind test that shows how your sessions go with the pulse and without it.
Does it work on my phone and my laptop?
Yes. Hum has apps for Windows, Mac and Android, runs in any browser, and sits on the Home Screen of an iPhone. Your settings, favourites and history follow your account between devices.
Your notes are open. Press play
Answer the first question and the sound starts, with no card to hear it. If it isn’t for you, close the tab.