Mark Henderson answered
Yes, different genres of music can affect a person's level of concentration.
It has been proved that some people do concentrate better when listening to music, but it has also been suggested that some genres of music can have a negative affect on concentration levels. Other people find it difficult to concentrate when they listen to any form of music.
Classical music.
Personally, the only genre of music that I find benefits my concentration levels is classical music. The music also has to be at a low volume. This is because classical music usually has no vocals and therefore can not be sung along with.
Secondly, classical pieces are often longer and less repetitive that modern pop songs. This reduces the amount of memory recall the listener requires, allowing them to concentrate on the task they are doing rather than on the music itself.
- Classical music is less repetitive and longer.
- Less vocals means less distractions.
Pop music.
On the other hand pop music is supposed to stay in your head all day - that's its sole purpose. Therefore, its catchy melodies and sing-along choruses make concentrating on something other than the music very difficult.
Pop music (or indeed any song from any genre with a catchy riff or melody) will make concentrating harder. I find it almost impossible to concentrate properly on something if I am listening to a catchy song.
- Pop music's repetitive nature makes concentration harder.
- Catchy hooks and choruses cause memory recall which will be a distraction.