Many of us already have our favorite music on while trading, but are those tunes giving you a performance boost? As something a little bit different, we had a look into building a custom music playlist to help traders research new market opportunities — then another one for when you need to decisively commit to your trades.
Music choice is, of course, subjective, so we teamed up with behavioral psychologist Jo Hemmings to look into the science behind the best song choices and identify formulae based on the five essential components of music — Tempo (BPM), Tone (T), Length and Volume (LV), Lyrics (L) and Mood (M).
We then used these formulae to create two specialized playlists:
- Zero In identified songs that aid concentration and can be used when researching your next moves.
- All Out used a different formula to find tracks that encourage you to be decisive.
Artists who made the cut range from Miles Davis to Ice Cube and Arctic Monkeys — so it’s a real mixed bag. Who would’ve thought listening to N.E.R.D. was great for technical analysis!
Over to you
As well as our playlists you can use our formulae to create your own, or find tracks to suit your mood:
Zero In — time to focus and concentrate
Focusing = “BPM (50 – 65) +TM +LVL (+ or -) -LN +M”
- BPM: find songs with a tempo of 50-65 beats per minute
- TM: select a mellow tone that soothes and relaxes
- LVL: longer songs make for better concentration
- LN: choose a track with few or no lyrics
- M: a slow, less melodic mood will help the brain focus on the task at hand, and not the music
All Out — building confidence to make that final leap
Action = “BPM (65 – 85) +TU +LVS (+ or -) -LS +M”
- BPM: find songs with a tempo of 65-85 beats per minute
- TU: select an upbeat tone that positively enhances cognitive function
- LVS: shorter songs with a faster tempo will keep you motivated when performing a task
- LS: During Activation of a task, having lyrics in your playlist, is less important, so choose songs with some lyrics that motivate
- M: an upbeat, lyrical mood will give you a boost of dopamine, helping you feel brave and confident
As ever, if you have any thoughts or questions, please get in touch – we love hearing from you. And do let us know who makes it onto your playlist.
Team TradingView.