This month’s TOPkit Digest is brought to you by Efren De La Mora Velasco, Ph.D., Associate Instructional Designer from the Center for Distributed Learning at the University of Central Florida. He discusses Designing with Music in Online Courses.

Watch this video for insight into how music connects with memory, emotion, and attention. As you watch, consider where music might be intentionally integrated into your online courses to support learner engagement, create emotional connection, and enhance retention without distracting from the learning experience.

Music is often treated as an optional enhancement, but research suggests it can be much more than that. Music can shape emotions, guide attention, support engagement, and, under the right conditions, enhance retention. At the same time, it must be used carefully because the same music that supports one learning experience may distract from another. My recent work argues for a balanced view that considers both the cognitive risks and emotional benefits of music in online learning.

Image generated using OpenAI, 2026

Music touches the learner cognitively, emotionally, and even physically. Melody and lyrics can support memory and recall; harmony can influence emotional states; and rhythm can affect physical and attentional responses. In the framework presented in Music and online learning: new perspectives and directions, music is connected to cognition, emotion, and bodily response, making it a holistic learning design element rather than a decorative add-on.

Although there have been mixed opinions about whether music helps or hinders learning, more recent studies show that music can benefit learning when it is aligned with the learner, the task, the environment, and the instructional purpose. A 2023 meta-analysis found a small positive overall effect for background music, stronger effects when music was used before learning assessments, positive effects for factual knowledge retention, and potential age-related differences.

Not all music works the same way. The effect of music depends on what students are doing, what type of music is used, how complex the task is, whether the music has lyrics, how familiar the music is, and whether the learning environment is already cognitively demanding. Research suggests that the nature and difficulty of the learning task, the listening environment, and individual learner characteristics can all influence whether music helps or distracts.

For example, music may be more helpful for preparing learners emotionally, supporting attention, enhancing factual retention, or accompanying creative and problem-solving activities. However, complex reading, dense narrated videos, or assessments that require deep concentration may require simpler, quieter, or no music at all. In short: do not ask, “Should I use music?” Ask, “What kind of music, for which learner, during which task, and for what purpose?”

Start small. Use music intentionally in places where it has a clear instructional function: course introductions, module openers, transitions, reflection moments, low-stakes practice, videos, simulations, or creative assignments. In instructional videos, background music and sound effects can help learners move through content, make videos more attractive, support task-focused attention, and reduce mind wandering when they are designed carefully.

Practical principles to include music in instructional video include:

One reason music is rarely used in online learning is that creating or licensing appropriate music can take time, money, and expertise. Recent AI music tools are changing this equation by making it easier for instructors and instructional designers to generate short, customized tracks aligned with tone, genre, duration, and emotion. Your 2025 article specifically notes that advances in AI-generated composition may help educators create personalized background music and reduce copyright barriers.

Tools such as Suno and AIVA can help faculty and IDs prototype course intro music, reflection music, short transition cues, or instrumental loops. Suno is a AI music generator that creates original music from prompts, while AIVA an AI music assistant that can generate personalized music tracks in more than 250 styles.

However, AI does not remove the need for instructional judgment. Faculty and IDs should still test the music with learners, gather feedback, check accessibility and copyright terms, and revise based on evidence. Research on music and learning is still evolving, especially around which music features work best for specific learners, tasks, and contexts.

Music can open a productive conversation with faculty about the emotional and motivational dimensions of online learning. Many faculty already understand that students need clear objectives, aligned assessments, and organized content. Music adds another question: How should the course feel to learners as they move through it?

This does not mean every course needs music. Rather, music can help faculty think more deeply about attention, engagement, pacing, emotional climate, learner autonomy, and multimedia design. It can also help faculty development move from “how to build content” toward “how to design meaningful learning experiences.” A perspective article explicitly calls for collaboration among artists, instructional designers, learning scientists, and technology experts to build more engaging learning environments through evidence-based practice.

Summary

Music should not be added to online courses simply because it sounds good. It should be integrated because it serves a learning purpose. Across my coauthored work, the key message is that music can support attention, engagement, motivation, and retention when it is intentionally matched to the learner, the task, the context, and the instructional goal.

The evidence is still evolving, but the direction is promising. Earlier reviews showed mixed findings and emphasized the need for more rigorous research, better attention to music characteristics, and more studies in multimedia learning environments. More recent work suggests that music can be beneficial when designed carefully, especially in online learning environments where motivation, emotional connection, and sustained attention are persistent challenges.

📣 For faculty and instructional designers, the best approach is not to “add music everywhere.” The best approach is to design, test, listen to learners, refine, and continue building evidence-based practices.

As you gaze down each path, a question lingers in your mind: “What if I take the leap into the unknown and embrace change—will it lead to a new beginning or a daunting setback?”

It has been said that “Change is the only constant in life.” This timeless quote by Heraclitus resonates deeply as we navigate the unpredictable currents of our organizational lives. Read more →

This curated collection highlights research-informed and practical resources related to music in online learning. The selections include systematic reviews, implementation strategies, multimedia design guidance, and creative tools for developing instructional audio experiences. Together, these resources can help faculty developers and instructional designers make more intentional decisions about when and how music may enhance learner engagement, attention, and instructional design. 

Generative AI may have been used to support information gathering and initial drafting. All final material was reviewed, refined, and approved by human contributors.

Bren Bedford, MNM, SFC®, Web Project Analyst II, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida

Florence Williams, Ph.D., Senior Instructional Designer, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida