Noise Canceling Music: Reducing Noise by a Mixing it with Suitable Music

Ambient noise is part of our daily life, and sometimes such noise can be bothersome. To reduce noise exposure, people usually listen to music through headphones and earphones or use noise-canceling devices. However, these measures can block some important information that the users do not want to miss. We propose a method called “noise-canceling music” that reduces the subjective sound magnitude of the noise when it is mixed with suitable music. The results of the experimental tests confirm that the perceived sound magnitude of noise decreases when it is mixed with suitable music. However, the method was not effective when perceptions of music were different.