At the end of 2020, I decided to become closer to music. As virtually everyone posted their Spotify Wrapped, a yearly summary of your top tunes, I examined my own yearly rundown. I quickly found out that I hadn’t listened to much variety in terms of artists or genre, nor had I listened to many hours of music to begin with. As the people around me spoke about how creating playlists allowed them to discover more music that they loved and enjoyed, I decided to embark on my own Apple Music journey.
First, I cleared up my music library. Over the years, my account had become extremely cluttered and unorganized. I yearned to start fresh on a brand new slate, once and for all. As I scrolled through hundreds of old songs, an idea flashed into my mind: making a playlist with just old hits—songs and albums that I loved from years ago that still lived in my music library. Instead of deleting these throwbacks, I decided to dedicate an entire playlist to them. And with that, I created my first playlist in this little music project of mine.
After I compiled all of my older songs into one place, my library looked a lot more organized and approachable. After this, I decided to begin creating playlists for my favorite artists. First, I began with my favorite singer and lyricist: Ariana Grande. Ariana Grande’s music represents my love for pop, so I also included other pop songs in this playlist. At the end of this process, I found that I had collected not only my favorite Ariana Grande songs, but so many more of the same type. This later became my pop playlist, one filled with songs both new and old, and from pop artists of all different backgrounds and niches. To find new songs, I listened to pre-made playlists provided by Apple, or from Apple Radio. From this experience, I found that pinpointing a favorite artist of yours at the start of making a new playlist really helps you discover and include songs from other singers who also fall under the same category.
Next, I decided to make playlists based on different moods and vibes. For example, prior to this new playlist journey, I would listen to anything that popped up first in my music library (which rarely happened to be a song that matched my mood at the time). For example, it doesn’t make much sense to listen to slow R&B when you’re in the mood for an upbeat dance party with your friends. For this reason, I decided to cater to my different moods by making a playlist for each one. I began with a playlist labeled “calm,” which I have been listening to when I am stressed or overwhelmed. Conversely, I created a playlist named “lit” which has all of the tunes I need when I am driving or with my friends.
Lastly, I decided to make playlists for different parts of my day. While these types of playlists can potentially overlap with the mood/vibes playlists that I discussed previously, it is worthwhile to have music collections dedicated to your routine. For example, music can help motivate college students as they do homework or study for tests. On the other hand, some music can also serve as nice background noise as you’re getting ready for your school day. With this in mind, I decided to make three playlists dedicated to my daily routine: “morning inspo,” “study,” and “rewind.” In my “morning inspo” playlist, I have a mix of calm songs, inspiring songs, and songs with meaningful lyrics that starts my day off with high spirits. For my “study” playlist, I have a collection of piano and string instrument tunes, meditation music, and other types of music dedicated to keeping me focused. And finally, for my “rewind” playlist which I tend to listen to at the end of my school days or on weekends, I include a series of upbeat and exciting rap songs that keep my energy high and serve as a reward for hard work.
As a result of my newfound playlist-making experience, I am finally happy with my entire music library. I’ve found that by committing some time to create the best collections of songs catered to my daily whereabouts, I have been much more motivated and excited to continue exploring new music of all kinds. I hope that by reading my story, you learned some ways in which you can build your own musical reservoir, one filled with your favorite artists and genres, as well as collections that perfectly fit the framework of your daily routine.
Want to keep up with HCBU? Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, check out our Pinterest board, and read our latest Tweets!