If you’re anything like myself, you’re unable to study in complete and utter silence. For me, there’s something about silence which encourages loud thoughts to emerge rather than effective studying. This isn’t to say that all music is appropriate for studying. Once I decided to listen to the Rocky Balboa Theme Song with the presumption that it would motivate me. Instead, I found myself intensely air-jogging, unable to concentrate on my work. For this reason, I’ve decided to choose some suitable study playlists here which are all available on Spotify. I hope they will act as first class honour playlists.
Intense Studying
This is the classic classical choice for students. It boasts such famous composers as Mozart, Bach and Beethoven. It wouldn’t particularly appeal to me however my mother swears that listening to classical music while she was pregnant made me smarter so if that’s anything to go by, perhaps this is a good option.
Indie Chillout
This is a very laid back playlist for those indie lovers. Whilst the songs are comprised of lyrics, they’re not overbearing enough to distract from study in my opinion. The likes of Hippo Campus, Local Natives and Petit Biscuit are included within this playlist. Petit Biscuit’s ‘Sunset Lover’ was essentially my #1 Leaving Certificate study song which puts this playlist in the category of study playlists in my eyes.
Deep House Relax
This is the playlist for those who would like to listen to non-lyrical music without resorting to classical. These modern, funky, electronic sounds can really help focus the mind. House music can be as great at getting your mind going as it is at getting the crowd going at the Red Bull Stage at Electric Picnic.
UpBeat Study Music
Here’s a playlist which will only suit a few types of students. Many of these songs have lyrics and stray far from the idea of study music as classical, slow paced pieces. Featured favourite artists and bands include Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Milky Chance. One of my favourite songs “Drowning Butterflies” by Bipolar Sunshine also appears. As a result of its upbeat nature, I do find that this playlist is more effective for doing mindless rote learning rather than creative academic pursuits.
Cinematic Chillout
Recommended to me by a friend, this playlist is comprised of songs from numerous television show and film scores. I find my studying is very effective when I listen to film scores, some of my favourites being The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Rose), Kill Your Darlings (Nico Mulhy) and Interstellar (Hans Zimmer). Cinematic Chillout is good as it assembles some of the best tracks from film and television into one beautiful, melodic playlist.
WARNING TO ALL: Ensure that your earphones aren’t up too loud. It will damage your hearing, and possibly, your reputation in the library (I may have been caught listening to My Neck, My Back too loudly in the library on a couple of occasions).