Many people need absolute silence to study. I am definitely not one of those people; in fact, I have trouble concentrating unless there’s some sort of noise around. I pick music according to my needs at the time— if I feel like I am on the verge of screaming wildly due to stress, I’ll put something calming on. If I feel like I’m on the verge of falling asleep onto my textbooks, I’ll put something upbeat on. In general, music makes studying feel a lot less like a chore! This is what I like to listen to when I am doing work:
1. Rainy Mood
I love rain. I love the smell of it, and especially the sound of it. That’s why Rainy Mood is a lifesaver! This site has been playing soothing rain sounds in the background of my life ever since I was in middle school. I always use the desktop app, which just features a pause/play button and a volume slider. Apparently, though, if you download the mobile app, you get additional features like the option to add the sound of the ocean or the hum of conversation in a café.
Another great thing about Rainy Mood is that you can put it under music for max soothingness! The Rainy Mood site hyperlinks to different music that sounds good with rain sounds every day.
2. Instrumental music
Lyrics can be kind of distracting, so I mostly listen to instrumental music when I’m doing something that demands concentration. Movie soundtracks are great; one of my personal favorites is the soundtrack to Pride and Prejudice (2005). Video game soundtracks are also great; the soundtracks to any of the Animal Crossing games or the Legend of Zelda games are some of my favorites.
Also, if you like video game music and you aren’t listening to Carlos Eiene, then what are you even doing? He’s a college student who posts great jazz arrangements of video game music every week. He also does collaborations with a lot of other cool musicians!
3. Non-instrumental music
Sometimes, though, music with lyrics can help keep me awake. Recently, I have been listening to a lot of Kero Kero Bonito. They have great music for both of my moods: Depression and Kawaii. It’s hard not to get distracted by their flashy music videos, though…