We’re coming up on the most stressful and intense time of the year: spring finals. The spring semester has always been more demanding than the fall semester for me, and because of that, I’ve set out to collect study music recommendations from our members here at Her Campus UNCO!
Soundtracks
movie scores
Rose’s go-to study album is The Social Network (2010) score. It’s her favorite because there are no lyrics, plus the soundtrack contains a mix of fast- and slow-paced songs, perfect for keeping her focused but not bored. It’s also long for a soundtrack (sitting at one hour), which helps her make sure she can get one solid hour of work in.
Adrian’s reliable study soundtrack is the Oppenheimer (2023) score. While she’s studying, she pretends that her homework or study session is a bomb, giving her an intense time where she must finish her work before it “detonates.”
Like a lot of us, Jenny also opts for a soundtrack, but she prefers the Oblivion (2013) soundtrack. When she queues up the soundtrack to study, she’s immediately transported into “focus mode” and feels like she’s walking on the remains of Earth or on the moon. Since she loves the soundtrack, she uses it like a study reward.
Video Game soundtracks
Emerson prefers two soundtracks from the same artist: the Undertale and Deltarune soundtracks. Because they know all of the pieces by heart, the songs don’t distract them. Instead, they’re comforting and reliably get them through an assignment. Also, because the soundtracks vary so widely with each song, the difference in musical types lets them focus on studying.
Alana: I have lots of albums I frequent during long writing sessions, but my favorite by far is the original Stardew Valley soundtrack. Stardew Valley is my favorite game, so the lovely beats remind me of a time when I’m not stuck in finals, playing the game and having a fun time.
Casual Listening
Jo’s favorite study music is non-lyrical music, specifically two different kinds. They switch between listening to non-lyrical heavy metal during long, rigorous homework sessions and medieval lofi for background noise to read or write to.
Hannah sticks straight to her childhood core with her favorite study album, the Disneyland Main Street compilation. The compilation is nostalgic for her; she loves the trumpets. It’s non-lyrical nature is perfect because it doesn’t distract her.
Favorite songs
Brooke‘s optimal study method is to pick a song and stick with it, listening to it on repeat. Right now, her favorite is “Evil” by Interpool, an indie rock song.
Like Jo, Julie opts for heavy rock music. She never goes for songs without lyrics and instead makes a playlist of typical rock songs that remind them of their dad. Rock music pushes them through the study session and gives them a reason to push through it so they can help their dad out.
Sasha’s favorite album to do homework to is Bewitched by Laufey. Laufey’s mix of jazz and classic backing music is perfect, and the lyrics are soft enough to be tuned out or paid attention to.
One of a kind studying Methods
Ziven doesn’t have a favorite album or even a favorite type of music, but instead a handy, reliable playlist that they’ve had since 2020. They know all the songs in the playlist already, which stops them from getting distracted, and when a song comes on from 2020 – 2021, it gives them a good moment to cringe and remember their past interests. Plus, having a long playlist gives them a large mix of genres to listen to, adding a nice variety to their playlist.
Maddi opts out of listening to music when she’s studying because she finds herself distracted, singing along to the lyrics too often. Instead, she turns on the TV as background noise to lock in: her favorite show is Survivor.
Everyone at Her Campus UNCO has different music tastes and different approaches to this study season. I certainly know I’ll be switching up my music taste this finals week with a new playlist, and I hope you all take our recommendations and do the same!