Like any other student, when I study, I study hard. When I’m getting ready for exams, I am locked up in the library for hours on end, listening to my extremely well-thought-out study playlist, and unlocking my full studying potential. I’ve had mixed reactions to my playlists, since many people can’t seem to understand why I listen to what I do. To give you some understanding of how I study, I’ll tell you what was in my most recent study playlist. I listened to “Test Drive” from How to Train Your Dragon, “Cornfield Chase” from Interstellar, and “Main Title” from The Queen’s Gambit on repeat for hours on end.
I swear there’s a method to my madness. At some point, I realized that I look forward to listening to new songs, and I get distracted listening to what will come up on my playlist next. In order to concentrate, I can’t be surprised by what I’ll be listening to next. I also like listening to scores rather than songs because lyrics tend to be distracting for me. I understand that this method doesn’t work for everyone, since everyone studies in different ways. For this reason, I thought I would provide some suggestions for making the perfect study playlist curated towards you.
UNDERSTAND HOW YOU CONCENTRATE
Study playlists are meant to help you concentrate to your full potential, which means they are highly curated to the person listening to it. The best way to figure out what makes you concentrate is to find what distracts you, and choose songs that oppose that. Many people find lyrics distracting, so they choose to include songs in their playlist that either don’t have any lyrics (like a movie score, which is what I use personally), or a song that is in a language you don’t understand.
Madeline Chung, a 1B Chemical Engineering student, studies to DJ sets on YouTube. Some of her favourites are the Charli XCX Boiler Room set (specifically the first one), the Frost Children Lot Radio set, and even a video called “60 Minutes of Deranged Internet Music DJing.” Maddy emphasizes, “The thing is that it’s constantly changing. I [can’t listen] to the same thing for too long.”
As for the music itself, Maddy says she needs “loud, distracting beats.” A lot of the songs played in the sets she listens to include various songs she enjoys, but the key point that helps her concentrate is the fact that it is constantly changing. “It blocks part of my brain that would otherwise start to wander,” Maddy explains. When you are curating your playlist, consider what parts of the music you listen to are actually beneficial to you. In my case, I ignore music if I have already listened to it many times, so repeating the same songs over and over again actually helps.
USE YOUR RESOURCES TO FIND MORE SONGS
We live in an age where social media provides us with an extremely personal algorithm full of recommendations it thinks we will like. Not only do music apps like Spotify and Apple Music recommend songs for you based on what you tend to listen to, but you can find things on social media as well. I can’t even begin to count how many times I heard a song on TikTok that I found calming, and decided to add it to the playlist.
Maddy follows a similar principle, using the recommendations given to her by the YouTube algorithm. She explains the steps she takes every day, “I go to my Youtube homepage. Because I listen to these DJ sets so often, there ought to be at least one new one on my homepage. I listen to it, and if I don’t like it, then there’s always my [usual] sets on the sidebar.” She even goes through the Boiler Room channel, and similar channels, to find new sets. Once a set has been deemed perfect, she adds it to her regular list.
CONSIDER MAKING MULTIPLE PLAYLISTS
Sometimes you’re just not in the mood to work, or maybe you feel like listening to a different genre of songs than usual. It’s helpful to make a few playlists that work for whatever environment you find yourself in and the mood you’re in. For example, if I’m studying in a loud place, I’ll choose louder songs to help me drown out the noise. If I really need to focus on nothing but studying, I will use my extreme, repetitive, movie soundtrack playlist.
Another reason I chose the exact combination of three pieces in my playlist is because of the vibe each of them have. “Test Drive” is motivating, and unconsciously makes me write faster and focus harder. “Cornfield Chase” starts off quieter than “Test Drive”, and slowly transitions to a higher surge of music. It’s the perfect transition into “Main Title”, which I could only describe as stressful. When I hear the harsh strings in that piece, I know it’s time to work hard. When the playlist loops back to “Test Drive”, I feel a sense of accomplishment, which helps me continue studying.
What helped Maddy adapt her playlist was developing a routine with her studying. She’s been listening to the Charli XCX PARTYGIRL set since high school, so it is virtually impossible for her to not study while listening to it. “I feel like I’ve ‘Pavloved’ myself. When I hear those sirens at the beginning of the video, I know it’s time to lock in.”
I know so many people who have a wide range of quirky playlists that work for them. As you begin a new term and get ready to study, take the time to understand what you need to listen to while studying to unlock your full potential. Don’t be afraid to test out new playlists and songs, and once you find what works, stick to it and get studying!
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