Welcome back to The Hoot recommends, the series where The Hoot recommends stuff to you. As midterm season approaches (far too quickly, in our opinion), Brandeis students will soon find themselves cramming through notes, reviewing readings, making flashcards, and whatever else helps them study. Since a little music can help get through one of the many study sessions that feel like they never end, we at The Hoot would like to share our favorite study music.
Yochanan: Looking through my plethora of well-filled playlists, I would actually say it’s my Spotify-generated 50-track “Relaxing Mix” with many niche artists that aren’t too exciting and don’t distract me from my study. But I say this with a bit of chagrin that the songs mainly suck.
Anna Jane: I really can’t listen to music while I study. I like music too much and easily get distracted. I can only really listen to music if there are no words, but last year I started listening to music as long as it wasn’t in English. I don’t get distracted by the words if they don’t mean anything to me. So I never really listen to music, but if I do it is probably some sort of Spanish music.
James: I don’t listen to music. Not just when I’m studying, but in general. I don’t hate music or anything. I enjoy songs when they’re playing in the background, but I never really listen to it on my own. When I’m in my car, I listen to sports radio. I certainly don’t listen to any music when I’m studying; it’s hard enough to concentrate as it is. Although if I had to pick study music, it would almost certainly be Queen.
Liam: Hot take: ASMR. I love upbeat pop music and pretty much only listen to that, but when I’m feeling low energy, I adore ASMR. I don’t listen to anything low energy, so when I’m overstimulated, I pop on some chill tapping ASMR and lock in. Anything basic and pop typically works for me, but it’s all I save on Spotify. I also love Israeli and French pop, and ASMR in other languages can be really satisfying.
Richard: My go to music for when I have to center my focus on writing a paper or studying for an exam is movie scores. Some of my most common listens are the themes from “Rocky,” “The Godfather,” and Hans Zimmer’s masterful score from “The Dark Knight.” Also one of my favorite listens when I’m locking in is anything by Ludwig Göransson. He’s worked on “Sinners,” “The Mandalorian,” and the “Black Panther” movies, among many others. Definitely worth giving him a listen when you need some study music.
Berenice: While I find that not listening to music is best for focusing, it is sometimes hard to feel motivated without some music to make studying more enjoyable. Generally, I would recommend music without lyrics, but if music with lyrics is needed, I highly recommend listening to music in a language other than the one you are working in to reduce the distracting effect of the lyrics.
