Music for productive study

There’s always been a great debate on whether music can help you study or be a distraction. A lot of us students listen to music while we study, and most of us can agree that it actually can help us concentrate and not get distracted by other devices or other things, but some music with lyrics can. I have found myself accidentally zoning out or writing a lyric instead of what I was supposed to write, even stopping to silently dance to a song.

However, I’ve discovered that a good way to study with music is by listening to more classical, orchestral music, old jazz, music with little to no singing, or even themed ambiences from YouTube. It might sound silly or unappealing but for me, music that is relaxing or has hardly any lyrics can help set the vibe and get me in a better mood. Below are some songs, composers and albums I listen to while studying:

With classical and orchestral music, I prefer to listen to music from different movies that I love instead of those like Mozart and Beethoven. There are some amazing scores from great films including these for us nerds:  

1. Harry Potter (2001-2011) – with many different composers for the movies: John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, Alexandre Desplat.
2. Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) & The Hobbit (2012-2014) – Howard Shore
3. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003-2017) - Hans Zimmer (who also composed the music for The Lion King, Gladiator, Inception, Dunkirk and more) and Geoff Zanelli (2017)
4. Star Wars (1977-2019) – John Williams
5. Hidden Figures (2016) – Hans Zimmer
6. We Bought A Zoo (2011) - Jónsi
7. Marvel films
8. Any Disney movie
9. and more…  

Other composers include Danny Elfman, James Newton Howard, Harry Gregson Williams and Thomas Newman.

Some songs that have lyrics but are more alternative and relaxing:

• Pink Moon, Time Has Told Me, Road by Nick Drake
• Carousel,  Passing Afternoon, Such Great Heights, and Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine
• Motion Sickness by Phoebe Bridges
• Green Eyes, Magic, Sparks by Coldplay
• Anchor by Novo Amor
• Midnight Starlet by Foy Vance
• Cherry by Harry Styles

Old New Orleans jazz from the 50s and 60s:

• What a Wonderful World, La Vie En Rose, A Kiss to Build a Dream On, Summertime, by Louis Armstrong
• I’ll Be Seeing You, Blue Moon, Solitude, and You Go to my Head by Billie Holiday
• It’s Been A Long, Long Time by Harry James and Kitty Kallen
• Dream a Little Dream of Me, Summertime, Check to Check by Ella Fitzgerald

Ambience/ASMR music and sounds:

There is an abundant number of weird things you can find on YouTube if you just search for it. Some videos my nerdy self has found include:

• Library ambience (sometimes with the sounds of a storm outside)
• Harry Potter ambience (library, common room, courtyard, great hall, with accompanying music)
• Lord of the Rings ambience (different towns like Hobbiton or Rivendell, with accompanying music)
• Pirate ship ambience (creaking and storm sounds)
• Cottage ambience
• Old music playing from another room (and it’s raining)

These songs and ambiences can be relaxing and beat the stress and anxiety a lot of us get while studying or prepping for an exam, all the while improving focus and getting into the zone. I hope you find these helpful also!