What do you listen to when you study? Lofi? Pop? OSTs? Metal? Do you push through utter, dead silence? Does it even matter?

While everyone’s experiences will differ, there are a couple patterns that I’ve noticed during my (pretty epic) academic arc from the beginning of tenth grade to now my final year in high school and I thought I would share some helpful tips from my own experience.

As a major music nerd who’s dabbled in a little bit of everything from punk rock to Shostakovich during study sessions, I’ve narrowed down the music that works best for me as I study. But before I dive into exactly what kind of music I listen to, there’s an essential question I need to answer first that will determine whether or not you even want to read the rest of this article.

What Makes Study Music “Effective”?

The short answer is that it should help you focus.

The long answer is that the energy of the music should match the level of the task. Studying a high-energy topic or learning complex concepts for the first time requires low energy music that helps you focus on understanding. On the flip side, if you’re simply maintaining current knowledge, high energy music keeps you alert and motivated.

Take my struggles with physics for example. While learning about complex concepts like uniform circular acceleration and Newton’s Laws, I put on low attention background music. When I feel confident in my skills, I turn on the high energy music that matches my mood. If I switch the two, I feel distracted or bored.

Honorable Mention: Video Game OSTs

Any gamer can tell you about a time where they gamed for a little longer than they intended. Games are designed to keep you hooked; that includes the music.

Video game companies have teams of professional music and sound developers to create immersive and intriguing audio. Similar to cinema, a good soundtrack changes a simple game into a memorable one, creating immersion and “setting the atmosphere” (see source 1). As a general idea, “good” music invokes emotion. In the context of gaming, it helps reinforce narrative, mood, and foreshadow. But the important part here is immersion. Games are meant to be addictive, to pull you in and keep you there.

When used in the right contexts, we can use this beautifully designed music to our advantage. Studying to video game soundtracks can make you feel fully immersed (almost addicted, if you will) in your studies. It can invoke a subconscious sense of suspense or joy, depending on which one you choose. But err on the side of caution; if you choose a game that you play often, you might want to just play the game instead of studying. I usually pick games that I’ve had minimal contact with.

Here are the soundtracks I stick with:

• Stardew Valley – relaxing
• Minecraft – very slow, pretty relaxing
• Super Mario – upbeat and exciting (and also very iconic!)

High Energy Music

When Should I Play High Energy Music?

You should play high energy music when you’re feeling tired, sluggish, or feeling unmotivated but you know the concepts. High energy music will get you through the boredom of endless practice problems and blurting sessions.

When NOT to Play High Energy Music

• when you are trying to learn complex concepts
• writing or reading dense material
• when you are already in a heavy state of panic

Recommendations

The key is to try something new; there’s no risk to listening to new music and you might just find your new favorite song if you open your mind a little and consider some other genres. Keep your mind and your ears open as you browse this list!

It would take forever to list every song, so this is a boiled-down, condensed, evaporated and heavily filtered list sorted by genre. For the artists with nothing written after the name, I simply just couldn’t pick a few things to recommend and I’ll leave it to you to explore.

(Disclaimer: I don’t keep up with artists’ personal lives or know enough about their beliefs or actions to take any stances – I simply like their art. This list is not representative of my beliefs or values.)

Pop and Pop Rock

• Taylor Swift albums: Reputation, Lover, 1989, Red, Speak Now
• Sabrina Carpenter albums: Emails I Can’t Send (and all albums since then)
• Olivia Rodrigo albums: Guts
• Tate Mcrae: SO CLOSE TO WHAT, i used to think I could fly
• Conan Gray: Kid Krow, Found Heaven

Alternative

• Arctic Monkeys albums: AM, Favorite Worst Nightmare
• The Neighborhood: Sweater Weather, Daddy Issues
• Pink Floyd album: Brick in the Wall
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Neon Trees: Everybody Talks

Punk Rock, Grunge, and Metal

• My Chemical Romance albums: Black Parade, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
• 5 Seconds of Summer
• Nirvana: Nevermind
• Green Day
• Fall Out Boy
• Metallica

Older Rock

• Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites the Dust, Killer Queen, I Want to Break Free, Don’t Stop Me Now, We Will Rock You, The Show Must Go On
• ACDC: The Razor’s Edge

Classical

(I’m a violinist, so this might be a bit biased)

• Beethoven: 5th Symphony
• Dvorak: 4 Romantic Pieces No. 2
• Johann Wolfgange von Goethe: Erlkonig
• Mozart
• Shostakovich
• Tchaikovsky
• Paganini
• Vivaldi: Four Seasons
• Liszt
• Stravinsky

OSTs

• Super Mario Bros
• Papa Louie 2 OST

Low Energy Music

When You Should Play Low Energy Music

You should play low energy music when you need something in the background, but you also need to enter a deep level of focus instead of a sense of flow and movement.

This is helpful when you’re learning something new and need to concentrate, or when you’re focusing.

When NOT To Play Low Energy

• when you’re about to fall asleep
• when you’re bored
• if you really like the song and it’ll distract you

Recommendations

Some of these are albums, some are songs, some are pieces! Flip through and explore on your own.

(Disclaimer again: I don’t keep up with artists’ personal lives or know enough about their beliefs or actions to take any stances – I simply like their art. This list is not representative of my beliefs or values.)

Pop and Pop Rock

• Taylor Swift: Folklore, Evermore, TTPD, Midnights (my personal favorite!)
• Conan Gray: Wishbone
• Billy Joel: Vienna
• Lyn Lapid: The Outsider EP

Indie and Alt: 

• Tame Impala: Feels Like We Only Go Backwards, The Less I Know The Better
• The Strokes albums: The New Abnormal, First Impressions of Earth, Is This It
• Peach Pit
• Mac DeMarco
• TV Girl
• Cigarettes After Sex album: Cry
• Mile High Club: Homage
• Wallows: These Days, Are You Bored Yet
• Laufey: Clockwork, Everything I Know About Love

Classical:

• Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata
• Debussy
• Haydn (NOT THE SURPRISE SYMPHONY THOUGH.)
• Saint Saens: Le Cygne (The Swan)

Sources: 1