Music is one of the best ways to help you focus, but only for certain subjects. For those that are more content-heavy and require memorization, you might want to turn your speakers off. Studies have shown that listening to practically any type of music while trying to memorize information is detrimental. For every other subject, the following songs are not only good quality music, but also will help you focus and study better. They’re not overwhelming electronic beats, but they’re not flimsy flute solos either. They’re meant to help you focus, not fall asleep.
1) Piano Concerto in D Minor- Bach: if study music were food, this would be pure protein. Countless studies have shown classical music to be the best to study to, especially Baroque. Plus whenever I listen to Bach, I can practically feel my IQ rise twenty points.
2) Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymtic- Isaac Hayes: Think your vocab term list is difficut to memorize? At least you don’t have jazz pianist Isaac Hayes as your English teacher.
3) Heartless (Kanye West Cover)- William Fitzsimmons: normally I love hip hop, but when I’m trying to recall all of the Chinese dynasties, the loud beats and lyrics can become a little distracting. Thanks to William Fitzsimmons, his soft acoustic guitar and his even softer crooning, you can listen to an awesome cover of a decent Kanye song (And I promise you, it’s a lot better than The Fray’s cover of the same song)
4) Intro- The Xx: Or, for that matter, anything by the Xx. This British band has an amazing, introverted sound that helps even the most restless mind focus. I picked “Intro” mostly because it has no vocals, but they also just released a great demo song, “Open Eyes,” that sound amazing as well.
5) Crosses- José González: Another great acoustic guitarist, González’s calming voice and lyrics can de-stress you upon the very first chord. The soft guitar will make you want to put this song on repeat.
6) The Wind- Cat Stevens: This song is a short and sweet minute and 42 seconds, but that doesn’t stop “The Wind” from giving you a brief, 70’s-style tranquil moment in the midst of chaotic note-taking and fact-memorizing.
7) Derwentwater Stones- Robin Pecknold: The frontman for Indie band Fleet Foxes is now doing a solo project of making folksy songs, and by the sounds of “Derwentwater Stones,” it seems to be working out pretty well for him. When I say folksy, I don’t mean banjo and bluegrass, but rather beautiful lyrics. (a much better definition of folksy)
8) Nightlife- Phantogram: To make up your lack of one during midterms, “Nightlife” serves as a peaceful break from Phantogram’s usual electo trip-pop junk. It’s refreshing until you listen closely to the angsty lyrics, but hopefully you’ll be too busy studying to do that!
