Here’s a Study Playlist for Ultimate Productivity, According to Science

And no, it’s not just classical music and nature sounds.

You’ve probably chucked on a study playlist on Spotify or YouTube before and been assaulted by a strange mix of Baroque music, birdsong, and lo-fi beats.

Each to their own—but you might be looking for tunes that are a little more to your taste or of the time. And, of course, they need to help you focus.

We’ve broken down the key features of what makes study music effective and made some track suggestions with their own youthful spin. Plus, you can listen to it all in our Spotify Playlist at the end of the article!

Instead of classical music—try film music and orchestral covers.

The main reason why your study playlist might actually be decreasing your productivity is because there are simply too many words.

Our brains will tune into the lyrics of a song and shift our focus from the work we’re doing to figuring out what someone’s saying. Research from Cambridge Sound Management shows that speech distracts about 48% of office workers.

Film scores

You could pick a movie you’ve recently seen and pop on the full, wordless soundtrack. Not only will the music easily slip into the background, but you may feel transported to Hogwarts, the planet Dune or La La Land (which keeps things interesting).

Key tracks: “On The Nature Of Daylight” from Arrival (2016), “Epiphany” from Soul (2020), “Hand Covers Bruise” from The Social Network (2010), “Married Life” from Up (2009), “Romantic Flight” from How To Train Your Dragon (2010).

Pop covers

Remember how Bridgerton was packed full of classical covers of bangers?

This is an alternative to caving and putting on your pop faves, as all the words are removed. The Vitamin String Quartet, Brooklyn Duo and 2Cellos perform some great covers.

Key tracks: “Girls Like You” by Vitamin String Quartet, “Love Me Like You Do” by Brooklyn Duo, “Thunderstruck” by 2Cellos.

Orchestral bands

If you wanna hear some unfamiliar tunes, there are plenty of orchestral and ambient bands with beautiful pieces that won’t bore you. Pop on a song radio for any of these tracks and you’ll get lost in it for hours.

Key tracks: “To Build A Home” by The Cinematic Orchestra, “Arrival of the Birds” by The Cinematic  Orchestra, “Saturn” by Sleeping At Last.

Instead of ASMR and nature sounds—try softly produced pop and folk.

Have you noticed that a lot of pop music is getting more and more whispery?

This is largely due to the Billie Eilish effect, who is known for her trademark closeness to the mic. You can hear every ‘p’ pop and every elegant ‘t’.

This is your answer to avoiding rain or fireplace sounds. According to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the reason ‘natural elements’ in music boosts focus is because it doesn’t distract you and optimises the ability to concentrate.

So why not swap out those spine-tingling, gentle noises with musicians who create them for a living? You’ll often be able to find these kind of artists in the folk genre, but there’s plenty out there.

Key tracks: “When The Party’s Over” by Billie Eilish, “Savior Complex” by Phoebe Bridgers, “Heartbeats” by Jose Gonzalez, “Between the Bars” by Elliot Smith, “Petrichor” by Keaton Henson, “Sick of Losing Soulmates” by dodie.

Instead of ‘binaural beats’—try electronic and ambient tracks.

There’s heaps of videos on YouTube titled “binaural beats to increase brain power”, even going so far as to promise “super intelligence”. They’re essentially deep, bassy, thumping repetitions designed to maintain your focus.

But let’s be real—I don’t wanna feel like I’m galloping for two hours while I study. Check out some electronic and ambient artists who create repetitive, cyclical tracks that have the same effect.

Key tracks: “Ambient 1: Music For Airports” album by Brian Eno, “Selected Ambient Works 85-92” album by Aphex Twin, “american dream” album by LCD Soundsystem.

Because we love to see you work smarter not harder, we’ve compiled all of this into a big fat playlist for ya. Pop it on for your next study sesh and let the music work its magic!

Header image: Giphy and Spotify.