- EDUopinions suggests using music playlists to enhance independent study effectiveness and relieve stress during studying.
- Instrumental playlists like Instrumental Study and Peaceful Retreat help maintain focus without distracting lyrics.
- Discover Weekly and Release Radar offer new music tailored to your taste, ideal for those who prefer songs with lyrics.
- Creating your own playlist allows for personalisation, combining favourite songs to suit your study and relaxation needs.
Before I started university, I used to study, revise, and do my homework in complete silence, apart from the brief stirrings coming from my parents and siblings. However, I found it difficult to complete the tasks that were given to me, especially when it came to independent revision. I was informed that listening to music might help me with this problem, but it took until my university studies for me to find playlists suited to my studying needs, but once I found some (which I will share with you nearer the end of this article) my independent studying ability increased dramatically. EDUopinions’ goal with this article is to try and help you avoid the 2-3 years of waiting to discover the perfect playlist and to give you a few ideas for listening material.
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1. Instrumental Study
This playlist, which is made specifically for studying, uses mostly piano and acoustic guitar instrumentals which are very calming. This playlist is also entirely instrumental – meaning there are no lyrics, so you can’t get distracted singing along to the music. If you want a playlist to help you relieve stress and keep you calm while completing your work, this is the one for you.
2. Chilled Jazz & Jazz Vibes
A playlist that is ideal for fans of brass instruments, ‘Chilled Jazz’ and ‘Jazz Vibes’ both contain songs that are soothing to listen to. If you are looking for a relaxing playlist, ‘Chilled Jazz’ would probably be your choice, whereas if you want a playlist with more upbeat songs ‘Jazz Vibes’ is a good choice. Either way, both playlists keep you on track with your work and won’t distract you from the task at hand.
3. Peaceful Retreat
The ‘Peaceful Retreat’ playlist can double up as a meditation playlist. It is filled with relaxing songs and natural sounds that you could imagine being in a nature documentary. With no voiceover or singing, this playlist will keep you productive and allow you to focus solely on your work. However, if you decide to use this playlist as a meditation tool, I would advise not using it to study as well and using one of the other suggested playlists instead.

4. Discover Weekly/Release Radar/New Music Friday
All the above playlists contain songs that are mostly just instrumentals apart from the odd few tracks in the ‘Jazz Vibes’ playlist, which has generally been shown to be more effective for independent work than songs with lyrics. However, personally, when I am working I like to listen to songs with lyrics, and I also like to listen to new music. ‘Discover Weekly’ is a playlist that contains songs that you haven’t listened to before, based on your past music taste,=. ‘Release Radar’ is similar, but just contains music that has been released recently, according to your own music taste. ‘New Music Friday’ contains mostly chart music that has been released recently. These three playlists are updated weekly, so you will always have new music to listen to while you are studying.
5. Create Your Own
If none of the playlists I have mentioned appeal to you, maybe it would be better to make your own playlist. Personally, this is what I did, I created a playlist with all my favourite songs called ‘Peng 4.0’, this way you can update it whenever you want, get rid of any songs you dislike, and mould it to be exactly how you want it, be that with relaxing stress relieving songs, or upbeat motivational ones. You could even compile all your favourite songs from all the playlists mentioned and create your own playlist from these.
To conclude, whether you are studying for an exam, researching for a project, doing homework, or even working, a playlist that suits your needs can greatly improve your productivity and efficiency of your work. I would suggest having a brief listen to all the playlists mentioned above as you may find at least one to be helpful to you. However, sometimes when I am working, I prefer to listen to podcasts rather than music, which could be an interesting avenue to investigate if you haven’t found any of the playlists suggested useful. Good luck and happy studying!
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