I love listening to music. Whether it’s in the car ride to Oswego, walking across campus, or before I go to bed, music has always been there for me. It allows me to distract my mind if I become stressed with college work and my favorite songs never fail to brighten up my day. Although, when I do homework, there is a certain genre of music in my opinion that keeps me on track.
Whenever I say the word “instrumental,” many people think I am referring to the Mozart and Beethoven classical music that has recently made its way onto TikTok. Instead of these songs, the instrumentals that I use to study are from my favorite movies and TV shows, more commonly known as soundtracks. For example, some of my favorite soundtracks to listen to are from The Hunger Games, How to Train Your Dragon, Harry Potter, and Loki. I enjoy listening to these songs over classical music because I have watched each of these movies/shows and have my own memories around each one. While I listen to the soundtrack of How to Train Your Dragon, for example, I can see the scenes in my mind where the music occurs. By listening to these songs I enjoy doing my homework more than I would if I was listening to classical music, or nothing at all.
I even listen to soundtrack music while I am writing my novel. Every day I try to type 1,000 words within my work-in-progress novel, Queen of Thorns, and listening to the same music each time creates a pattern that makes the writing go quicker. The music that I listen to during writing is a selection of soundtracks from the animated kids TV show Ninjago. It can be seen as childish, but this is a show that I grew up watching with my brother, and have many fond memories of. By writing to this music, I can relive those happy moments and have a smile on my face while I’m typing away on my computer. It transforms writing 1,000 words from laborous to enjoyful, just from the music that plays through my headphones.
I would highly recommend taking one of your favorite soundtracks from a movie or show and listening to it while you are studying or completing homework. It changes your mindset about the work and keeps you motivated to finish what you started.