09 May 2016

You’ve promised to do your essay tonight. You poise your hands over the keyboard, engage in a staring competition with the screen … but eventually the glare of the blank page proves to be too much, and you dash off a single word before escaping to Facebook for a break.

We’ve all been there. Starting an assignment is hard, and keeping up the momentum after that can seem impossible. Sometimes you need an extra something to shove you down the path of productivity.  Most of the time that ‘something’ is music.

To students, writers, and anyone in need of motivation, here are some music categories that have helped me through even the dreariest of assignments. Perhaps they can do the same for you.

1. Instrumentals

Lyrics are often distracting. The singer’s words tangle with the words you’re trying to write, and if you’re not careful you’ll end up slipping ‘Uptown Funk’ lyrics into your essay on seventeenth-century witch hunts.

To avoid this, listen to songs without words. If your favourite songs have lyrics, then find the instrumental versions. I personally like the instrumental versions of Fall Out Boy’s ‘Immortals’, Sia’s ‘Move Your Body’, and Michael Jackson’s eternally great ‘Beat It’.

Then there are instrumentals that were made to be instrumentals. For example, West One Music has some neat stuff – I’d recommend their ‘Elysian Fields’, which tugs the heartstrings so that you can write with greater passionate conviction. Also, classic pianist Ludovico Einualdi’s ‘Fly’ makes you feel like the world is moving in slow motion. Ahhhhhh…

2. Film Scores

This partially fits under ‘instrumentals’ but deserves its own category because it evokes film worlds. It transports you to those magical lands and makes you temporarily forget that you’re actually stuck at a computer desk in a dark room at 2AM.

The beautiful tracks of Studio Ghibli films whisk you away to surreal spirit worlds and castles in the sky. Try listening to the music of Marvel movies, Lord of the Rings, or anything composed by John Williams. Of course, film music can be fantastic even when it doesn’t take you to wondrous places. ‘Lux Aeterna’ from Requiem For A Dream is my go-to song when I want to get pumped for a project.

3. House Music

I don’t hit the clubs often (confession: I’ve only been once) so my knowledge of electric dance music is limited. I’ll spare you from my embarrassingly outdated suggestions (though I’ll admit I’m a fan of remixes of ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’).

House music is soulful and atmospheric, laden with electronic beats and kick drums. According to my research, there’s many sub genres in House, deep house, tech house, bass house, G-house…. Have a search on Spotify for some playlists and you’d be surprised how groovy and inspiring this music can be.

4. Classical Music

The genius of Bach, Tchaïkovsky, and the rest of the musical elite is sure to bestow you with sophisticated airs. Just make sure you don’t let the music’s grandeur carry your writing from sophistication to pretentiousness, as I am oft wont to do.

I have a long list of favourites, but I shall restrain myself to these chosen few: Chopin’s haunting ‘Waltz in A Minor’, Satie’s calming ‘Gymnopédie No. 1’, Brahms’s dramatic ‘Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98’, and Beethoven’s melancholy ‘Moonlight Sonata’.

5. Video Game Music

Now we come to my dearest writing companion. You don’t even have to be a gamer to appreciate this music. One advantage of video game music is that it’s designed to play on a loop, so you can listen to a song seamlessly over and over again as you write.

You’ll find goldmines of good writing music in the soundtracks of Kingdom Hearts, The Legend of Zelda, Undertale, and Grandia II. A special mention goes to Chrono Cross’s blissfully soothing ‘Dream of the Shore Near Another World’, which was crucial to my survival during Honours year. If you prefer nostalgic 8-bit tunes, look no further than the early Pokémon and Final Fantasy games. I have a soft spot for the NES version of Final Fantasy III’s ‘Town of Ur’ and ‘Boss Battle’.

Look for covers of video game songs too. To name just one cover musician, YouTuber ‘Smooth McGroove’ does some mind-blowing acappella covers that will inspire you to essay-writing success. (I’ve been listening to his cover of Undertale’s ‘Heartache’ while writing this article.)

by Amanda Li