Happy Sunday!

It's December, and we all know what that means: exam-taking, last-minute studying, and stress. And if you're like me, you'll want to alleviate some of that stress - for instance, by listening to music.

But I get so distracted by the type of music I typically listen to. You can bet I'll stop studying if a Hamilton song comes on in my playlist.

Today, I'm bringing to you six fantastic, mostly wordless albums for you to listen to while you're studying for that final. But honestly, they work well in any situation where you need to focus on your work: writing, cleaning, in the middle of your Zoom class, etc.

This has been my ultimate school soundtrack for the past two years. As most of you probably know, Big Hero 6 is about college students, so that automatically helps make the music even more relevant. However, its atmosphere also makes this album perfect for doing homework. 

No, I don't know why that text is centered. I tried to fix it and Blogger wouldn't cooperate. XD

Some tracks are very electronic (like Microbots), some are very chill (like Inflatable Friend), and some are mildly intense and motivational (like Big Hero 6, which is the actual name of a song in the album). There's a little bit of everything!

The video below plays Nerd School, which is equal parts motivational and chill:

Somehow, this soundtrack manages to combine the beauty of movie soundtracks and the feeling of lofi, and it's AMAZING. Granted, it can be sad at times, but it's so calming and peaceful that it's great for any study session or chill writing time.

My personal favorites from this soundtrack include:

- lvs: one of those songs that has the feeling of lofi, yet isn't lofi

- frc: one of the most intense songs in the album that'll really ignite your fear of homework deadlines XD

- lit(var), which you can listen to below. :)

Minecraft follows the trend of a lot of video game music in that it was created to be atmospheric, not distracting. Many of the tracks fade in and out, providing for seamless transitions between them. They're all very simple and relaxing - that is, except for the few songs that play whenever monsters approach, or the occasional jarring electronic piece. Beware of those. XD

Even if you've never played Minecraft before, you've definitely heard some of the most iconic songs, like Sweden, a calm piano track. I also really love Beginning, one song that fades in at the beginning and fades out at the end. My favorite, though, is the song Minecraft, which gives me A Silent Voice vibes:

All right, so this technically isn't a soundtrack. Cursedsnake is an electronic music composer that I found on Spotify. And while I haven't listened to ALL his songs - because he has a lot of them - they're great soundtracks for when you're writing or researching a paper.

My personal favorites, Calm and Sunrays, both have slow buildups, and their beats are simple yet perfect for background music.

yes, they're my favorites because they're used in Geometry Dash levels, why do you ask

Remember how I said that Cursedsnake was great for writing papers? The Death Note soundtrack is like that, but more intense. I listened to this soundtrack quite a bit while writing papers - the music made me feel like I was a genius detective doing important work that would change the world. It's very hard to explain. XD 

Also, I'd suggest you listen to piano versions of the soundtrack, because otherwise it's super intense. There's a great album called L's Theme (The Greatest Instrumental Themes from Death Note) by Anime Kei that I highly recommend.

My absolute favorite song out of this entire soundtrack is L's Theme. It's what I would classify as Serious Piano Music, and I'm listening to an hour-long loop of it now. XD Here's a much shorter clip of it:

I don't personally use these soundtracks too much because its nostalgia distracts me, but one of my friends SWEARS that the MarioKart soundtrack helped her write her essay quickly. *shrugs* I'm taking her word for it. XD

Also, if you need something repetitive to play in the background, I HIGHLY recommend the ten-hour Wii theme song video, which I've "helpfully" linked down below. I got through five hours of it in two days and then needed to stop because I thought I would go insane.

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So yeah! These are essentially the soundtracks that got me through my last semester. I'm curious to know what you listen to while studying or writing - there are so many epic soundtracks out there!

If you're still taking exams, best of luck - you've got this! <3 If you're not, then best of luck on whatever project you're working on! :D

-Nicole <3

What soundtracks do you listen to while studying or working? Do you like electronic music? Thoughts on lofi? Let's talk!