6th November 2023
Listen
Listen
Throughout my GCSEs and A-Levels, I could listen to absolutely any music while studying. A few albums and playlists (I’m looking at you Sad Women Songs) are now so connected to studying, that playing them takes me straight back to the slog of revision.
When I came to uni, that all changed. I returned to my old favourites, only to find that I could no longer study music with lyrics. It was like a switch had flicked over the long summer and I could not go back.
This left me a little clueless about what to do next. I still wanted background noise to study, especially in the library. I went to the pre-made, lo-fi study playlists and found these quite repetitive. They weren’t really aligned with my usual music taste, and after a few months, I had grown bored.
Then came December. As we’re all too aware, this is one of the busiest times for assignments and as a result, I spent a lot of time in the library.
In previous years, I had listened to the score from The Holiday, which is one of my all-time favourite Christmas films. I decided to give this a listen while writing my essays, and it was like an epiphany. Zimmer’s score got me through my December library sessions, and I dread to think quite how many times I played it.
And just like that, Christmas was over. As the January assessment period honed into view, I once again found myself panicking about what I was going to listen to. After the success of The Holiday, I decided to start listening to more scores from my favourite films.
After two 24-hour online exams and a fair amount of trial and error, I’ve managed to work out what makes a good score for me. Long days in the library no longer feel so intimidating, as I’ve finally found the perfect soundtrack to my studies.
I quickly found that I could not have any words at all, or I found it too distracting. For example, The Talented Mr Ripley had a few too many vocals on it. I still love a film soundtrack, but they are reserved for the 699 back from the library.
Soundtracks which sounded too ‘magical’ did not hit the spot for me either. I may have the songs from Wicked might be on heavy rotation, but the score was too fantastical to study to.
I did had a similar problem with Sci-Fi or horror scores like Dune. The sudden noises which brilliantly soundtrack the actual film made me jump, which would be a bit embossing in the Harold Cohen Silent Study Room.
My favourite scores were mainly from lighthearted mystery or adventure films. They have enough pace to give me a sense of urgency about my work, but they don’t feel too invasive. I need a balance between keeping up the tempo, but not being too quick.
I love films set in the mid-20th century, and this is also true of their scores. It helps to give a sense of escapism to a particular moment in time which can be helpful as a history student.
Alexandre Desplat’s score has been hugely popular since The Grand Budapest Hotel’s release, and I can understand why. You get swept up in the film’s fictional alpine setting by the traditional feel of the overall soundtrack. The gentle but relentless pace also helps to keep me working, but without the need to rush.
Paddington was (and probably still is) my favourite film, so I recognise every single beat of the score. While tracks like Duel with the Facilities can be a little distracting, listening to the score is a real source of comfort. The sense of wonder the film conveys is brilliantly encapsulated in the soundtrack, and it can be a great pick-me-up on long or hard days. But, I do have to skip the songs which are embedded into the soundtrack and stick to Nick Urata’s score.
Much like the calm energy of the film, the All of Us Strangers soundtrack is very gentle and barely there. This can be a great option for the moments which require serious concentration, and cancelling out any distracting background noise. Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch shows that scores don’t need to be complex to be excellent.
Like every good murder mystery, See How They Run keeps the audience guessing and every twist can be felt through the score. Daniel Pemberton’s soundtrack keeps up with the relentless pace of the film, and I find this tempo great for writing essays.
Whether you are a long-term listener to film scores, or starting to dip your toe in the water, I hope you can share my joy in finding the ideal background music for your studies.
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