Breaking Down Your Midterm’s Musical Journey to a Science
Written by Carol Rodriguez on October 16, 2025
This weekend I experienced a midterm essay so mentally exhaustive, so catastrophically GPA threatening, I deemed myself a fit subject for any and every kind of experimentation. Nonetheless, I caught the silver lining surrounding my grave circumstance and noted the musical tides that guided me through my academic journey. Trying to create the perfect musical backdrop for your mid-term study session? Curious about any music do’s and don’ts for peak performance? Allow me to map out your, probable, studying experience this mid-term week with my own music recommendations for each phase of your learning excursion.
Step 1: Curate Your Own Musical Aesthetic
It always starts the same. You sit down, light the candle you save for special occasions, and begin to create the playlist that will carry you through your scholastic journey. This time, you will fulfill your The Secret History fantasy and become the academic weapon you were meant to be: Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me, Carole King’s Tapestry, and Mazzy Star’s So Tonight That I Might See. You create a playlist curated for cozy cafes, cute study sessions with your friends, and the Legally Blonde montage towards your success. Carry forward, Rory Gilmore; you’ve got this!
Step 2: Ditch the Aesthetic & Switch it Up
The effects of your chai latte are waning, your friends are heading out, and the cafe closes at 8:00pm. The aesthetics of academia wear off the more you realize your argumentative essay is less of an argument and more a sad display of ideas thrown onto the wall in hopes that one sticks. No worries, you’re just in need of a switch up! Opt for less distracting music: lo-fi, classical, ambient, and minimalistic playlists. Allow for Brian Eno’s Ambient 1: Music For Airports, Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Green, and Laurel Halo’s Atlas to guide you through lawless land (the english paper you still haven’t created a thesis for) with little interruption. Now its the time to get serious.
Step 3: Silence.
Its now been hours. The ambient albums are tired dry and you can’t get through a single sentence without taking a five minute scroll break. Your brain has officially gone kaput. Fret not, young scholar, sometimes the tuneage needs to be set aside for something much more effective: silence. Pack it up, take a restroom break, eat a bag of assorted nuts, etc. No use running a car with no gas. Go outside and enjoy nature’s sweet symphony, and if you’re in Houston, find beauty in the constant sounds of traffic. Believe it or not, even screeching brake pads and blaring car horns can be preferred over the dreaded computer screen.
Step 4: Balancing Excitement and Efficiency
Back from your break? Ready to hit the ground running? Return to your studies and let your music selection pique your sonorous interests without sacrificing your attention. Stick to instrumentals, but disrupt the normalcy of average study playlists with my favorite deviation: film scores. Listening to film scores allows for the creation of a desired mood without risking distraction. John Williams and Christopher Parkening’s Stepmom – Music from the Motion Picture, Johnny Greenwood’s Phantom Thread (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), and Jóhann Jóhannsson’s The Theory of Everything (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) incorporate the classical music genre best suited for focus without risking any boredom. The best of both worlds!
Step 5: Music Fit for The Home Stretch
The end of the line is finally in view. You’ve completed most of your notes, reached the conclusion of your essay, and finally had a moment of clarity over the subject you’ve been harping over. You need a dependable musical stimulant to boost you towards the end. Shove the instrumentals out of the way and pick up the ante! Minor Threat’s First Two Seven Inches provides a punchy punk rock push to take you to that finish line even if you have to do it in spite. Kelis’ Tasty mixes 2000s nostalgia, R&B, rap rock, and alternative pop elements to keep your enthusiasm at an all time high until you hit submit. Scared of breaking the studying spell? Mk.Gee’s Two Star & The Dream Police balances a dreamy synth-rock sound reminiscent of the 80s with uniquely distorted guitar tones to mellow you out of your midterm crisis. Whatever album you choose, make sure its taking you to the end!
Final Step: Peace.
There’s nothing quite like being released from the midterm shackles. While my own midterm misfortunes will probably be forever immortalized in my final transcript, you can consider your own study session closed and your midterms a triumphant contribution to your academic future. Sure the ebbs and flows of your study session’s musical journey could be seen as an afterthought, but true music lovers reserve a sacred part in their heart for the music that accompanied their voyages through mental anguish (i.e. midterm week). Now drop the music entirely and go to bed.
