themelvinator Blog

I don’t have any ideas about a subject, so I will share one of my iPod playlists. Many people ask me, “Melvin, how do you study so effectively?”. Well, I’ll tell you. One of the ways I have found is to listen to certain music that you can concentrate with (notice that I say with, not on), that keeps you focused at the task at hand. For some, it could be classical, it could be jazz, or for others it could also be garage grunge. I don’t really know if this is by anyway “scientific”, but it works for me.

Here is a specific playlist that I listen to when I study, or when I read textbooks. I also listen to this when I take a nap or just like to listen to quiet music. My playlist is entitled “Quiet Orchestral”…

1.) Gustav Holst “The Planets, Op. 32: II. Venus, the Bringer of Peace”

2.) Anton Dvorak “Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 “From the New World”: II. Largo”

3.) Aaron Copland “Quiet City”

4.) Aram Khachaturian “Selections from “Spartacus”: Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia”

5.) Ottorino Respighi “Feste Romane: II. Giubileo” [Roman Festivals: II. Giubileo]

6.) Ottorino Respighi “Fontane Di Roma: IV. La fontana di Villa Medici al tramonto” [Fountains of Rome: IV. The Villa Medici Fountain at Sunset]

7.) Ottorino Respighi “Pini Di Roma: II. Pini presso uma catacomba” [Pines of Rome: II. The Pines Near a Catacomb]

8.) Aaron Copland “Appalachian Spring”

9.) Aaron Copland “Rodeo: II. Corral Nocturne”

10.) Gustav Mahler “Symphony No. 1 in D Major “Titan”: I. Langsam. Schleppend”

11.) Gustav Mahler “Symphony No. 4 in G Major: III. Ruheoll (Poco Adagio)”

12.) Gustav Mahler “Symphony No. 4 in G Major: IV. Sehr behaglich”

13.) Gustav Mahler “Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor: IV. Adagietto. Sehr Langsam”

14.) Gustav Mahler “Symphony No. 7 in E Minor: IV. Nachtmusik II: Andante amoroso”

This whole playlist takes about 3 hours to play through. I encourage anybody that is interested to listen to some of these pieces, all are like I mentioned quiet pieces. All of these pieces are accessible in iTunes as well. (A tip, if you want any of the Mahler symphonies, try and listen to the ones conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Orchestra. These are excellent, in my opinion). Also, I encourage anybody to test this theory out, to compile a playlist of your own and see if it works for you.

Until next time…