When the stress of finals is overwhelming, music is therapeutic. It’s helpful to set a tone to drown out the dread of an upcoming exam and focus on figuring out what you know. However, sometimes that focus requires silence; I do spend less time listening to music during finals crunch because I need my full attention, or just because I need to work by myself for a while. When I’m overwhelmed by assignments, the added noise is distracting or further distressing because I feel bombarded from all fronts. Music therapy is shown to help with memory, improve coping, reduce stress, improve self-esteem and more so I try to still dedicate listening time even as my workload increases.
Listening to playlists or albums that I know the order of helps me keep track of time; I put on an album that lasts as long as I want to dedicate to the task and wrap up when the album ends. I find this works best with instrumental tracks (so that I’m not distracted by lyrics), or albums that I already know so that I can keep track of the passing time based on where I am in the album. I lean towards slower, more melancholy tunes these days (the most upbeat song that’s been stuck in my head lately is “Amoeba” by Clairo). Listening to depressing music is unlikely to lift you out of a funk, but there is comfort in the relatability of the lyrics.
I find myself drawn to soothing lyrics that reassure me the world is so much bigger than a tough exam. Bedroom pop artists like Cavetown and Sidney Gish have sweet, clear voices with lyrics that speak to the fears of failure that students often have. “Remember when we felt like animations and didn’t need A grades for self-validation?” Cavetown sings on “Hug All Ur Friends,” a painfully nostalgic tune searching for simpler times. In a competitive environment like this, it’s easy to forget that passing grades are still impressive. Sidney Gish speaks about the pressures of comparing yourself to others in “Imposter Syndrome,” asking, “Every other day I’m wondering, what’s a human being gotta be like? What’s a way to just be competent?” I also find Chloe Moriondo and Courtney Barnett to have similarly resonating lyrics, though the instrumentals stray from the soothing melodies and tap into restlessness and indignation of feeling like you’re not good enough. Barnett describes the experience of a panic attack in her song “Avant Gardener,” which really spoke to me when I was freaking out over my Chem II final. Moriondo’s song “Bugbear,” describes how excelling at academics is not always personally satisfying, “I feel so brain dead next to you…When I’m thrown into the adult world where they do things that I never learned how to do I guess I’ll live in a swamp or a tree.”
Remember to take care of yourself as finals close in. It can be easy to fear that you aren’t doing enough, but the weeks of dedication during the semester have not been for nothing. Eat, sleep, and general well-being come first. Try to fit in some exercise in your study breaks, walk along the waterfront in the nice weather, listen to music, or call your family. Godspeed.
