Lab notes · 5 min read
How to study with lofi music (and how the table was made)
Lofi study music works because it stays out of the way. Here is how to get the most out of it, and how the 118 tracks on the table were sorted.
1. Pick music without words
Lyrics compete with the words you’re reading or writing. Every track on the table is instrumental, so your inner voice has the room to itself.
2. Keep it quiet
Study music should sit just under your thoughts. If you notice it all the time, turn it down until you only notice it when you stop.
3. Match the music to the task
Reading likes soft music that doesn’t poke you. Writing likes a steady pulse. Flashcards like something brighter that keeps you alert. That is why the table has families: Reading, Writing, Flashcards and seven more.
4. Let the music time your breaks
Instead of watching the clock, work through a block and take a break when the Breaks group comes on. The reactions do this for you: One Pomodoro runs 25 minutes of focus music, then five minutes of break music.
5. Same music, same habit
Playing the same group every time you sit down turns it into a cue. After a few sessions, pressing play becomes the signal to start.
How the table was made
The 118 tracks are calm, instrumental Purrple Cat Self Releases from 2018 to 2026 (at most five from any one record, so the whole catalogue gets a turn). Each track was measured from the audio: how loud it is and how much that changes, how hard its notes hit, how bright it sounds and its tempo. Those numbers give each track a calm score (0 to 1), an energy score and a brightness score.
The families were then filled one at a time: the calmest seven became the noble gases (Breaks), the most energetic twelve became the two left-hand columns (Ignition and Warm-up), the brightest became the halogens (Flashcards), the darkest-sounding became the lanthanides (Late Night), and so on. Inside each family, atomic numbers follow release order. Tempos are measured, so treat them as approximate.
| Family | Chemistry | Tracks | BPM | Calm | Energy | Bright |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ignition | Alkali metals | 6 | 92 | 0.66 | 0.68 | 0.29 |
| Warm-up | Alkaline earth metals | 6 | 96 | 0.58 | 0.61 | 0.33 |
| Deep Focus | Transition metals | 38 | 101 | 0.49 | 0.43 | 0.54 |
| Reading | Post-transition metals | 12 | 124 | 0.54 | 0.36 | 0.46 |
| Problem Sets | Metalloids | 6 | 99 | 0.59 | 0.36 | 0.55 |
| Writing | Reactive nonmetals | 7 | 114 | 0.49 | 0.45 | 0.62 |
| Flashcards | Halogens | 6 | 104 | 0.57 | 0.32 | 0.93 |
| Breaks | Noble gases | 7 | 95 | 0.78 | 0.32 | 0.19 |
| Late Night | Lanthanides | 15 | 103 | 0.61 | 0.43 | 0.08 |
| After Midnight | Actinides | 15 | 104 | 0.69 | 0.40 | 0.50 |
About the music
Purrple Cat is a solo lofi project that started in December 2018 with the album Up All Night: 500+ songs, 500M+ streams and 425K followers, mostly instrumental and with no face reveal.