the science behind lofi music

Have you ever listened to lofi hiphop when you need to study, focus, or relax? Over the past 3 years, lofi stations like ChilledCow/Lofi Girl have grown a community based on that premise. In this video, Sabrina explores why lofi has become the poster child for study music and if it even works. She also tries to teach a machine to generate lofi music and... it wasn't great.

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SOCIAL MEDIA
Sabrina
Melissa
Taha

CREDITS
Produced by Sabrina Cruz
Video Editing by Joe Trickey
Motion Design by Sabrina Cruz
Sound Design by Joe Trickey

MUSIC

THUMBNAIL
Lofi Girl is an illustration by Juan Pablo Machado for the ChilledCow YouTube channel.

RECOMMENDED READING
Understanding J Dilla: The Soul of Hip Hop (2020) by Volksgeist

Generating Songs With Neural Networks (Neural Composer) (2018) by CodeParade

How lo-fi artists make music perfect for work. (Or studying. Or chilling.) (2020) by Steven Johnson

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 weird flex but okay
00:26 if another one of yall say i have ADHD, i fight
01:25 research montage is my happy place
01:47 the anatomy of lofi hiphop
02:29 sacrificing myself to the machine
03:25 debugging? more like depressing.
04:37 avoiding my problems
05:15 why lofi music helps you focus
06:49 time to get my code to work!
07:19 i couldn't get my code to work.
10:44 extracting a lesson from the mess
11:46 share this video with a friend who listens to lofi
11:53 paying the bills

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Welcome to the joke under the fold! This is a genuinely terrible one. I'm sorry.

What's a rabbit's favourite genre of music?
Hippity hop.

I'm so sorry about that one. Leave a comment with the word HOP to let me know you were here ;-)

[answerinprogress]

This video is dedicated to all y'all studying for exams. I hope you get some sleep. *For the algorithm's sake, do you listen to music when you study? Reply down below.*
If you want to see the source code, listen to the full tracks, or get some wallpapers inspired by the animations, subscribe to our newsletter:

[MedlifeCrisis]

If it's so helpful why hasn't that girl finished her work by now

[justderp]

The lofi beats girl has been stuck doing homework for years I don’t think she’s okay anymore

[LLusion]

from someone who literally has a career because of lofi, this video warmed my heart. excellent job!

[shivaneepatell]

It’s because it creates a consistent environment of peace.

[oculometric]

Also the fact that lofi generally has no lyrics: it fills the attention gap, the remainder of your focus left over from working which otherwise can get you distracted.

[whymsie]

when you realize sabrina probably listened to lofi while researching lofi: 👀

[johnnyharris]

The animations are beautiful on this!!

[sadspacecadette]

The lofi girl is always studying, and I hear people say that when you're surrounded by productivity you have a drive to be productive yourself

[Patchouliprince]

The fact that you can just say “this girl” and we all know

[TheBeastBandit]

As a neurodivergent teacher, I tend to play this sort of music at a VERY low volume for my students (low enough that students that don’t need the noise can tune it out, high enough that my students that need the noise get the necessary stimuli/vibes) and myself. My students with ADHD, ADD, anxiety and/or depression, etc. have profusely thanked me for it.

[Hashten]

Fun fact for anyone who reads this in the future: Lo-Fi means Low Fidelity which more or less means Low Quality. Lo-Fi music is usually just music that is recorded with like home recording stuff or with a lot of noise like background noise.

[azrajoy]

“I think that you did…badly.” He delivered that line so honestly but so supportively.

[bennetttobey]

“silence is the best for focusing”
*laughs in ADHD*

[sihplak]

watching non-musicians attempt to use code to make music is always entertaining because like, without knowing how music theory works, you're not gonna know how to code to account for things like harmonic language, harmonic rhythm, etc.

[Nathh]

I was gonna comment “0:26-0:45 is peak ADHD behaviour” but then I saw the time stamp name and well I guess I gotta prepare to fight lmao

[jrad]

Lofi + noise canceling headphones + ADHD medicine = greatness

[magdalenastys]

my favorite genre of youtube video is "sabrina doing ridiculous things with ai"

[kimberleealford]

That first try was the music version of "add 2 tablespoons of oil" repeating infinitely (from the AI pasta vid)

[thereplyguyreviews]

Lofi Girl singlehandedly responsible for increased GPA worldwide, a thing that teachers have struggled to accomplish for decades