General Advice Needed: Physics and Music

[andyintranzit]

Hi everyone.

I'm seeking advice from you lovely people because you seem pretty clever and switched on. Any advice you can offer me is greatly appreciated :). Basicly the synopsis of my problem is that I am experiencing a conflict between my passions for music and my Physics studies at university (which I love too).

Here's a a bit of a rundown (sorry if it's lengthy..) -

I'm 18 now, and I finished High School late last year. I scored disappointingly, but I got into one of my middle preferences, studying Applied Physics / Electrical Engineering at a good university and I have to admit I am quite content with teaching quality, facilities and student life.

I have always been very easily distracted though. I consider myself to be reasonably clever and past experience has shown that if I do manage to study, my hard work does bare fruit - which is good news. However, I simply cannot concentrate; I cannot focus, and wherever I am and whatever I'm doing, all I can think about is music.

Ever since I was 11 years old I have had this insatiable appetite for electronic music. I listen to it whenever I can, and if I can't, I have it running through my mind making it hard for me to concentrate. Every waking moment I can spare is spent playing the piano, writing music on the computer or playing with my DJ gear. This is eating up several hours a day and sometimes I run late for university and miss lectures which gets me into serious trouble.

Have any of you ever had trouble focusing on your studies due to other passions or hobbies you've had? How did you deal with this conflict?

 

[Telmerk]

Hi!
Just two little things that came into my mind, as I read your letter.
1. Try to make a PLAN for a day. Decide what you would like to do that day, what are your programmes. And try to insist on it. First you won§t be successful. But after the first success you 'll be much more brave!

2. Is it possible to how to say.. somehow 'mix' music and your studies? I mean is it possible to study acoustic, etc. at your University? That would be great for You, I guess!

3. I am sorry if I wrote stupid things... :shy:

 

[andyintranzit]

no you didn't write silly things :) I really appreciate it!

Education-wise I can go study something like electronic music production which are on offer at specialist schools, I would really love this and be very motivated at it but these courses are very expensive and I won't get any government assistance for paying them. A University degree would leave me feeling much safer and not as hard for pennies once I'm done (if you get what i mean).

I think my university course will have subjects coming up on acoustics and mechanical waves which I'm pretty excited about. Science is something I really would love to be doing at University, but the workload is very big and I have trouble focusing and managing my time.

I have great, great difficulty managing my time effectively. I can sometimes end up in tears with my parents fuming with anger about me being lazy. All this and I should have just put in a bit of extra work! :(

 

[QuantumReg]

Hey andyintranzit!

I am, myself also have focusing troubles and the only thing which can help me is music. Wherever I go, whatever I do I MUST have my mp3 player with me. All I have to do is to assemble a playlist very carefully. What kind of music I collect together is highly depends on my plans for that day. For example at work I must listen to some aggressive music, becouse I don't really like what I do ... But at home, when I read about ... say ... quantum mechanics (my favourite) I usually listen to some classical music. And that really works for me. I have some favourite musics for a lot of topics and they helps me focus. Another thing is learning something about acoustics, the mechanism how human brain 'understands' sounds and voices, etc. These are very interesting topics, especially for someone who loves music and physics. Try out some classical musics too, becouse it can help you when you can't listen to any music.

Anyway, maybe that's only works for me, but I spoke about my problem to one of friends, who is a psychologist. She said that many people have this 'problem', but this can be handled easily. I'm sure you can find a way for yourself. Just do not read anything without listening to some music you like.

Beleive me music can't be a problem .

I hope I could help a bit at least.