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(Transcribed by Sonix.ai - Remove this message by upgrading your Sonix account)[br]My GPA went from a 3.0 to a 3.9 for the year.

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I started listening to Lo-Fi to figure out if [br]there's any causation behind that

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correlation. I tried to teach an AI to [br]generate the ideal study music.

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I feel like you could listen to it if the [br]volume was at like one,

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and then you walked away and you listened to [br]different music.

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Please don't release it.

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Let me explain. Thank you to The Great [br]Courses Plus for sponsoring this video.

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When it comes down to focus, [br]I have two modes.

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I either start a task, [br]blink, and suddenly it's six hours later and

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I skip two meals, or I surround myself with a [br]controlled level of distraction.

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What are you doing? I'm focusing.

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That was until I found lo-fi hip-hop chill [br]beats to study/relax to sparkle emoji.

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The titles are a bit much, [br]but you know what? I'm talking about,

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this girl. Anyway, I started listening to it [br]back in 2018 and I saw my GPA just [explosion

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sound] and sure, there are several reasons as [br]to why that could have happened,

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but Lo-Fi music definitely makes me feel like [br]I'm better at focusing.

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Not every song, some slap a little too hard [br]and pull me right out of the zone,

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but there is a sweet spot.

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So today in this video, [br]you and I are going to figure out why Lo-Fi

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Hip Hop might help you focus.

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And if we can teach an AI to generate the [br]perfect mix.

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So I started my research by looking into the [br]history of Lo-Fi Hip hop.

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After that, I got a bit more familiar with [br]other experiments people have done with

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machine learning to generate new music, [br]and I've got two big takeaways from my

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initial readings. The first has to do with [br]the structure of Lo-Fi Hip Hop.

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Its iconic sound is composed of three parts.

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The first, a jazzy instrumental, [br]the second,

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a drum beat combo of bass and snares called [br]Boom BAP.

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It's played intentionally off kilter in a [br]style pioneered by the producer and rapper J

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Dilla. And finally, intentional environmental [br]noise that leans even further into the

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imperfections that define the genre.

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It usually plays at around 70 to 95 beats per [br]minute and falls within this range of

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frequencies. And that gives me a few key [br]characteristics to look into when trying to

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figure out why Lo-Fi can help people focus, [br]but it also leads to a second thing.

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It's an ingredient list and recipe for the [br]things I need to teach my machine.

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Here's the plan. Okay, [br]here's how I'm gonna make music with a

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machine. Step one I need a bunch of [br]instrumental and drum midis.

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These are basically files that contain [br]information about the note that's played, how

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long it's played, a bunch of other stuff.

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I don't know much about it.

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I'm an amateur. Step two.

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I'm gonna sacrifice it to the machine. I'm [br]going to be using an LSTM.

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So basically you have a sequence of notes. [br]And then the next step in the sequence you

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tell the machine, "hey, [br]get really good at guessing what the next

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step is going to be," and then it gets really [br]good at it.

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Finally, I'm going to smash that drum and [br]instrumental track together with some ambient

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music, and I put two step twos.

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This is step three. And then profit.

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Sounds easy right? It was not easy.

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I spent the next week swinging between [br]wanting to throw my computer out a window and

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wanting to throw myself out a window.

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Oh my God. Oh, jeez. Oh my God.

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Oh, Jesus. So it's been like three days.

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My code has run fully without error for the [br]first time.

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So as long as there's any sound, [br]I'm gonna be happy.

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Okay, let's just play this.

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I'm not happy. Okay, let's fix this.

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Okay, so I think I've stopped it from just [br]repeating the same note.

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Basically, we get caught up in this loop [br]where it was just like "the last note was a

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C. The next note probably going to be a C," [br]but then if it thinks that the if the last

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note C, then the next, [br]it just gets caught up in this loop.

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Instead it has like this short list of likely [br]next notes.

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And then it randomly samples from that short [br]list.

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Anyway, here's how it sounds.

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That hurt my forehead.

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Isn't al.

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All right? That was headed to a dark place, [br]so I'm going on a walk to calm down.

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I'm also going to do a bit of reading as to [br]why,

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like, those specific characteristics of Lo-Fi [br]music might help with studying and focus.

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I'm also going to collect a bit of [br]environmental noise for the final track.

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The more I read, the more I realized that the [br]characteristics that make lo fi,

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lo fi, that steady drumbeat, [br]that frequency range,

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that faux vinyl crackle, [br]all those things work together to create a

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sonic environment tuned for focus.

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It's really interesting. I should warn you [br]that music's impact on your mind isn't

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universal. It depends on the task at hand and [br]the type of person you are.

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So if what you're doing requires a lot of [br]thinking,

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or you're currently in a place where you're [br]going to get easily distracted, you should

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probably hit mute. We have a limited capacity [br]for attention,

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and music uses up some of that essential [br]resource.

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In reality, if you want to focus, [br]silence is almost always the better option.

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However, background music can provide two key [br]benefits.

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So here's how Lo-Fi can help you focus.

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First, it can block out more intrusive noises [br]by forming an aural cocoon that tunes out or

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reduces distractions, [br]by anchoring them to a predictable rhythm.

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Second, it can serve as a stimulant.

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Songs that vibe in the fine line between [br]putting you to sleep and popping off can

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improve your productivity without being too [br]distracting.

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And that is where Lo-Fi Hip Hop comes in.

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The jazzy instrumentals and drum loops are [br]refreshing and fun,

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but slow and repetitive enough that they [br]become subconsciously predictable.

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In addition, the dampened frequencies and [br]environmental noise act as a blanket that

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blends the music together and pushes it into [br]the background using spatialization.

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This makes the music sound less like a [br]recording,

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playing directly in your ears, [br]and more like something in a physical space.

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Finally, the genre's obsession with [br]comfortable,

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nostalgic elements like vinyl crackle in [br]rainy days can help bring listeners peace and

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improve their mood. All of this combines to [br]make certain lo fi hip hop tracks easy to

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process and ideal for focus.

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And with all of that in mind, [br]I now think that I know which parts of lo fi

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I should lean into while making new tracks [br]and which ones I should avoid.

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Now I just need to get the steaming pile of [br]garbage I call my code to actually function.

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Let's do this. It took another two days and [br]just endless emotional turmoil,

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but I eventually was ready for my album [br]release.

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This might have been a bad idea.

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Do you all know why you're here?

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I have no idea what I'm doing here.

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Apparently, this is the listening party.

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Before we get to the songs, [br]I do have a question for you guys.

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Okay. You know me pretty well.

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On a scale of 1 to 10, [br]how musical do you think I am?

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Like a three.

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Which one's bad?

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Zero.

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Zero.

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On a scale of 1 to 10.

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Zero.

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You didn't know who Alicia Keys was?

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I was just gonna bring that up.

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So I would like to present to you the music.

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Which track would you guys like to listen to?

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The worst one.

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Yeah. Let's work our way up.

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This is an anxiety machine.

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This sounds like, Now, [br]I'm not going to compare it to any music.

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That would be a disrespect to music.

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So you're telling me that isn't the lo fi hip [br]hop beat to chill and relax to?

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A little far from that.

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The next one. Are you ready?

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Which one would you like?

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Wait. Maybe this is the worst one.

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Okay.

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Okay. Wait for this drop.

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There is no drop.

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No. Is this gonna be available in our [br]newsletter?

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It will be.

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Where can I subscribe to the newsletter?

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Sabrina.

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You can go to [br]answerinprogress.com/newsletter.

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To sign up. All right. Let's go with the only [br]good track.

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So to set the expectations this is the best I [br]was able to do.

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Okay.

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I'm nervous again actually.

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Yeah that waveform is really aggressive.

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Kind of minecrafty.

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Very elevator music. Like I'm waiting for my [br]floor just past the seventh floor.

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Yeah.

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Now we're at the 24th floor.

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That was really funny.

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Damn, that elevator's real fast.

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I'm gonna close my eyes.

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It's getting creepier. I think the more that [br]I listen to it,

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I'm like, I should not listen to this [br]anymore.

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It's unsettling.

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It is slightly unsettling.

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However, you know, it's just like, [br]I don't know if it's a chill,

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lo fi beat, but from listening to this, [br]compared to the first lo fi beat singular

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that you created, this is this is a lot.

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This is a lot of improvement here.

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Here's what it sounds like. If I just use [br]like an actual drum loop designed by a human

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being.

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This one's good. The big question, [br]Taha, could you study to this?

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I would definitely study to this.

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I feel like I have studied to this.

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How do you guys think I did?

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I think you did Badly.

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[Laughs]

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I think that the drum loop that you got did a [br]lot of the heavy lifting here.

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Melissa?

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[Laughs]

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Damn, dude. Speechless.

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In fairness, it's it's pretty impressive that [br]you got,

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like, some semblance of, [br]like, vibes.

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Yeah. We've created a new genre of music [br]beats to be anxious to.

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To beats to be anxious to.

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Okay, so while that wasn't the hardest video [br]I've ever had to make,

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I definitely felt like I bit off more than I [br]could chew.

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Way more than once. It was the first time in [br]a while that I truly didn't know how to even

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start. Every step I just felt out of my [br]element and I felt like there was just so

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much more I needed to learn.

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But even though it took way longer than [br]expected,

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it was really nice to go from this.

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To this.

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This one's good.

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Knowing all of the hard work that went behind [br]it,

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and by the end, we were able to figure out [br]why lofi hip hop and ambient music can help

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you study and also make a few decent beats of [br]our own.

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Kind of. Okay, I'll admit it was far from [br]perfect,

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but if we gave up because our first attempt [br]or our first dozen attempts weren't perfect,

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we wouldn't get very far.

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You know, that's just a lesson in lo fi and [br]in life.

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I know that was a bad one, [br]bye.

0:11:46.390,0:11:47.990
Hey there, I hope you liked that video.

0:11:47.990,0:11:51.870
If you did, please consider sharing it with a [br]few friends. It is easily the biggest way you

0:11:51.870,0:11:53.030
can help this channel grow.

0:11:53.150,0:11:57.350
Another way is to stick around as I thank the [br]Great Courses Plus for sponsoring this video

0:11:57.390,0:12:00.390
while I turn myself into a lo fi hip hop [br]girl.

0:12:00.390,0:12:03.550
So I found that learning things gets a lot [br]harder after you leave,

0:12:03.550,0:12:06.030
like the guided learning environment of [br]university.

0:12:06.150,0:12:09.430
And unfortunately I don't have the time or [br]money to head back.

0:12:10.030,0:12:12.270
Luckily I use the Great Courses Plus.

0:12:12.550,0:12:16.310
It's a subscription on demand video learning [br]service with these amazing lectures and

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courses from top from top professors from Ivy [br]League universities and experts from major

0:12:20.860,0:12:25.020
institutions. Your subscription gets you [br]access to over 11,000 videos covering

0:12:25.020,0:12:27.580
everything from music theory to math and [br]more.

0:12:27.700,0:12:29.300
I recommend music and the brain.

0:12:29.420,0:12:33.740
It explores the neuroscience of music and [br]what happens when melody meets the mind.

0:12:33.780,0:12:37.940
It helped me better understand the concepts [br]that tie Lo-Fi and focus together.

0:12:38.100,0:12:42.020
You can learn at your own pace, [br]at any time or any place without worrying

0:12:42.020,0:12:44.460
about tests, which is the greatest feeling in [br]the world.

0:12:44.540,0:12:47.420
You can get started with The Great Courses [br]Plus today if you head on over to

0:12:47.420,0:12:51.100
thegreatcoursesplus.com/answerinprogress.

0:12:51.100,0:12:53.980
Or you can click the first link in the [br]description. So get started with the Great

0:12:53.980,0:12:57.580
Courses Plus today. But either way, [br]have a lovely day.

0:12:58.660,0:12:59.420
It's done.

0:12:59.020,0:12:59.420
(Transcribed by Sonix.ai - Remove this message by upgrading your Sonix account)[br][Music]