Relaxing Music: 25 Songs For You To Relax

For all those who need to listen to music to relax or to go to sleep, here we offer you a list of relaxing music so you can add them to your playlist. We have included songs from various genres because the objective of this list is that, in the end, you discover new bands and artists, independently of the music you usually listen to.

We have divided the list in two. In the first one we show you 15 general relaxing music songs based on personal taste, and in the second one, you will find 10 songs of the most calming music according to a scientific study. Turn the volume up and just be carried along. 

15 relaxing music songs

Some people need absolute silence to concentrate or to feel relaxed, but other people prefer listening to some music. However, in most cases what works is to listen to down-tempo songs or ballads to take your brain to a calm state and leave life pressure aside. What about you? What relaxing music do you like to listen to?

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1. Mumford & sons - Believe

This Mumford & sons song should be included in any relaxing music list. The third CD includes more pop rock sounds and less country, and "Believe" is the perfect example of this direction the band has taken. It might remind you of U2, but the band's essence is very different. 

2. Kings of Leon - Walls

If you like the style of Kings of Leon and you didn't know about them, they will become one of your favorite groups. Not all the songs of their records are as relaxing as "Walls". This song is the perfect excuse to put your headphones on and  immerse yourself in a moment of reflection and pause.

3. Ben Howard - Oats in the Water

I discovered this interesting artist and now he is one of my favorites when I want to relax. His calm arpeggios and slow voice are the perfect counterpoints to the hustle and bustle of everyday life. For a more positive environment, we also recommend "Only Love."

4. Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks

There is also a place for good vibrations in the list. A relaxing song is also the one that is able to improve your mood, and "Pumped Up Kicks" perfectly fulfills that mission. Did you know that when you listen to some kind of songs, we segregate dopamine?

5. Tycho - A Walk

Chill-out is a style that is always good for relaxation. Youtube is full of playlists of this genre, and that's why we wanted to select relaxing music of various styles, but production of this type had to be in our ranking. Tycho is the pseudonym of Scott Hansen, an American composer and producer who has become a benchmark for environmental music.

6. Vance Joy - Riptide

This is a hymn of good vibes indie. With "Riptide" we imagine ourselves sunbathing in summer while we have some caipirinha, but it is also a good option if you are trying to relax and nothing can slow your heart beat down. 

7. Radiohead - Karma Police

Nearly everyone knows their song "Creep", a generational hymn that could perfectly fit in this list. We have chosen another song, "Karma Police" a more rhythmic but equally reflective composition.

8. Incubus - Drive

Fans of contemporary rock music will get to know this group that began its musical career in the early 1990s. Despite the harshness of some of their songs, "Drive" is a small oasis of calm in the midst of the storm. The musical arrangements and melody of the chorus will help you find positivity.

9. Café del mar - We Can Fly

Located on the beach of San Antonio in Ibiza, this bar allows its customers to listen to relaxing music in the evening. Since 1994 they have released a few ambience and chill-out albums that include songs like this one, a very relaxing song.

10. The Cure - Lullaby

If we go through all of The Cure's songs we will find many relaxing ones. The most veterans will remember this "Lullaby", with a dark and decadent atmosphere fruit of the imagination of the mythical Robert Smith. Long live The Cure.

11. Christina Perry - A Thousand Years

Some of you will know the song because it is the soundtrack from the Twilight saga. In any case, "A Thousand Years" is  a very romantic and emotive composition. Don't be surprised if you see a tear.

12. Birdy - Skinny Love

This English singer and composer is one of the most moving artists in the current picture.  This is a song played on the piano, an instrument that is able to impregnate us with the most intense emotions. "Skinny Love" is a Bon Iver version, and it was the debut of this singer when she was only 12 years old.

13. Tom Walker - Fly Away With Me

His latest success, "Leave a Light On", has made him one of the rising star of the moment, but he had already created other hits, such as "Fly Away With Me", a more relaxing and simple song that came into existence in 2017. You might have listened to it sometime on the radio. 

14. Cigarettes After Sex - Apocalypse

This band, so fashionable at summer festivals and in the most underground circles, is becoming one of the referents of indie music. There's nothing better to discover his art than "Apocalypse", a deep and hypnotic song that will make your hair stand on end.

15. Lana del Rey - Born to Die

Lana del Rey is the queen of hipster music. She was known with her single "Born to Die", an ode to the wild years of youth and the excesses of drinking, although since then she has had a rather irregular career. We will always be left with this incredible song.

The 10 most relaxing songs according to a study

In the following lines, we are going to talk about the 10 most relaxing music songs that exist, according to a study by the Doctor David Lewis-Hodgson, Research Director in Mindlab International, a UK research center.

 

The researchers report that these topics reduced blood pressure and heart rate in the experimental subjects, 40 women whose physiological responses were measured with sensors after they performed a stressful task (completing puzzles within a time limit).

 

1. Marconi Union - Weightless

"Weightless" is a song played on the piano, the guitar, and other traditional instruments but that also includes sounds specifically designed for relaxation based on scientific principles. Marconi Union created this song in collaboration with musicotherapy experts. 

 

According to the Mindlab study, the drop in the rhythm that occurs as the song progresses causes the listener's heartbeat to also slow down, to the point of reducing anxiety in 65% of the participants. In fact, Lewis-Hodgson does not recommend listening to Weightless behind the wheel because it can cause drowsiness.

 

 

2. Airstream - Electra

The most popular song from Airstream is "Electra", a very relaxing electronic chillout song; it has been said that its sounds recall the beats of a heart, rain or wind -which is very appropriate because of the name of the band. 

 

"Electra" has a regular and relaxed rhythm, although with some animation that makes us focus on the melody. A very good example of how the music created by digital media can calm us down and help us meditate. 

 

 

3. DJ Shah - Mellomaniac (Chillout Mix)

Again, this is an electronic song with a chillout style that can contribute to regulating our heart rate. In this case, the main instruments are the keyboards and percussion that gives the song a certain tribal touch.  Mellomaniac's rhythm and intensity increase as the song moves forward up to its 6 minutes duration, but they are still relaxing throughout the song.

4. Enya - Watermark

The Irish singer and composer, Enya, is known worldwide by her albums and her participation in the soundtrack of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie from the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings.

The song "Watermark" is in the homonymous disc released in 1988, the most popular one from this singer. It is an instrumental song played on a keyboard that gets rid of the ethereal voice of the artist and is based on a recurrent melody of simplicity and comforting predictability.

5. Coldplay - Strawberry Swing

According to a Travelodge survey, Coldplay is the favorite group for British people to get to sleep. The Mindlab study affirms that the most relaxing Coldplay song is Strawberry Swing; other songs from this group that can make you fall asleep are Paradise, Clocks, and Yellow. 

The lyrics of "Strawberry Swing" describe the sweet and nostalgic feeling of remembering the childhood when you are an adult; specifically, the narrator speaks of a moment when he was swinging next to his first love. On the other hand, this song has a very original and elaborated video clip, based on drawings made with chalk and filmed using the stop-motion animation technique.

6. Barcelona - Please Don’t Go

"Please Don't Go" is based on a piano melody and the very soft and whispered masculine voice, that recalls the style of some Radiohead songs or the already mentioned, Coldplay. The music of this song has a sad component that reflects the content of its lyrics, focused on the composer's emotions about an unrequited love.

7. All Saints - Pure Shores

The third single by the British female pop group All Saints is a song that is typical of the 90s. Although its melody is not particularly relaxing, at least in comparison with the rest of the tracks on this list, the background sounds give the song a special atmospheric touch.

 

 

8. Adele - Someone Like You

Without a doubt, "Someone Like You" is the most popular song in this list. It was included in "21", the second album of the singer-songwriter, Adele, one of the greatest musical sensations of the last century, also known for songs like "Rolling in the Deep" or "Set Fire to the Rain."

Although we don't entirely agree that "Someone Like You" can be considered a relaxing song, it is still a very beautiful and hopeful expression of overcoming the lack of love. Adele's incredible voice is especially noteworthy, of course.

9. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Canzonetta Sull’aria

"Canzonetta Sull’aria" is considered the most relaxing composition of classical music. It is part of the well-known opera "The Marriage of Figaro", composed by Mozart. It is a two feminine voices duet. The music was conceived to be played by oboe and bassoon, accompanied by stringed instruments.

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10. Rue du Soleil - We Can Fly

The last song of the list is "We Can Fly," from the band Rue du Soleil. It is part of the album "Café del Mar." The music includes wind instruments and electric guitar combined with electronic music and synthesizers. An ideal song to take us  to  far away places and that transmits good vibrations. 

 

 

• This article about "Relaxing Music" was originally published in Spanish in Carácter Urbano