Barring a few notable exceptions, I am a big fan of Studio Ghibli movies. The beautiful artwork, the interesting stories, and the great soundtracks all combine into movies that I could happily watch or listen to in the background at any given time.
And that’s what I normally do. Pick one and play it in the background. Especially in the morning – there’s something about the living hush of a morning that simply calls out for Studio Ghibli.
Yesterday, however, I found out that there is another way to listen to Studio Ghibli while I work. Some sweet, enterprising souls have made Youtube Playlists of Studio Ghibli soundtracks. 🥰
I’d love to tell you some favorites, but, to be honest, I haven’t made it through all of them yet. There are many, many playlists, and they’re all over an hour long. Some are over 3 hours long!
I’ll get through them, though. Maybe, eventually I’ll be able to give some recommendations for the piano ones.
What I have noticed so far is that while the piano ones are lovely, I really miss the sounds and effect of the full orchestra. The use of the different voicings and instruments is part of what makes the soundtracks so entrancing for me.
If you agree, I suggest searching for “studio ghibli playlist orchestra” or something similar. There are a few of those. The images/video might be a bit weird (Like this Studio Ghibli Orchestra Connection video which plays small snippets of animation over and over again), but it does have full orchestral versions of the music, which is lovely.
There’s also an actual orchestral concert of Studio Ghibli music, which is amazing. I thought interruptions of applause might be jarring, but the individual pieces are so long (since they’re medleys of the songs) that it didn’t happen as often as I expected. Although there is a bit of talking here and there. The bigger issue was actually that they’re medleys – I found myself missing the rest of some of the songs (I know, I know. You just can’t satisfy some people.).
My pickiness aside, I definitely know what I’ll be writing to this week. The only question is which playlist?
Savannah Knightly 