Listening Myself to Sleep

When I was a kid, I only listened to classical music.
That wasn’t a conscious choice, it was just the music that filled our house.

A party meant Mozart.
Sunday lunch? Probably some opera.
Car rides? A piano or cello concerto playing softly in the background.

So when I hit high school, life got busier. Long days split between regular school, music school, and practice. I got very little sleep. And yet, I had one strange but comforting ritual:

Before bed, I’d put on a CD of the piece I was currently studying, usually performed by one of my cello heroes—Rostropovich, Navarra, or sometimes Maisky.
I’d put the track on repeat for hours.

I shared a room with my brother back then. I honestly don’t know how he tolerated hearing the same cello phrase loop endlessly into the night… but since I don’t remember him complaining, I’ll assume he secretly liked it. Or just gave up.

That habit, falling asleep to music, has faded over the years. These days, I rarely put on full classical works before bed.
But sometimes, when my mind’s racing or I need help easing into sleep, I’ll queue up some baroque, neoclassical or minimalistic tracks. Slow, sometimes repetitive music that doesn’t demand too much attention but gently holds it.

It’s not just nostalgic. It’s meditative.
And in a way, it brings me back to that feeling of winding down from the noise of the day.

If you’re anything like me and you enjoy the idea of sound as a way to settle, you might like this:

→ Here’s a playlist I’ve been using before bed lately

Soft tones. Subtle repetition.
Nothing too dramatic. Just space to breathe.

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Sleep well,

Mislav Brajković
KingsString