Music for reading

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by CBG

I recently tried reading with Hans Zimmers filmscores going through earbuds - it greatly helps setting the mood and filtering out TV and whatever else the girls are doing in the house.

Sometimes I like silence, and sometimes I like music. I also listen to movie soundtracks matched to the style of the book I am reading. Really like Hans Zimmer too. Sometimes I'll listen to piano music and also orchestral. So mostly non-vocal for me too, and I get distracted by the music if if doesn't match the mood of my book. I also love my noise-cancelling headphones that I bought for travel but are good to block out other noises around the house like someone watching TV.

[AJ Starr]

Originally Posted by icallaci

When I listen to music, I LISTEN to music. My poor brain can do only one thing at a time. I can't read with any kind of background noise, be it music, conversation, TV, barking dogs, etc.

Ditto!

AJ

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Ravensknight

...Thank goodness for Pandora!

Or, in my case, thank whatever powers that be for a paid subscription to CalmRadio (paid=no ads).

[shanghaichica]

I can't listen to music whilst I'm reading. It would ruin my concentration.

[Nabeel]

I nearly always listen to music when reading, but it has to be instrumental music... or, if not, then without English words. I try to pick music that goes with the mood of what I'm reading, and I find it helps me concentrate.

MP3 players are useful here: I have a whole range of playlists with my own curious titles for them including 'Denken-jazz' and 'Magic Buddha mix'.

N.

[arjaybe]

I voted 'Other.' Sometimes I have music on and sometimes I don't. Even when there is music, I stop hearing it once I get into the story.

[AlbertaCowboy]

I have a couple of Sleep Machine apps that I really enjoy listening to as I read. It's a soothing background noise that I enjoy listening to.
I also like film scores as well, and believe it or not, video game scores. Some of my all time favorite music comes from games like Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger and Mass Effect 2.
I can't listen to anything with lyrics though, that usually screws up my reading flow.

[VictoriaP]

Much as I love music--and I do, especially metal and the '80's pop I grew up with--I generally won't have it on when I'm reading or trying to concentrate. The exception is when I find myself in a noisy environment for some reason. At that point, I'm likely to put on Mozart's Requiem, which I've used to basically condition myself to relax.

I also have other classical and new age/jazz type instrumentals, but the Requiem does tend to be what I come back to time and again.

[brandon7s]

My go-to reading music is: everything by Hammock. Awesome band. Kind of like a slowed-down softer version of Sigur Ros (mostly) without vocals. Actually, they don't really sound all that much like Sigur Ros but that's the best description I can think of which people might actually know about.

I also listen to a lot of Carbon Based Lifeforms and Solar Fields. They are in a genre of music that I consider Psyambient.

[CRussel]

I can listen to music when I read, either light Classical or Nature sounds are usually OK and don't require my concentration. But if I'm writing? I need some serious music - Jazz, Pop, Disco, or some toe tapping fiddle music. Something with a beat and a rhythm to keep me going. I don't even hear it, really, when I'm heavily writing. But it acts to drown out the world. Headphones are the best for this.

[Sydney's Mom]

One of the things I like best about reading is the quiet. Nothing to pull my thoughts out of my book, or shape my imagination except the author's words. That reminds me, time to get ready for bed and pick up my PW. Only sound is my husband's snoring (no, he doesn't).

[MeSue]

I find that people who like quiet just don't understand those of us who need background noise. Or maybe I am just weird. I'm a very "internal" person and if my surroundings are too quiet the (heh) voices in my head become so loud that I can't concentrate. But people like my husband and my mom are quick to say, "how can you THINK with all that NOISE?" But for me, not having the noise is more distracting. My thoughts fly in too many directions and I have a hard time getting them focused on one thing without background music. I'm just too much in my own head and the background sound drowns some of it out. Is it like this for others? I'd really like to know!

And for me it has to be music. Can't stand a TV as background noise!

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by MeSue

I find that people who like quiet just don't understand those of us who need background noise. Or maybe I am just weird. I'm a very "internal" person and if my surroundings are too quiet...

For me, it's never too quiet. I hear basically everything, including the hum of light bulbs. According to the sound meter which I use to calibrate my audio system, my computer room has a noise level of +/- 30 dB if the computer is on, and 21-24 dB (depending on the time of day) if it is off. Now, take a look at this chart:



So... even if my computer is on, my room has the ambient noise level of a recording studio, and if it's off, it approaches that of a broadcasting studio. Still, especially after midnight, I find it to be loud and would want it to be even more quiet. I understand that this is not a normal situation; where my eyesight is poor, my hearing is (still) exceptionally sharp.

With regard to music during reading, it depends on my mood. Sometimes I want some groovy stuff in the background, sometimes ambient or new age, and sometimes I want absolute quiet while reading.

[VictoriaP]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

For me, it's never too quiet. I hear basically everything, including the hum of light bulbs.

^^^This exactly. I can hear the hum of virtually anything electric, and it all drives me mad.

But while I prefer quiet while I'm reading, and while writing things such as lengthy posts or reviews, I'm more like CRussel above when it comes to writing fiction. Most of my characters have their own playlists; I'll use headphones when writing in public and my office stereo when at home. And usually, it's pretty loud.

The only rationale I can give is this: if my environment is too loud, I can't hear myself think. If I'm writing fiction, the last thing I *want* is to hear myself think, because that drowns out what my characters want to convey. But when I'm reading, I want my mind freed to work through the nuances of the words I'm taking in. Consequently, I prefer to read in silence, or as close to it as I can get.

[Katsunami]

[QUOTE=VictoriaP;2773313]^^^This exactly. I can hear the hum of virtually anything electric, and it all drives me mad.

Several times, I've tried to replace my old Vintage 2007 19 inch Eizo monitor with a newer model, but they all went back. I've tried two other Eizo's and a Dell, and they all hum when set below 100% brightness (where 100% will positively burn your eyes out).

Originally Posted by VictoriaP

Most of my characters have their own playlists...

Some time ago, I did some fairly tedious work from home, and at one time, I put up the Lord of the Rings CD's. After some time, I couldn't actually do that work anymore without putting up specifically that music.

Now I know the music so well that I actually "hear" the music when reading LotR; with each scene having the appropriate movie tune...