Non-distracting music for reading?

January 13, 2008 11:55 PM

What music can you listen to while reading, and not get distracted from your text?

For a variety of reasons (mostly drown out minor background noise), it would be to my benefit if I could listen to music while reading. However, when I listen to one of my normal playlists, my music (both because it contains words and has distinct beats/melodies) manages to completely defocus me from my book.

What music have you found that you can listen to while reading and still remain focused?

posted by comwiz to media & arts (43 comments total)

Only instrumental pieces that I am unfamiliar with work for me. Once I start getting to know the pieces well enough, they too become distracting. I've tried everything from classical pieces to film scores, but as soon as I start to know it, that's it.
posted by cmgonzalez at 12:09 AM on January 14, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Enya. It's pretty much the only time I can stand to listen to her, as background for study. I think because the words are often indistinct or Gaelic (and therefore incomprehensible to me), and it's a non-rock type of sound.
posted by b33j at 12:12 AM on January 14, 2008

Certain types of classical music make for great background reading music. My two current favourites are the sound track to the film Naqoyqatsi by Philip Glass and Yo-Yo Ma and the Piano Concerto by Wojciech Kilar (he’s also composed some amazing movie soundtracks)
posted by Jasper Friendly Bear at 12:14 AM on January 14, 2008

Nothing works better for me than early ambient electronic music like Brian Eno, or Phaedra-era Tangerine Dream.
posted by GeekAnimator at 12:16 AM on January 14, 2008

Try anything ambient/minimalist turned to a relatively low volume. So yes to Eno and mild-mannered Philip Glass, but no to Steve Reich when he's being especially percussive.

Try The Glass Engine to try out various combinations of mood, intensity and velocity. Glassworks (tracks 1,3 5 and 6) or most tracks from Anima Mundi should be pretty enough but not too distracting for work.
posted by maudlin at 12:16 AM on January 14, 2008

Totally agree with cmgonzalez on this one. Instrumental is the best thing for me, because there are no words. Yet if it's something I begin to really like, even that will distract me.

If you're only looking to drown out background noise, why not get a noisy fan? I'm a night nurse and I use a noisy fan to sleep during the day. The only problem I've found with it is not being able to sleep now without it! Any of the large cheap fans are fairly noisy. Just don't get the ones that brag about how silent they are, that obviously won't work. ;)
posted by magnoliasouth at 12:17 AM on January 14, 2008

Glenn Gould, especially his famous Well Tempered Clavier recording. Anything with a Baroque flavor seems to match my reading speed.
posted by geoff. at 12:17 AM on January 14, 2008

psytrance & psychill
posted by lastobelus at 12:21 AM on January 14, 2008

Music in another language? French, Hindi, whatever appeals to you. I suggest this because my main problem with listening to music while working is when the lyrics are overly distinct. Lyrics in a language you don't understand as anything other than *human voice making sounds* might help if you have the same problem as me.
posted by MadamM at 12:27 AM on January 14, 2008

I listen to movie scores when I am reading and writing -- they're typically non-obstrusive by design and there is a never-ending supply of new albums.
posted by robotdog at 12:41 AM on January 14, 2008

I can listen to anything that matches the mood of the text. For example, several years ago I read an amazing travelogue about two guys who cycled across the US while listening to Sheryl Crow's The Globe Sessions on constant loop.

If you have a large music collection, it's not too difficult to find an album or build up a playlist that can act as an "unofficial soundtrack" to a book. Sometimes the "official" soundtrack can work though. I listened to The Virgin Suicides soundtrack while reading the book, for example.

Music that can be interpreted in a significant number of ways, such as, say, Pink Floyd, Philip Glass, or Brian Eno, are probably well suited to a significant number of books.
posted by wackybrit at 12:42 AM on January 14, 2008

I have a huge playlist dedicted to writing, it would work. Here are some of the big artists:

Boards of Canada -- trippy electronic music

Alias and Ehren -- Anticon hip-hop collective turns out a sweet, gently rhythmic album

American Analog Set -- it has words, but it's soft and sinks into the melodic, textured, gorgeous music

Selected Ambient Works by Aphex Twin -- sinks into the background, pretty, electronic

John Fahey -- acoustic folk guitar god

Massive Attack Vs. Mad Professor -- triphop mixed down into neo-dub

Japancakes -- The Sleepy Strange -- large group of muscians making instrumental songs with lots of strings and slide guitar

The new Odd Nosdam album bores into your skull but might be too distracting with it's drones mixed with beats

Tim Hacker -- pure electric drones

Ulrich Schnauss -- A Strangley Isolated Place -- shoegazer fuzzy rock with ambient electronica

Augustus Pablo -- Old school dub with a melodica

The Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis

Sigur Ros -- Droney guitars, beautiful melodies, they don't sing in English
posted by Bookhouse at 12:43 AM on January 14, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Fennesz: Endless Summer or Venice (Mego)
Atom Heart: Superficial Depth
posted by rhizome at 12:48 AM on January 14, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Brian Eno
Deaf center
Library tapes
Future sound of london
Max Richter
Ryan Teague
Excursions in Ambience
Mixmaster morris
William basinski
KLF - chillout
Maitreya
Maitreya
Harold Budd
Johannsson, Johann - IBM 1401, a User's Manual
Craig armstrong - piano works
Bibio - fi
Belong - October language
Aidan baker

A sample of what I like to read to.
posted by debu at 1:22 AM on January 14, 2008

Baroque and Classical guitar music. nthing the Philip Glass as well. Portishead and other trip-hoppy stuff works for writing I find.
posted by Rumple at 1:36 AM on January 14, 2008

Paul Oakenfold...

His 72 minute+ mixes are always great for long coding sessions where I need to focus and not sing along.

Of course, now I've memorized every single beat in each of his songs... but that's a different issue.
posted by disillusioned at 1:38 AM on January 14, 2008

What about "nature sound" CDs? Rain, ocean tides, etc. But finding the best sample of your preferred sound is another matter...
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 1:42 AM on January 14, 2008

Try some Terry Oldfield (samples). I bought a couple of his songs from emusic, but itunes probably has him.
posted by fleeba at 1:59 AM on January 14, 2008

My favourite reading music is the soundtrack from the adventure game Riven. Most of the tracks are musically simple, and thus not distracting.
posted by ogami at 2:06 AM on January 14, 2008

This post has some good suggestions.
posted by pilibeen at 2:11 AM on January 14, 2008

Seconding the Future Sound of London.

However, if you want to go the nature CD route, I can suggest a freeware PC program called Aire Freshener. I often use it to concentrate in the boisterous atmospheres I always find myself in.

Not sure if you were looking for a PC-based solution, but I likes the program.
posted by Ian.I.Am at 2:12 AM on January 14, 2008

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 2

Also seconding Brian Eno, Glenn Gould, and (some) Philip Glass.
posted by benign at 2:48 AM on January 14, 2008

The streaming radio station somafm has a channel called "Drone Zone," which plays ambient textural music without voices or beats. You could also try any channel in the iTunes radio section under "Ambient."
posted by conrad53 at 5:02 AM on January 14, 2008

I am partial to low volume 2nd set Grateful Dead shows.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 5:42 AM on January 14, 2008

The Soundtrack to The Fountain - by Clint Mansell, performed by the Kronos Quartet.

My job involves a lot of reading, and this seems to be the only piece of music that not only doesnt distract me, but actually helps me focus.

it is mind-boggingly beautiful music.
posted by TheOtherGuy at 5:43 AM on January 14, 2008

I find that what matters is not the music, but whether I know it well or not. If I've never heard the music before, I won't be able to concentrate but if I know it well, no problem whatsoever. It's the same with listening whilst travelling in a noisy car - music I know well is fine, because I seem to sub-consciously fill in the bits that I can't hear, but new music sends me mad, because I know I'm missing something, but don't know what.

In summary: try listening to that embarrassing MOR record that you loved when you were 9. If not, then - as wackybrit pointed out - try listening to the same record continuously. William Orbit's Pieces in a Modern Style is my work CD.

OT: I used to have a theory when I worked in publishing that authors would always have a particular album that they had listened to over and over whilst writing on a particular book - quite often because the music would seep into the text that I was editing. All the authors I asked about this confirmed that it was true.
posted by unless I'm very much mistaken at 5:48 AM on January 14, 2008

Yes, I agree with unless I'm very much mistaken. For this reason, I find much success with Barenaked Ladies' Stunt.

NOT on random, that would distract me. It's something about 45+ minutes of sound that I know completely.

I would, perhaps counter-intuitively turn it up really loud. It would drown out ambient noise. There aren't any other albums that I know well enough.

Might be worth giving it a shot.
posted by sondrialiac at 5:58 AM on January 14, 2008

My current fave is Pat Metheny's 'One Quiet Night'...just him with one (baritone) guitar and a mic. Also excellent for meditation.
posted by dawson at 6:04 AM on January 14, 2008

My go to album for this purpose is Jan Johansson's Jazz på Svenska. Very serene and calming, with just enough happening to shut out background noise.
posted by AwkwardPause at 6:11 AM on January 14, 2008

Instrumental post rock works for me. God is an Astronaut is one of my favorites and their music is very relaxing and beautiful. They have all their songs up on a playlist on their myspace page, three albums worth I think.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:14 AM on January 14, 2008

I'll second Boards of Canada... that got me through some intense programming assignments in College.

Also in the same vein... Caribou (formerly Manitoba)
posted by utsutsu at 7:29 AM on January 14, 2008

If it's mainly to block background noise, try more noise, especially the pink kind - there are lots of soft- and hardware generators available (eg. Noise for the Mac).

More musical, but completely non-distracting after a while is the Buddha Machine by FM3, which plays a set of short drone loops and is based on 'chanting machines' used in Buddhist temples - I have one running in the background when writing and reading a lot, especially when a deadline is looming. It's also a nice little object.

Sorry for answering at a bit of a tangent, but I've found the above sounds much less distracting than music proper, and the Buddha Machine especially good for focusing the mind on the task at hand.
posted by jack_mo at 9:16 AM on January 14, 2008

I find that classical music or somafm's Drone Zone work for me. Also, along the lines of the recommendation of a noisy fan, I sometimes find that my clothes dryer makes for fairly decent constant background noise. It's in a hallway near my bedroom, and I often find it easier to get to sleep when it's running, as long as I actually fall asleep while it's still on. It also makes for a nice consistent sound vs eerie house-quiet.
posted by epersonae at 9:32 AM on January 14, 2008

For me it has to be something which either has no voices (however instrumental tends to make me aggressive/hyper so I will generally look for trance/experimental), or else is something that I've heard hundreds+ of times. I.E. while at work 90% of the time I listen to NoFX's "The Decline" (AKA "an auditory dog fart" by Ms. nobeagle) while I'm working, and as such it's pretty much just white noise in my head, and I have no difficulties working/thinking/reading while listening to it.
posted by nobeagle at 9:34 AM on January 14, 2008

Have the same problem, but the more I listen to music while I study the easier it becomes and I'm able to listen to more diverse music. When I'm not tired, Boards of Canada or Kronos Quartet work great. And I'm when I'm totally dead and need a boost end.user or bong-ra usually help a lot.
posted by sero_venientibus_ossa at 9:56 AM on January 14, 2008

Explosions in the Sky.
posted by streetdreams at 10:36 AM on January 14, 2008

Partly because I listened to it five million times in college, partly the tempo: Depeche Mode's Violator. Sigur Ros, as someone else mentioned, is great b/c they don't sing in English.
posted by herbaliser at 12:19 PM on January 14, 2008

Can you run Sbagen? It's a free program which produces binaural frequencies to supposedly elicit certain states of mind. Even if the science(?) behind it is pure hokum, I find the results relaxing and fine to read to.

As for music, I recommend Bach, Arvo Part, Sor, some Coil (Black Light District and Time Machines), Philip Glass, Tangerine Dream, Burzum, and anything which is so familiar to you that you hardly notice it.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:22 PM on January 14, 2008

Oh, and Johann Johannson is a genius.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:23 PM on January 14, 2008

iMusic
posted by LC at 12:55 PM on January 14, 2008

Movie Soundtracks and anything in the downtempo/electronica genre.
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 2:21 PM on January 14, 2008

unless I'm very much mistaken is right about being able to tune out music that you're familiar with, it's always worked for me. Here's stuff that I use, some of it already mentioned by other people:

Sigur Ros (listening now)
Boards of Canada
God is an Astronaut
Air
Explosions in the Sky
Autechre
Aphex Twin
Mono
Mogwai
posted by Who_Am_I at 3:49 PM on January 14, 2008

+1 for the soundtrack to The Fountain.

I also enjoy putting on some Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Lustmord.
posted by treesarefree at 4:08 PM on January 25, 2008