advertisement


Reading and listening at the same time...

When I was studying I had classical music on headphones to listen to. Nothing with lyrics. I couldn’t study in silence very well.

If I am listening properly to a record, my eyes are shut, so no reading.
 
The last time I tried listening to music whilst doing stuff was when I decorated my daughter's bedroom. I had the radio on, as it was too much of a faff to move the hifi up there. R2 was too annoying (over-talkative DJs), R3 seemed to have opera on the whole time, and Classic FM seemed to play more adverts than music. I gave up in the end and worked in silence.
 
I usually go for my Spotify playlist on random when I'm writing a document at work, although I can't have music on when I'm writing a review, oddly.

Something quiet is quite nice when I'm reading a book and I find that heavy metal is absolutely essential when ironing.
 
I have music/chat (radio through 2nd system in workshop) on all the time I'm at home, awake and not listening to the main hi fi or watching a TV program on the PC basically. I hate the silence without it. It is just a background noise to me I guess and has no effect on my concentration... rather the other way round in fact in that when I'm concentrating on something I couldn't tell you what track was just played or what comment was made by the DJ even 30 seconds afterwards...
 
This morning I had Private Eye and Music Mags in the post. I settled down to read them and put on some Shostakovich Barshai symphonies. Wow the tonality and dynamics, damn it I have not read a page. I came up to the laptop to see what was going on needing some coffee. Back I go now:)
 
Generally I find it hard to concentrate on anything cognitively taxing if music is on, but there's some dependence on the nature of the music and the type of activity. For example, I used to find Bach keyboard works compatible with computer programming. Practical things generally seem music-compatible, but with driving it's less cut and dried. Motorways and pop/electronic dance seem to work, but romantic orchestral music generally results in a subconscious slowing down.
 
The Glass Effect by Lavinia Meijer is great background music for reading. It's a collection of compositions and etudes by Phillip Glass transcribed for harp and some of it is just so incredibly enchanting. Below is Meijer's version of Koyanisqaatsi, which is one of the best works from the album, imo, as it really facilitates an immersive, focussed mindset for whatever you're doing.

 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
And while Metamorphosis Two isn't on The Glass Effect album (it's on this album), it's arguably the best Glass-Meijer piece currently in existence:

 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Both tasks can be performed simultaneously but neither at their best level although I do like to read detailed (track by track instrument and / or lyric analysis) album reviews at the same time as early listenings of new stuff
 
If it's anything worth reading that captures the imagination then no I would prefer absolute silence, reading posts on PFM or a magazine then yeah no problem I could have music playing and listen at the same time.

I quite like having the radio on while I'm working (manual work) and if I'm in the workshop I nearly always put something on though alot of the time I will hear the first track but generally being engaged in what I'm doing quite often I realise after a while that there's no music playing and it's time for another CD or tape, or press play again.
 
I suspect that females are much better at this than mere males. From my experience music and reading together does not work well although other suggestions are welcome!
 
Interestingly, I went to the dentists today, to see the hygienist. As usual, she had R2 playing in the background on a really low quality radio, which to my ears sounded so distorted, that I honestly had difficulty working out what was coming out of the speaker i.e. it just sounded like noise to me, but she was happily humming along to it & commenting on what the DJ was saying!
 
When I bought my first hifi system at 17, my Mum would insist that I read while listening to music so that my brain remained 'active'.
 


advertisement


Back
Top