When you travel somewhere, especially in the evening, the background noise diminishes and there is a sense of tranquillity. Apart from the sound of the vehicle, you don’t hear any other noise, and even that is repetitive and monotonous. After a while you start to feel sleepy. Mission accomplished.
You want to read a book but have trouble concentrating. You put on your headphones and play relaxing music. This will help you avoid having to read each paragraph two or three times.
You have trouble sleeping. On a friend’s recommendation, you try sleeping with soothing music at a low volume. Some days you see that it works, at least to some extent.
Monotonous sounds, pleasant music or melodies and playlists created specifically for a certain environment… Music is somehow part of our lives and a valid factor that intervenes in events.
When you’re younger, it’s fun to listen to songs with different instruments or crowded sounds when you’re feeling energetic. This can continue into your later years. However, there are moments when everyone needs to stop and calm down because it is a human need. A piece of classical music is just enough to relax you, even if it’s just for that moment.
I remember when I was a student, I used to study for my exams while listening to metal music. I would read those huge paragraphs in literature questions while listening to Amon Amarth. I’m not kidding. It helped me concentrate. In my opinion it was probably more the energetic feeling that their songs conveyed rather than the songs themselves. So it was there as background music and couldn’t overshadow my concentration. Of course my taste in music has changed over the years. I still listen to metal music, but not with the same enthusiasm as before. As I mentioned before, sometimes these crowded sounds can turn into noise or cacophony, which causes more exhaustion.
Having observed this for myself years ago, I decided to conduct an experiment. But before I did, I realised that the focus you have when writing (or transiting) a text is not the same as when reading it. It’s true that I could listen to metal music while solving, commenting on and answering a paragraph question. But I wasn’t doing all the work. The question had already been written. I was only doing half the work, which was understanding. When the task involves both writing and checking what has been written for understanding, sometimes you need to shift your focus to the next level. It was at this point that I thought some things needed to change.
The experiment I did was related to that. When I started writing my pieces, I preferred to start with metal music. This example isn’t about whether metal music is bad or useless; I use it because it was the genre I was most involved with at the time. I had a noticeable problem concentrating because the songs were very entertaining and made me feel physically active. I found myself involuntarily tapping to the rhythm.
In another process, I tried to do the same work (writing — reading — comprehension) with preferably quieter and instrumental music. In my opinion, the result was definitely more efficient. There were moments when I realised that I was occasionally tapping to the rhythm, but it didn’t distract me from my work. I could quickly return to my focus. It had a unifying effect rather than a divisive one.
Then I wanted to go one step further. For me, at least, the difference between song and music might be the key. Since I had achieved good results with the instrumental part, I changed the genre of the music this time. I preferred loud and soft music. I made a small playlist and filled one part with examples of metal, rock, post-punk and post-rock. The other part was classical and quiet genres. You know those playlists that are prepared for you on music platforms. You can imagine them.
Going back to the experiment, I couldn’t see any significant difference in terms of loss of concentration in this test. The only thing I noticed was that the louder, higher-pitched tracks — naturally — gave me a headache after a while. I guess that was expected and understandable. But what was more interesting was that the combination of music I personally liked from both playlists proved effective. Because there was another aspect to it: it was the pieces of music themselves which I liked that made the work more efficient, rather than the genre itself. You know, there’s a certain album by a band, and then there’s a certain track that you can’t get enough of. In that moment, that track makes you more satisfied and helps you relax.
In conclusion, I find music to be a great companion when writing my articles, stories and books. In fact, I’m beginning to realise that I can’t do without it. Although each of them offers different tastes from time to time, there are some striking effects that stand out for me. That’s why I make my choices in that direction. So that what I’m saying doesn’t remain abstract, it might be more accurate to give examples. I can easily concentrate on my reading and writing while listening to God is an Astronaut as a post-rock band and Kupla as a quieter and indie style. Both of them are instrumental.
I’m sure you’ve got some music that helps you focus and be more productive in your day-to-day work. Maybe you should create a playlist, what do you think?