Setting the Soundtrack
Dear Reader,
Yes, I have seen the research that suggests that music distracts you from your specific task, whether reading or writing or what have you. To this I say, “Harrumph.”
Oh, I think the research is largely accurate. But I also think it presents a presumptive defeasible generalization. That is, it’s true in many cases but subject to exceptions.
Among other things, music can motivate you to get painful tasks done. Reading isn’t always pleasant, even when it’s material you desire to read. And music can set the scene, or the mood, for your reading. However much we might wish that the icon of a movie soundtrack didn’t so influence us that we imagine our own lives governed by such soundtracks, many of us find ourselves so influenced anyway.
I am more particular about my writing music, to be honest. And much of the time, I write in pure silence, as music can indeed lead to a sort of floating away from the desired task. I still have set music for set labors, most notably when it’s a long stretch of writing I must navigate. Endless austerity possesses its own distractions, making music an occasionally purposive aid instead of a hindrance.
Music for reading is perhaps analogous to music for writing, but it isn’t the same. Music for reading is further made messy because the purpose of the read somewhat dictates the appropriate music. (And, of course, a person’s preferred sorts of music come into play as well.)
I don’t typically require or desire music in the background when I’m reading. I can get up in the morning and read in silence for hours. I can head to a library and let the words come at me in waves. And I have definitely observed occasions when music distracted me from my read. Sometimes, though, the time of day or simply the type of reading suggests some musical accompaniment.
For lighter, pop reads, I tend to select similar music. This is not least because such reads are usually selected for pure entertainment, so flitting from one light entertainment to another seems fitting enough.
For grinding reads, the academic sort that promise to last longer than a half hour, I might select an actual movie soundtrack (Erich Wolfgang Korngold remains the king here) or a music genre that I like but don’t have any knowledge of. Classical music, for example, is risky for me since I’ve spent time studying many of the composers. And music with words needs to be sung in something like Finnish or Russian so I don’t start thinking about what is being said. Classical guitar music I’ve found especially useful, unless it’s the same blasted John Dowland lute songs. (I do love John Dowland, just not on repeat.)
For more intermediate reads or novels of varying density, it’s even rarer that I’ll try for accompanying music. Yet if it’s late enough of an evening, or some other strange fancy inspires, I’ll seek out music uniquely appropriate to the read.
Overall, a soundtrack for reading is unnecessary. And in the case of preparing for licensing exams, for example, it would be inappropriate during the timed practice tests. There are, nevertheless, occasions when a soundtrack can be of benefit—by forcing you to finish an unwelcome task—or felicity—because of aesthetic sensibilities.
I should end by highlighting the fact that a coffee shop hum, rain dripping from a rooftop, and the quiet rustle of a page turning in a library make for their own soundtracks. In a certain sense, our reading always has a soundtrack, though the three I’ve just mentioned also possess a distinct sense of place, a distinct ambience. Even if our reading always has a soundtrack, though, music is a distinct kind of soundtrack, one that can be with readers almost completely irrespective of place.
So what has been your experience with setting a soundtrack for your reading? Does it naturally occur? Do you plan it out? Or do you have to avoid all music because you cannot focus with it playing, no matter the style?
Happy reading to you,
Kreigh