I wish I had a link to the study, but I remember reading the following: The best music for doing work by has very little to do with the music itself, however, there are a few guidelines that seem to help you avoid distraction and get into a the flow. These include the following -
1. The music should be well known to you: "New" music requires processing and some degree of attention, even if is background music. New patterns are registered and you can easily be drawn into a more assertive, active listening pattern. Music that you know very well helps avoid the need for new processing. The better known, the less attention required. Think "well worn music" from your salad days, could be rock, classical, hip-hop, whatever, as long as you know if like the back of your hand. 2. Lyrics require an additional level of processing. If you have some music you like -without- lyrics, that would be better. This effect can be mitigated if the lyrics are so well known that their actual meanings are no longer processed (think Eye of the Tiger, if you know the words well, you don't even really think about them anymore) but in general, removing the linguistic processing level will help. 3. More spartan arrangements tend to be better. If you have a song with a lot of sounds going on, or a delicate but recognizable interplay of many different instruments, a more spartan composition may be better. This effect is apparently mitigated in the case of large orchestral arrangements where instruments are not necessarily perceived individually, but as part of a larger section. 4. A persistent beat is apparently desirable. Hope this gives you some ideas. Personally, I have a specific 1 hour track of some traditional japanese music which I have listened to over and over again to the point where I hum along to it without having to think. It has no lyrics, it has a spartan composition (4 instruments), and a nice, steady beat. Works like a charm for me. Also, by using this same track, I've actually trained a Pavlovian response into my psyche; when I hear it, I automatically feel like "it's time to work." Just my 2 cents, Damon Mayur Karnik wrote: > I put my headphones on and don't listen to anything when I am doing > something high level / conceptual. The main idea is to not let others bother > / disturb you. If there's noise around or any distracting conversations or > something, I turn on trip hop / lounge - anything with slow bpm and calm, > familiar... of course, there are instances when you are facing a creative > block and music can be good inspiration; i log on to some internet radio > service like aol / spinner and experiment with new music... world music also > helps. > > If I am working on something low level / details (more often repetitive > stuff), then I listen to something faster - like ministry of sound / fabric > sort of compilations, chemical brothers / moby etc. to keep myself alert, > awake. > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [email protected] > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
