Music Monday: Do You Listen to Music While You Write?

Blogging, lessons learned, writing 1 Minute
cell phone, headphones, notebook and pen on the old wooden table

It’s time to do a little experimenting.

I’ve always preferred a distraction free environment when I do my work, such as getting ready for my classes or writing my blog.

But since it’s Music Monday, I wondered if listening to music while writing my blog would help me (1) come up with more ideas for my blog, and/or (2) help with the process of writing itself.

I did a little bit of background reading, and it seems background music ()no lyrics), such as quiet classical music or ambient noise, like rain, can help with the writing process.

Of course, there are some who say any kind of music is a distraction because you can’t listen and write, such multitasking is too stressful. Others, like Stephen King, prefer to listen to loud music while writing.

So I thought it was time to try it on myself. I’ll find some classical playlist on Spotify, and start playing every day for a week when I sit down to write my blog.

I’ll be curious what the results are, but the best thing about the study is that it gives me material for next week’s blog…

Note: this post was written without any music playing. I plan to start tomorrow.

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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78 thoughts on “Music Monday: Do You Listen to Music While You Write?”

  2. I prefer total silence if possible, but if it’s between music on headphones or distracting noises like other people’s conversation, then I choose the music. Droning music works best for me, such as the House Focus playlist on Spotify. Metal and post-rock works too.

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      1. LOL!! I mean, (cough….cough) that may be a real concern! 🙂
        I like music when I am writing depending on what I am writing. Will be curious on how your experiment goes .

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  4. I can’t listen to music while I work or write, Jim. I have tried and it just doesn’t work for me. I can filter out background noise so that doesn’t bother or distract me, but music does. I’ll be interested in your views when you try it out.

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      1. I’ve been watching the Ken Burns documentary in the background these days actually- I just finished the second episode. Usually I listen to hip hop or country.

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  9. I can’t listen to my playlist when I write, or any music I like. I want to hum along or dance – depending on the genre. I used to have a yoga relaxation tape that was fairly formless though – that might work, if I can find it.
    Or it might still send me to sleep.

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  10. i tend to often have music of all kinds, or a podcast on, or even television sometimes, when writing or doing things. i’ve always done this through my 100 years of homework and boring things i was required to write, and now it’s carried over to writing for pleasure. caveat: this does not work well with foreign films with subtitles. )

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  11. Absolute Silence. Distilled, preferably. There’s too many internal conversations – un-win-able arguments – and cranial noises going on inside my noggin … I’m morphing into a wolf, Jim. I hear everything, imaginary and real. Seriously, I love music but I find it distracting while writing. I may listen to favorites on Spotify to get me in the mood, and run with the feeling.

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  12. An interesting experiment, Jim. I look forward to reading the results. Personally, like many who have commented, I prefer quiet and can readily handle the normal background noise. If I had any music on, I do think that classical or instrumental music would be the least distraction. Unlike the rest of you for who all this comes easy, I have to concentrate, focus, and work hard to make the pen move. You should apply for a grant to fund your study!

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  13. I think it’s different from thing to thing you do, wha music goes to the work. E.g. I listen to normal rock when writing, but can’t read to music with lyrics. But I think indeed that music helps in everything

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  14. Silence is golden…The only time I listen to any music while writing is when I am reading blog posts and there may be a video and then I can listen and write but otherwise…I can filter out noise but music would distract me too much 🙂

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  15. I write with or without music. If I’m really into something I am oblivious to anything around me and can be for a long time. Same with when I read. Drives my husband nuts. He can talk with me and I might shake my head and mutter uhhuh…but I process nothing, just intent on what I am
    doing. In the karma world of fairness though, my son is exact same way and it drives me nuts when I’m trying to talk to him and he’s oblivious to the world around him because he’s in the middle of something!

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  16. …interesting, I wonder what you come up with and am curious to follow up on this. As for myself, I always have music on, it comforts my heart and soul. It’s a natural way of emotions to come and go and to communicate. Therefor depending on what I’m doing and the mood I’m in, I choose music wisely. All the best, Sovely

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    1. thanks for your insights, Sovely. I am also curious as to what I discover. I love music, but I think I will have trouble trying to concentrate while it is playing. But who knows!?

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  17. I used to do my homework to the accompaniment of my faithful transistor radio, despite my Dad wondering how I managed it. These days, I need silence if I’m writing – I guess I’ve lost too many brain cells to be able to multitask any more 😊

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      1. My results in the first stage of public exams – in those days, they were ‘O’ levels for us – weren’t spectacular. Maybe my Dad was right!

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  18. When I’m reading or writing, music distracts me. I’m that guy that needs the perfect quiet environment to concentrate. I used to have students who could enjoy reading in the middle of six other things going on in a classroom, and that amazed me. I can’t process or retain information that way. On the other hand, if I’m doing physical work or doing something mindless on the computer, I love my music.

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  19. It mostly depends on my mood, but a bit of music can drastically improve my efficiency. Classical music, specially those that I am familiar with does not necessarily become background music for me as I tend to either hum along… hahaha… But when I get in the zone, it just buzz away in the background, too. New and unfamiliar music often works, as long as I like the sound/genre. Good luck with your experiment.

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  20. If I’m on a laptop or PC I will have music. Usually I write on my phone and edit on the PC. If I have music on during the edit depends on how much time I have.

    I always listened to music when I wrote papers in college. Back then my system was to drink a beer for each page I finished and worry about editing the next day.

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      1. Most of them were between 3 and 5 pages but my final project was something like 30. That was a 6 month ordeal with a bunch of rewrites so it wasn’t in one sitting.

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      3. Easier as far as the time it took to write but it added some time on the edits the next day. But I could finish a paper in close to half the time it would normally take with that system. If it was an option based paper like for philosophy I could crank a paper out in no time with that system.

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  26. Just one more example: no, never. I can switch on and – as I end my work the music is out either. But I haven’t heard the first accord… OR – I hear a good composition but haven’t written a word…

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