Study Music

Since I spend the bulk of my time nowadays hunched over a book or Microsoft word. I know a lot of my readership can probably relate. So the issue of good study music has been an important one to me.

Now, as a second preface, I cannot listen to music when I do anything that requires problem solving, so that's basically anything besides reading. Papers I write while listening to music have the tone of a 5th grader, and I absolutely cannot do math (not that I can with open ears either).

Actually, an interview I conducted for a class with Cornell University Music/Sociology Professor Trevor Pinch revealed that I may not be alone in this. In a study he did with his own students, he found that many of them noticed improved concentration in reading while listening to certain rhythmic dance or electronic music. But when it came to solving a problem, many students found music to get in the way of their concentration.

So, reader, you heard the man. Listening to certain music may actually help concentration while reading. Win, win, right?

Here are a few albums I find enjoyable without distracting me from the task at hand.

1. El Ten Eleven - El Ten Eleven

This album is interesting. It's kind of like indie baroque music (for all the uneducated masses out there, think Bach and Mozart). The album is instrumental, with keys, guitar, bass and drums. The melodies are interesting but not abrasive, the drums constant and driving, and there is almost always a fast-moving part underlying everything. There's a lot going on, but it all melds together, creating a constant, enjoyable soundscape, much like a Bach or Mozart piece.

Check out the opener, "My Only Swerving," below (I've written about this band and this song before. Sorry, anyone who remembers).

Nothing's too distracting, and there are no lyrics to zone into, so you can keep your head buried in the textbook I know you love reading.

2. This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You

This is a Texan band some might call an Explosions In The Sky rip-off, but they're solid nevertheless. Listen to this if you're in a dark place, or reading anything in the social sciences (because that will inevitably put you in a dark place. Anthropology majors out there, you know what I mean). The album is incredibly slow and brooding. Almost every song is written around a slow, incremental build. They like to take their sweet-ass time, but it works, especially when reading about The World Trade Organization's willingness to utterly abuse Third World exporters. That's right WTO, I'm on to you.

Check "Threads." It's probably the most easily accessible song on the album (also the brightest).

3. Yo Yo Ma, Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer - Appalachian Journey

This album is a really interesting combination of old-timey folk, bluegrass and classical styles, played by a trio of astronomically talented classical musicians. It's all instrumental, save for a songs featuring James Taylor ("Hard Times Come Again No More") and Alison Kraus ("Slumber My Darling"). For the most part, it's brisk and happy and features musicianship you don't hear every day in the rock scene. And hey, it could cheer you up after hour 5 in the library. (Yeah, you're right, nothing will. Sorry I brought it up.)

Check my favorite, "Emily's Reel."

Happy studying! I should do some of that myself now.