I’m not one of these people who likes music playing all the time, nor do I have any musical talent whatsoever.
Music with words makes it difficult for me to concentrate, though it’s great when I’m doing something that doesn’t take a lot of attention, like housework or exercise.
I advocate either classical music (Beethoven, Vivaldi, and Mozart especially; Brahms if I’m tense and need to relax) or good instrumental soundtracks to help with writing, problem-solving, and most forms of knowledge-work. I’m particularly fond of the soundtracks from
Last of the Mohicans (I used this on repeat for the big pushes on my last 2 books!)
The Lord of the Rings
The Mission
The Road to Perdition
A great source is YouTube. Search for “study music” and “music for focus” and “ambient study music”) and you’ll find excellent videos that go for hours.
The other benefit of playing these when working from home is that it masks noises from other activities in the house!
Find what works for you and use it.
