Music To Write By
MMAnd sometimes I need music to screen ambient sounds, especially conversation. I have a rather small classical music collection, and haven't really settled on stuff I like to write by. Do you guys have favorites? I reckon that would change according to what you're writing: upbeat, soothing, etc.
MMBTW, I did do some googling without much help. I found this study. I assume the little dears were listening to stuff that I wouldn't call "music."
The effects of background music on word processed writing
S. E. Ransdell and L. Gilroy
Division of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, 2912 College Ave, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA
Abstract
College students often listen to music while they use a computer. This experiment investigated whether background music disrupts their ability to word process fluently and effectively. Forty-five psychology undergraduates wrote brief expository essays. Background music significantly disrupted writing fluency (words generated per minute controlling for typing speed and including those words deleted before the final draft) even though no response to the music was required. Those with some musical training and high working memory span wrote better essays with longer sentences and were also more likely to pause at clause boundaries. Even unattended music places heavy demands on working memory and disrupts word processed writing.
2 comments:
I don't write to music very often, but when I do, it tends to be classical guitar. My Christopher Parkening Plays Bach CD is such a well-loved favorite that listening to it is a soothing, meditative experience.
I'm long time music lover and now passionate on writing fiction and poems, and always have some kind of music going on. But music has really been great at moments when I have a great "ah hah" experience and the words come easy and loud and flow like the mood of the music. Example The other day, having let ideas about a love poem ride in my brain for sometime, turning on Josh Grobin, all of a sudden writing as fast as I could, I had a great piece written! After all that labor, thinking, wow! That's how I find music inspiring and a big boomer in my life and creativity.
Post a Comment