I’m going to sort of reveal my age here, but I really don’t understand how most of the young people on college campuses can stand having terrible sounding ear buds in their ears all day pumping low quality digitized music into their ears. They listen while walking, talking, studying, reading, eating, ordering, exercising, partying, playing and some even sleeping. The small portion when they’re in class (if they actually take them out) they’re giving their ears a much-needed break. Simply put, I can’t understand how you can exist in the world with constant noise going on in your head. How can you, in other words, think clearly? None of this is to say that music isn’t wonderful, beneficial, often helpful, relieving, inspiration, or just interesting. I’m pursuing a fine arts degree: I really do value music, just not all the time.
One of the things that interests me is how music can drive inspiration or simply amplify your ability to work. I’ve recently been working on a project requiring quick changes of mood and/or pace that are held for extended periods of time (in order to write ten page segments). While I normally prefer silence when writing (or music without lyrics — preferably unfamiliar music), in this instance having music (even familiar music with words) helped amplify the work I was doing and keep me in the type of creative mode I needed to be in to complete the tasks at hand. So I’m wondering, do you employ certain types of music at certain times in order to help you get things done for classes, projects, assignments, etc.? Most of the students I’ve talked to sort of put it in shuffle mode and read a chapter in a book, write an essay, etc. I’ve got certain playlists for certain tasks (blogging included), and I can’t imagine listening to some of the music I love while trying to get some real work done. Do you have specific playlists for specific work?