# Can you read with music on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776 "2013-01-20T03:24:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/21 "2013-01-21T03:06:44Z")
I find I can read with music on if I don’t find the music particularly interesting. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/22 "2013-01-21T04:44:29Z")
I don’t listen to music if I’m reading a novel or studying. I listen all the time while browsing the web though. Every now and then I’ll look away from the screen to concentrate on an interesting section of music. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/23 "2013-01-21T07:00:16Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > I don’t listen to music if I’m reading a novel or studying. I listen all the time while browsing the web though. Every now and then I’ll look away from the screen to concentrate on an interesting section of music. Crap. You know, this IS an exception for me. I listen to music constantly while surfing. If the subject material gets a little tricky, I hit pause to concentrate. I don’t listen when I’m reading a book, or when I studied in school, but I definitely listen to tunes while surfing. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/24 "2013-01-21T07:16:41Z")
I listen strictly to instrumental music while reading, and use it not only to drown out background noises and my tinnitus, but also to add some thematic mood to whatever book I’m reading at the time. If I’m reading a philosophical book, I’ll play some ambient music. If I’m reading a book about medieval history, I’ll play some appropriate period music or soundtrack music, and so forth. I set the volume at a lower level than for active listening though. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/25 "2013-01-21T15:05:58Z")
Unless I’m drugged, I can usually read at any time. Music doesn’t bother me. Some drugs make it very difficult to concentrate, but other that, not much will intrude on my reading. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/26 "2013-01-21T16:23:40Z")
No. I also don’t like to do mental labor while listening to music. Manual labor, otoh, is OK as long as the music is not loud. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/27 "2013-01-21T16:43:23Z")
I can, and nearly always do. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/28 "2013-01-21T20:44:37Z")
I prefer to read while music is playing, unless I don’t like the music that’s available. I can read with the TV on, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/29 "2013-01-21T21:17:48Z")
Pleasure reading, easily. When I was in school I could never concentrate on school work with music that had vocals. So I would listen to classical or instrumental music like The Dregs. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/30 "2013-01-21T21:18:42Z")
All the time. I actually get a bit uncomfortable in too quiet a room, so normally have background music. ---
**Author:** ![DeweyDecibel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DeweyDecibel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeweyDecibel)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/31 "2013-01-24T22:40:40Z")
Instrumental music played quietly is no problem. However, music with singing makes it completely impossible for me to read anything more complex than a trashy magazine. I just hear the words the singer is singing and can’t focus on the words in the page. Oddly, music sung in a language I totally don’t understand is OK, but music sung in Spanish, which I know the very basics of, isn’t. I can only understand every 10th word in sung Spanish (if that), but it’s enough to keep me from focusing. Not a problem in, say, Russian, which I know absolutely nothing of. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/32 "2013-01-24T22:47:01Z")
Generally I can’t. I get too distracted by the music and end up listening rather than reading. I prefer that music be off most of the time, including for reading. If I could find a cafe without piped-in music, I’d go there every day. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/33 "2013-01-25T02:38:40Z")
It’s strange, if I’m reading a novel, I need absolute silence. If I’m reading the Internets, it’s imperative that the TV is playing in the background. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776/34 "2013-01-25T02:50:23Z")
I can if I have to but I dislike it intensely. Ditto TV in the background. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-read-with-music-on/647776.md?page=1)