Why I Don’t Listen to Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks
Sight vs. aural reading
Intro: You can’t listen to two songs at once
The last time I listened to music as a habit was back in the ’90s. I was in high school and Walkmans were still a thing. I listened to the radio and knew all the hits. But when I entered college and started reading extensively, I found I couldn’t listen to music anymore. As my classmates put on their earphones during study group, I marveled at how they could possibly read while keeping some background music on.
Music, for them, calmed their minds and helped them concentrate. It used to be like that for me, too. But after high school, music started affecting me differently. It interfered with my reading. It stole my attention.
I also learned to drive at that time. I found that I hated it, too, when music was playing whenever I’m on the wheel. I couldn’t concentrate on my driving.
Before college, I played the piano. I liked listening to songs and doing my own covers. I read notes (a bit), but I mostly played by ear and preferred picking the scale and chords on my own. I liked listening to jazz like it was holy grail, because I couldn’t play it.
