A few months ago I asked the members of the QuiltArt list whether they listen to anything while they work, or if background noise is a distraction. I had been quilting along to some Run-DMC (quilting and old school rap DO go together) and just wondered what music, if any, gets other people creating.
The responses were tremendously varied, from Gregorian chants to heavy metal to folk (not so much on the hip hop, though), and I enjoyed reading all of the responses. There was one response of the dozens that came in that made me think:
Doesn't anyone work in silence and let the work speak to them?
After some real consideration, I decided that the music or NPR serve a critical function for me. If the left side of my brain is engaged in listening to a discussion of singing along (badly) to music from my college years, the right side is freed up to just create. The good inner critic that says, "Try this quilting design" or "Purple would be beautiful there" comes through loud and clear while the negative critic -- "Are you nuts? You can't do this!" -- is occupied remembering the words to Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger."
That's just me, though. Does the music serve a function for you? Or is it just to cover up the creaks and pops your house/studio make everyday?
I can totally relate. Sometimes music is filler, i.e., background noise. Most often, however, it's there to motivate. That's where the kind of music played is really important.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Rabihah! Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteDepends. Early mornings I love the quiet. Eye of the Tiger would keep me from doing anything - one of my least fav songs of the 80s!
ReplyDeleteFunny about that -- my teenage son is the one who loves that song and it ended up in my playlist. It has grown on me.
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