This might sound (!) strange, but I love music and sounds equally.
My favourite sound is without a doubt that of flowing water. Not the heavy crash of a waterfall after rain, rather the sound of a slow moving river or stream moving over rocks. There is no way to explain this, it’s been with me since I can first remember, but it’s profound.
That sound can transform my mood. Take me from ‘low’ to ‘normal’, from ‘normal’ to ‘ecstatic’. Just the sound, no visuals required. It shifts the gears of my temperament. It’s anchored somewhere deep inside.
There are lots of other sounds which transform my mood in different ways.
Don’t get me wrong, I also love music… deeply. However, music sucks me in. I get diverted, listening to the melody, the lyrics. My attention always ends up on the music to exclusion of all else. Thus, I cannot listen to music whilst I’m working. Any amount of music derails me and I have to turn it off.
Sound is different though. I really don’t have the expertise to explain why, but I imagine it’s because there’s no hook, no cadence, little in the way of rhythm.
The sound of water just… is. It’s there and not there. Beautiful and understated. Everything and nothing.
I could work all day long with sounds like this. In fact, more recently, that’s exactly what I do.
I’ve discovered a range of websites and apps which provide near endless sounds.
Some of them are simply the sounds, of water, of fans, of crowds, any sound really.
My favourites though are the range of apps which put a ‘science’ spin on it. I’ve no idea of whether this will work for you, but it’s certainly does for me.
My two favourites are Endel* and Brain.fm*, with Endel in the lead due to the way that you can customise the output so that you get just what you want.
I put on a pair of over-ear headphones, add in noise cancellation for good measure, hit play, and I’m off. These apps never stop, you can go for hours and they just keep on going.
Endel will try to make judgements about what might fit best at the current moment. If you’re late into the evening, it slows things down. If you’re on a walk, it will try to match your pace with the sounds it offers up.
Sounds might not have the impact upon you that they do on me. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Do you have an app that you like? Perhaps there’s a website that you visit? Maybe music does not distract you in the way that if does for me?
* I think that the links above allow you to get a free trial or something similar. I don’t think that I get anything in return, that’s certainly not my intention. Here’s the raw URLs for Endel and Brain.fm in case you prefer those.
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