--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I rarely listen to music while writing…" description: "\"I rarely listen to music while writing. If I don't like it, it bothers me, and if I like it, it absorbs me so much I can't write.\" — Vikram Seth" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg" --- # I rarely listen to music while writing. If I don't like… ![“I rarely listen to music while writing. If I don't like it, it bothers me, and if I like it, it absorbs me so much I can't write.” quote by Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg) > “I rarely listen to music while writing. If I don't like it, it bothers me, and if I like it, it absorbs me so much I can't write.” [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music can distract or enhance writing depending on personal preference and emotional response. **In simple terms:** Music affects writing focus. Key Takeaway Choose silence or music wisely. Themes creativity focus preferences Mood contemplative neutral Type advice personal When to use this quote - writing sessions - studio work - creative blocks Key Concepts cognitive load flow state Questions to Reflect On - Do you write better in silence? - How does music change your mood while writing? A Different Perspective Music may not suit all tasks; some need quiet. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/) [Listen Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-music/) [Listening to music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening-to-music/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-writing/) [Rarely Listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rarely-listen-1506688/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I rarely listen to music while writing. I wish I could, but it distracts me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i-wish-i-could-but-it/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [I very rarely listen to music in my car - a lot of people make fun of me for it. But sometimes I listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/i-very-rarely-listen-to-music-in-my-car-a-lot-of-people-make-fun-of/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [I never listen to music when I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/i-never-listen-to-music-when-i-m-writing/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [I can't listen to music while writing - any such distraction would have dreadful consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-child/i-can-t-listen-to-music-while-writing-any-such-distraction-would-have/) [Lincoln Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-child/) > [I can't listen to music when I'm writing. I like music best in a car or on the train.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-freudenberger/i-can-t-listen-to-music-when-i-m-writing-i-like-music-best-in-a-car/) [Nell Freudenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-freudenberger/) > [But I never listen to music while I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/but-i-never-listen-to-music-while-i-m-writing/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [I rarely listen to the music for the sheer pleasure. I'm listening for the tool, I'm listening for the instrument, I'm listening for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/i-rarely-listen-to-the-music-for-the-sheer-pleasure-i-m-listening-for/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [I don't listen to music. I very rarely listen to music. I only listen for information. I listen when a friend sends me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oates/i-don-t-listen-to-music-i-very-rarely-listen-to-music-i-only-listen/) [John Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oates/) > [At any given time I'm listening to the Cory Branan, Leonna Naess, Eve 6, the King's Noyse, Sean Paul, Green Day, the BoDeans, Buddy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/at-any-given-time-i-m-listening-to-the-cory-branan-leonna-naess-eve-6/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [If I hear a record once, I usually never listen to it again. I rarely listen to music - unless it's Billie Holiday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/if-i-hear-a-record-once-i-usually-never-listen-to-it-again-i-rarely/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [I don't like headphones very much, and I rarely listen to music on headphones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-don-t-like-headphones-very-much-and-i-rarely-listen-to-music-on/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [“Music is my longtime friend. And I could never betray it. I listen to music while I’m writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/music-is-my-longtime-friend-and-i-could-never-betray-it-i-listen-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I don't listen to music when I'm writing, but I often do when I'm reworking, editing or when I need to relax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-don-t-listen-to-music-when-i-m-writing-but-i-often-do-when-i-m/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [I know a lot of people don't listen to music when they're writing because it distracts them, but for me it's almost a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-know-a-lot-of-people-don-t-listen-to-music-when-they-re-writing/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [It's very unlikely you're a genius, but, if you're ready to work at it hard and you want to listen to music all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/it-s-very-unlikely-you-re-a-genius-but-if-you-re-ready-to-work-at-it/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) ## More by Vikram Seth > [Realism hasn't fallen out of favor with most people, who are interested in people's lives rather than gymnastics of style or literary trends. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/realism-hasn-t-fallen-out-of-favor-with-most-people-who-are/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [I don't think anyone should be banned. If you don't like a book, set it aside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-don-t-think-anyone-should-be-banned-if-you-don-t-like-a-book-set-it/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [It's not the gods But our own hearts We need to fear. The evil starts Against all odds Not there but here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/it-s-not-the-gods-but-our-own-hearts-we-need-to-fear-the-evil-starts/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“But what should I do?' Varun was saying. 'I'm not good for anything.' 'Write a book! Pull a rickshaw! Live! Don't make excuses,' said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/but-what-should-i-do-varun-was-saying-i-m-not-good-for-anything-write/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“In a clear brook With joyful haste The whimsical trout Shot past me like an arrow I play the line of the song, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/in-a-clear-brook-with-joyful-haste-the-whimsical-trout-shot-past-me/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Boredom provides a stronger inclination to write than anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/boredom-provides-a-stronger-inclination-to-write-than-anything/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [I don't think people give Indian society enough credit. We may not like to talk much about things but we do, basically, want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-don-t-think-people-give-indian-society-enough-credit-we-may-not/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [The problem with too beautiful a view is that it's alright for the mulling stage. But for the writing stage, you want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-problem-with-too-beautiful-a-view-is-that-it-s-alright-for-the/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“Romantic retrospect aside, the night spent in the truck is distinctly unpleasant. We are cramped and cold. The much-vaunted heating of the truck is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/romantic-retrospect-aside-the-night-spent-in-the-truck-is-distinctly/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Is it not love that knows how to make smooth things rough and rough things smooth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/is-it-not-love-that-knows-how-to-make-smooth-things-rough-and-rough/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“Well, what do you think? Avanti?" "Avanti," cries everyone, and, after a few quick re-tunings of our instruments, and re-initialisings of our hearts, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/well-what-do-you-think-avanti-avanti-cries-everyone-and-after-a-few/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Behind every door on every ordinary street, in every hut in every ordinary village in this middling planet of a trivial star, such riches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/behind-every-door-on-every-ordinary-street-in-every-hut-in-every/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“Perhaps it is true that for all the evidence of the mirror, one pictures oneself in some deep niche of the mind as forever 18.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/perhaps-it-is-true-that-for-all-the-evidence-of-the-mirror-one/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [What is the difference between my life and my love? One gets me low, the other lets me go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/what-is-the-difference-between-my-life-and-my-love-one-gets-me-low/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“The past is the past, and he can't make amends, only hope that the gain will outlast the damage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-past-is-the-past-and-he-can-t-make-amends-only-hope-that-the-gain/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Explore all 113 Vikram Seth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) ## More Bother quotes > [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [One day I decided I would like to put a record into my system. So I picked up a record that was lying on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/one-day-i-decided-i-would-like-to-put-a-record-into-my-system-so-i/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gottschall/i-think-what-bothers-us-about-fighting-sports-isn-t-the-damage-to-the/) [Jonathan Gottschall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gottschall/) > [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/) [Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/) > [I've always been a late bloomer in some ways, and extremely precocious in other ways. When I was twenty I was living in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-ve-always-been-a-late-bloomer-in-some-ways-and-extremely-precocious/) [Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/) > [“Shut up. Stand up. Put this on. That’s right . . . if you were the kind of man who found it easy to do that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/shut-up-stand-up-put-this-on-that-s-right-if-you-were-the-kind-of-man/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [We have reached the point where we can lose a game or two and not drop out of sight in the rankings. I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavell-edwards/we-have-reached-the-point-where-we-can-lose-a-game-or-two-and-not/) [LaVell Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavell-edwards/) > [I've said I want the meanest, toughest SOB I can find to protect America. And so that's why Trump's tone doesn't bother me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/i-ve-said-i-want-the-meanest-toughest-sob-i-can-find-to-protect/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) > [I was a loner as a child. I had an imaginary friend - I didn't bother with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-was-a-loner-as-a-child-i-had-an-imaginary-friend-i-didn-t-bother/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [This hype word bothers me though It always sounds like an accusation, what does it mean, advertising, column inches in the press? Bands themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-johnson/this-hype-word-bothers-me-though-it-always-sounds-like-an-accusation/) [Holly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-johnson/) > [Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-but-only-the-newest-theory/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-dale-bell/show-me-a-man-who-cannot-bother-to-do-little-things-and-i-ll-show-you/) [Lawrence Dale Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-dale-bell/) > [People are people. All that celebrity tagging doesn't bother me at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-price/people-are-people-all-that-celebrity-tagging-doesn-t-bother-me-at-all/) [Katie Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-price/) [Browse all 1,604 Bother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I rarely listen to music while writing. If I don't like it, it bothers me, and if I like it, it absorbs me so much I can't write.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-if-i-don-t-like-it-it-bothers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bother" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-if-i-don-t-like-it-it-bothers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I rarely listen to music while writing. If I don't like it, it bothers me, and if I like it, it absorbs me…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Vikram Seth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I rarely listen to music while...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-if-i-don-t-like-it-it-bothers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-if-i-don-t-like-it-it-bothers/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```