How to engage in music? (listening to music, house, jazz, metal)

[lucifer_sam]

I've been wondering about this for a while. I'll notice every now and then that i enjoy an album at a particular time, but not so much at others. Not like i go from hating it to loving it but that it'll grab me at some times but not others, just based on the situations that i'm in.

I've got an idea that this has something to do with mediating a secondary level of consciousness (i know that might sound like bs but it isn't). What i mean is that when you're actively devoting yourself to a task that requires little attention (i.e. driving, walking, cutting the grass, exercising, etc), your mind is free to wander. I feel like the injection of music into these situations draws your meandering brain into the music.

Conversely, i feel like music interferes with my ability to perform a task that requires a primary level of consciousness (i.e. studying, reading a book, drawing). It seems like every time i have music on i find it hard to concentrate on something i'm reading, my brain won't follow my eyes and i'll end up reading the same sentence over and over.

I don't know, maybe it's just my perception of it, but i feel like there's actually something concrete to this observation. I kinda wish there was a way to measure this empirically but i'm sure any kind of case study would require multiple impracticalities.

I'm not trying to break pedantic wind over anyone but this is just something i've been curious about for a while. Anybody else notice this?