by Laren Grey
September 4, 2022
Music. The Universal language. The sounds that permeate barriers. The language beyond words. Instrumental music. I love it. I even wrote and recorded an instrumental album called The Sounds of Love and Fear. You can enjoy it here: https://youtu.be/oF8V7Yjg7yk
As Autumn nears, I plan to write and read more. I have a few suggestions for instrumental music styles to enjoy while writing, reading, or just chillin'. Matching books with music is a great practice, and thanks to YouTube and other platforms, music is accessible.
The instrumental genre/sub-genre list...
(in alphabetical order with examples to get you started down the wormhole)
African https://youtu.be/zSdwo_qsXS4
Ambient https://youtu.be/000z5zd6mrc
Andean https://youtu.be/dfatKkMNvuE
Arabic https://youtu.be/eBf4s0HfgjQ
Baroque (Antonio Vivaldi) https://youtu.be/GRxofEmo3HA
Celtic https://youtu.be/8dGZsyV8WgU
Chinese https://youtu.be/nI-6Uv0U028
Classical (Johann Sebastian Bach) https://youtu.be/uiTrB-zA7bc
Classical Guitar (Ana Vidovic) https://youtu.be/e26zZ83Oh6Y
Electronic (Tangerine Dream) https://youtu.be/HIQ0dd7B_FU
Flamenco (Paco De Lucia) https://youtu.be/tLu8b_xscjU
Gypsy Jazz (Django Reinhardt) https://youtu.be/ceqeR49t7I4
Indian (Ravi Shankar) https://youtu.be/C4uRCpaauvM
Japanese https://youtu.be/Tb7yhXrPfC4
Jazz (Miles Davis) https://youtu.be/O7zaUceGCmY
Jazz Guitar (Stanley Jordan) https://youtu.be/4Na5jehODSs
Minimalist (Steven Reich) https://youtu.be/pANyhXRsp2g
Native American Contemporary https://youtu.be/ST56ATKfgfs
Neo-classical https://youtu.be/M6USc22nFnY
Spanish Guitar https://youtu.be/weQz5tGEKwE
Soundscape https://youtu.be/hC3LnEJmHzk
The list doesn't end there. The genres, sub-genres, and artists of instrumental, ambient, folk, traditional, classical, and world music are endless. There aren't enough hours in your life to listen to it all. So crack open a book and listen for eternity.