Meditative Music for Quiet Concentration


There are a number of threads on music for different occasions, but here is a tricky one for me:

What music helps you concentrate, or get through difficult tasks at home or depending on your job - at work?

There are few things in life that can ruin my weekend more than gathering receipts for taxes, opening bills, writing boring but necessary letters, reading legal documents etc.

So it would be great to put something on repeat - not too loud and not too engaging, but still something worthwhile to absorb while tackling the nightmares in the "inbox".

I found Keith Jarret Facing You perfect for falling asleep years ago, but never for working. Something was a little TOO hypnotic about them for me.

I thought the Bach 1 and 2 part inventions might hit the spot - but there is something a little distracting adn tinkly about them.

Beethoven symphonies I love but they are far too varied - I would much rather STOP working and just listen.

Mozart and Vivaldi might work in some cases, if they hadnt been played to death in Starbucks all over the world which irritates me and therefore increases my stress. So please, no coffee shop compilations!?

Some Miles Davis ALMOST works, except what I really want to do within about 3 notes of Kind of Blue, for example, is go out on the Upper West Side and eat and drink until well past midnight.

So what can you listen to, when you need to stay calm, really focus and crank through a mountain of work?

Of course, and as usual, EXTRA CREDIT for particularly good recordings.

Thank you.
cwlondon
I like Arvo Part's Alina on ECM. I also like slow Indian music--not the kind that gets all frenetic at the end. Anything which is called Alap or Alap/Jor should suit. One I especially like is by Zia Mohiuddin Dagar playing the rubra vina.

Also, pretty much any recording of the composers Ockeghem, Obrecht, Josquin Des Prez, Palestrina, Tallis... oh heck there are a lot more too... _a capella_ religious music sung in multipart harmony. Great performances are available by the Clerks' Group, the Huelgas Ensemble, Cantus Colln and the Tallis Scholars. It all sounds the same as you start to get to know it and them you begin slowly to pick up on the differences, which turn out to be many and varied.

In the New Age vein, my favourite is Deva Premal. For jazz, Kind of Blue is pretty meditative, and I also like Count Basie on piano. I've never heard a solo recording, but there are trios. He is so economical with the notes that nothing seems to be there to distract.
There were a series of Enviornment records put out in the 80's that you can find in thift shops for a dollar in good condition. They just play the same theme over and over again like the ocean or birds chirping but my favorite was just rain comming down with thunder and lighting. Yeah I know it ain't music but I used to record the same record over and over on my reel to reel and let it run for three hours at low volume and read. Since i couldn't afford a house on the beach I would just listen to the ocean and dream.
See if you can find some Doyle Dykes, acoustic guitar. Craig Chaquiso's guitar also works well for me.
The genre known as "ambient" works great in the background while working. Minimal beat, very spacy. Either you like this stuff or you don't. There is a definitive list and a streaming server you can listen to here:

http://sleepbot.com/ambience/

Explore the site and the music!

Good luck.