These 20 songs and instrumental pieces span piano, ambient, lo-fi and electronic music, with details on their sound and origins. Start with Eno or Satie for a quieter backdrop, or Tycho and Idealism for more rhythm. Lyrics and dramatic builds can distract from reading, while some people work best in silence. Compare a short session, keep the volume low and choose your playlist before starting so browsing does not interrupt your work.
1. Ludovico Einaudi – Nuvole Bianche
From Einaudi’s Una Mattina (2004), this solo-piano piece places a lyrical melody over repeating accompaniment. It grows more forceful as it develops, so listeners who need an even background may prefer one of the quieter selections.
2. Hans Zimmer – Time
Written for Inception (2010), “Time” starts with a restrained repeating figure and builds towards a much larger cinematic sound. That change in intensity is its defining feature: choose it for momentum, rather than expecting the volume to stay even.
3. Yiruma – River Flows in You
First released on Yiruma’s First Love (2001), this piano piece pairs a clear, singing melody with flowing accompaniment. The tune stays prominent, so it offers more melodic company than the quieter ambient selections below.
4. Brian Eno – 1/1 (Music for Airports)
The opening piece on Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978) was co-composed with Robert Wyatt and Rhett Davies. Looped piano material unfolds over a long span, offering a spacious alternative to short songs with frequent beginnings and endings.
5. Idealism – Snowfall
This track appears on Chillhop’s Essentials – Winter 2016 compilation and runs just under three minutes. Its mellow, beat-led character makes it a compact lo-fi option, with a steady rhythmic presence beneath the melodic layers.
6. Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight
Originally released on The Blue Notebooks (2004), this piece is built around sustained, interweaving strings. Its emotional weight is part of its appeal, though that can also make it too absorbing for demanding reading.
7. Tycho – Awake
The title track of Awake (2014) reflects Tycho’s move towards a full-band sound, combining guitar, bass and drums with electronic layers. The defined rhythm gives it a different role from beatless ambience: a brighter option when you want some forward motion.
8. Explosions in the Sky – Your Hand in Mine
Closing The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place (2003), this instrumental post-rock piece develops through interlocking guitars and drums. Its quieter passages give way to fuller peaks, so it suits listeners comfortable with changes in intensity rather than constant background sound.
9. ODESZA – Koto
Version: Koto (Instrumental).
“Koto” appears on In Return (2014), with a separate instrumental version on the deluxe edition. Choose “Koto (Instrumental)” if you want to avoid the original’s vocal elements; it keeps the electronic rhythm at the centre of the arrangement.
10. J. S. Bach – Prelude in C Major, BWV 846
The first prelude in Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier unfolds as a sequence of broken chords. Choose the prelude specifically: the more intricate fugue follows it in many recordings, and piano and harpsichord performances have noticeably different characters.
11. Brian Eno – An Ending (Ascent)
From Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (1983), this piece favours sustained, floating tones over a drum-led pulse. It is one of the quieter-textured choices here, particularly if recurring beats or a strongly defined melody compete with your reading.
12. Nils Frahm – Says
Performance: live on KEXP.
This eight-minute piece appears on Spaces (2013), an album assembled from live performances. Repeating synthesiser patterns expand into a substantial build, making “Says” a developing musical journey rather than a static background loop.
13. Ólafur Arnalds – Near Light
“Near Light” comes from Living Room Songs (2011), Arnalds’ project of creating a piece each day for a week in his Reykjavík apartment. Piano and strings meet electronic rhythm, offering a compact middle ground between acoustic intimacy and a more active pulse.
14. Hammock – Turn Away and Return
From Everything and Nothing (2016), this track belongs to Hammock’s return to a more guitar-based sound. Its broad, reverberant layers make it a more immersive choice than a sparse piano recording; keep the volume low if you prefer the music to recede.
15. Helios – Bless This Morning Year
This selection appears on Eingya (2006), released by Keith Kenniff under his Helios name. Acoustic and electronic textures sit together around a gentle rhythmic framework, giving it more movement than a drone without the scale of the cinematic tracks.
16. Aphex Twin – Avril 14th
A short piano composition on Drukqs (2001), “Avril 14th” is a marked contrast to Aphex Twin’s more intricate electronic work. An exposed melody and simple accompaniment give it an intimate feel, with no drum beat competing for attention.
17. Philip Glass – Opening
“Opening” begins Glassworks, released in 1982, and is written for solo piano. Repeating figures move against one another to create a rippling pulse: a useful distinction if you prefer patterned motion to a prominent, song-like melody.
18. Erik Satie – Gymnopédie No. 1
Performance: Pascal Rogé at Steinway Hall.
The first of Satie’s three Gymnopédies, composed in 1888, places a spare melody above a slow, swaying accompaniment. Performances vary in pace and resonance, so choose a recording whose touch and spacing suit the background you want.
19. Jóhann Jóhannsson – Flight from the City
The opening track of Orphée (2016) centres on a repeating piano idea with string accompaniment. The arrangement develops patiently around that small figure, offering a restrained alternative to the more dramatic film-score builds elsewhere in the list.
20. Hania Rani – F Major
Released on Home (2020), “F Major” is a piano piece built around recurring figures and a clear rhythmic pulse. Its continuous motion makes it one of the more animated piano selections here, alongside Philip Glass’s “Opening”.
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