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coalescentAbstract
There are four major types of driving: Town driving, country driving, motorway driving and night driving. The set of suitable driving music varies with the type of driving undertaken.
Methods
A wide range of music was tested in a variety of driving situations over a five year period. Those pieces of music found to best match particular driving tasks were recorded. The top five pieces of music for each driving situation were subsequently identified.
Results
Conclusions
(a) Music for town driving should be relaxing yet upbeat. The music of bands such as early REM and The Thrills, and of singer-songwriters such as Ed Harcourt and Matthew Jay, is well-suited to this type of driving.
(b) Country driving is often the most enjoyable type of driving, and the accompanying music should therefore be punchy and energetic. Ash is the quintessential country driving band.
(c) Music for motorway driving should have a groove. Interestingly, positive grooves ('There Goes The Fear') and negative grooves ('Leave') are equally effective.
(d) Music for night driving should be calm and warm. Nostalgia is often appropriate. In hindsight, the finding that songs such as 'Angel' (Massive Attack) and 'Low Five' (Sneaker Pimps) are 'too dark' for night driving is obvious.
It has not escaped the author's attention that these findings suggest a mechanism for creating idealised driving compilations.
There are four major types of driving: Town driving, country driving, motorway driving and night driving. The set of suitable driving music varies with the type of driving undertaken.
Methods
A wide range of music was tested in a variety of driving situations over a five year period. Those pieces of music found to best match particular driving tasks were recorded. The top five pieces of music for each driving situation were subsequently identified.
Results
| Top five songs for each driving situation. | |
| Town Driving | Country Driving |
|
|
| Motorway Driving | Night Driving |
|
|
Conclusions
(a) Music for town driving should be relaxing yet upbeat. The music of bands such as early REM and The Thrills, and of singer-songwriters such as Ed Harcourt and Matthew Jay, is well-suited to this type of driving.
(b) Country driving is often the most enjoyable type of driving, and the accompanying music should therefore be punchy and energetic. Ash is the quintessential country driving band.
(c) Music for motorway driving should have a groove. Interestingly, positive grooves ('There Goes The Fear') and negative grooves ('Leave') are equally effective.
(d) Music for night driving should be calm and warm. Nostalgia is often appropriate. In hindsight, the finding that songs such as 'Angel' (Massive Attack) and 'Low Five' (Sneaker Pimps) are 'too dark' for night driving is obvious.
It has not escaped the author's attention that these findings suggest a mechanism for creating idealised driving compilations.
