Easy-going Music

The attraction of easy going music is to help a person relax, to have a sound that removes the silence but doesn't distract and doesn't impose itself. This is evident in places like hotels and shopping centres, who often use this music to make its guests and visitors feel comfortable in their environment. Whilst there is no one genre that should be played to achieve this, there are different techniques for the effect.

For a sound that is purely to create an easy going mood where the songs are not memorable and barely even noticed, instrumental background music has been deployed for decades. This has become known as 'muzak', because of its 1920s origins, or 'elevator music' because of where this style would commonly be heard. The idea is that the sound is only listened to passively and so the person remains focused on what it should be, whether that is at a retail outlet, a social gathering or wherever else this is beneficial. It may also be chosen by individuals concentrating on relaxation and could cross over into meditational music.

Other types of easy going music are in the more traditional style of songs, and could be termed 'easy listening'. These are pleasant tunes that are usually fairly gentle, mid-paced and not demanding on the listener. This genre has become very popular for many years, with whole radio stations devoted to it. As well as the aforementioned commercial reasons, individuals may choose to listen to easy going music at home, in particular when doing tasks that they need to focus on but do not want silence.

The main types of easy going songs are soft rock, smooth soul, light jazz and big band. The latter two may be instrumental, at a slower tempo, with soothing strings and brass. Or they may incorporate vocals by lounge singers such as Frank Sinatra. The former two can be famous songs, such as Easy Like Sunday Morning, or by well known artists like Billy Joel, and whilst more involving, they still have the same effect of putting the listener in an easy going frame of mind.