Instrumental music for reading helps cut off the noise, catch the soft rhythm of the pages and tune into deep immersion in the text. We’ve gathered 7 online radio stations without vocals - from chamber piano and jazz guitar to cinematic themes and ambient. Turn it on in the evening - and the words will flow into meaning on their own.
Beautiful Instrumentals Channel - orchestral coziness without words
This station from Chicago sounds as if someone carefully placed strings, brass and light percussion in the room. Beautiful Instrumentals Channel offers classic easy listening arrangements that recall the golden era of radio music. Here you can hear Gordon Franks, the Beegie Adair Trio or the London Symphony Orchestra. A truly soft background for reading, where every page falls in step with the melody.
The Smooth Guitar Place - warm strings and gentle swing
An American station from Stroudsburg fully dedicated to instrumental guitar, and you can feel it from the very first chords. Genres include instrumental and jazz, with sounds ranging from acoustic meditations to light fusion. Here you’ll find Will Ackerman, Joe Satriani, Brendan Rothwell or Alexandr Misko. It’s the kind of station where the warmth of the guitar and the vibrations of the strings literally wrap around you and help you read in comfort.
Radio Art - Piano Jazz - piano jazz for intelligent silence
On the Athens-based station Radio Art you’ll hear piano jazz: Bill Evans, Dave McKenna, Randy Ingram and Keith Jarrett. You can catch the breath of every note. Genres include easy listening and instrumental, with a chamber-like, intellectual atmosphere. It’s the kind of music that seems to extend the pauses between the words of a book and helps you focus on the story.
Instrumental Hit - synthesizers, saxophones and film music
A Belgian station from Brussels focuses on instrumental pop - the kind that played on the radio decades ago. Mike Oldfield, Caravelli, Walter Murphy and Bert Kaempfert set the tone here. Pure sound and the instrumental genre turn reading into a smooth journey through a book.
Music Lake Radio - ambient by the water
Turn on Music Lake Radio from Costa Mesa, USA - and it feels like you’re by a quiet lake. Here you’ll hear ambient and deep instrumental with atmospheric guitar and light flutes. On air are Sherry Finzer, Don Latarski, The Bentley Project and Victor Towle. This kind of music doesn’t distract but creates a transparent background, as if the air itself becomes softer.
Classical Guitar - classical guitar and Spanish roots
The Barcelona station Classical Guitar sounds chamber-like and noble. Genres - easy listening and instrumental, with true classics on air: Pepe Romero, Mauro Giuliani, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Andrés Segovia. It’s music that carries the history of Spanish streets and halls, perfectly accompanying reading - from a historical novel to a philosophical essay.
This set of seven stations covers every reading need: piano for focus, guitar for warmth, orchestral pop for a smooth rhythm, ambient for complete silence within the text. Such a playlist doesn’t compete with the book but supports its mood. Choose according to your taste and the storyline - and let the pages turn easily.
