What Music Do You Listen to While Writing?

First drafts I use 'old school metal' (Megadeth being a personal favorite)! Once I get into later drafts--and need to focus more--it's movie soundtracks. The music of Lost is excellent!

Maxx B said:

I'm in the no lyrics camp, I find them distracting.

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Definitely agree. I alternate between classical piano music and the Amelie soundtrack by Yann Tiersen.

Kiiskinen said:

Laura Marling, Jack Johnson, Agnes Obel, Rob Costlow, Van Morrison.. Organic, calm music is always good, and sets the mood perfectly for me.

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Love your taste!

The only time I listen to music as I'm writing is if music is playing in the scene I'm writing. Then I listen to whatever music the characters are listening to. (I pray no rap or hip-hop characters ever drop into my books!) Other than that, I love silence.

If I'm having trouble writing a scene, I find it helps to become a "method writer." For example, if the scene takes place in a shopping center, I head to the shopping center to write it. If it takes place in the kitchen of someone's home, I'll actually go to Ikea and sit in one of their model kitchens! It brings the scene to life for me.

I'm telling ya, like Hukt on Fonix, it werks fer me.

Other than that, my tastes in music are Hymns, Gospel, Big Band and Swing music of the 40's and 50's.

The poetry of Robert Burns put to music and sung. It's a 13-CD set. Magic!!!!!!

While I'm actually writing a like to listen to just instrumental stuff. I've got tons of songs from movie soundtracks and a lot of bands that do instrumental work. When I'm not writing, it's generally a bit of everything.

I'm like others, the only things I can listen to is outside sounds or the cat walking across the floor most of the time when I'm actually writing.

The few times I listen to anything when I'm working, it's mostly Creed/Scott Stapp/Alter Bridge, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Warrant, and Whom Gods Destroy.

My only music is the sound of the waves crashing into the distant reef, very soothing

New Age music. I write science fiction so I guess that makes sense.

etherme said:

First drafts I use 'old school metal' (Megadeth being a personal favorite)! Once I get into later drafts--and need to focus more--it's movie soundtracks. The music of Lost is excellent!

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Oh man, I just bought a lot of music the Lost soundtracks, and the memories are flooding back! I've always been a firm believer that music pieces can make or break scenes, and Lost was always excellent in that regard.

I listen to whatever the husband has playing in the background. Right now, its a newer band named PROTOMARTYR.

Typically, he plays anything like QUEEN, PEARL JAM, BADBADNOTGOOD, JIMMIES CHICKEN SHACK, and so on. Theres much more, but usually, I zone it all out

I write fantasy, so I prefer instrumental stuff in a wide variety. Epic stuff, I like Two Steps From Hell, Clint Mansell (for a creepier effect), Hans Zimmer ...

Harry Gregson-Williams is great for cool battle scenes. Thomas Bergersen has wonderful music that inspires "magical" atmospheres.

As for lyrics, I like Imagine Dragons, Within Temptation, one or two Christina Perri, a few Carrie Underwood, one Lorde ... It really depends on how the lyrics fit to the novel I'm currently working on.

Hi ya

I love listening to music whilst I write, if I have a set thing in mind... Like a loss of someone close i'll mainly listen to classical, the stuff that really pulls at you, like barbers Adagio, fight scenes : I have various stuff, Ramstein, Manson, Song#2 from blur all sort of stuff that wants to get you about ND moving fast.

If I have no plan at all then I just hit random on the iPod and see where it takes me. Sometimes it works brilliantly sometimes, I get really weird stuff coming out of the old grey matter.

Depends on the mood of the scene I'm working on. It can range from classical piano pieces to rap music.

I used to put music on while I wrote, but quickly realized that I tuned it out completely. So I don't bother anymore.

It does have an effect. Today I have listened to Moby - In This World over and over whilst trying to write a poem. I am 3/4 there. Will have to listen to it a couple more times after this rest.

Usually it's something from my CD collection or one of two college radio stations (WMSE from Milwaukee and KUOM in the Twin Cities), but for my last project, I mostly listened to an 80's-themed iTunes station. Which didn't really help set the mood because the story's set in 1984-1985, and the station kept playing everything after 1985.

I am usually listening to songs by Navin Kundra.

I would eventually listen to soft music, but I prefer to fall into the claws of insipiring silence.

I write between music interludes, I'll write, then quit for a few songs while I read over my work, and then carry on with the songs on pause, I listen to anything really.

Soundtracks, mostly. Or a playlist made up of mostly different artists featuring around 250 songs the last time I checked.

The same stuff I listen to at any other time, which is some of everything. I do find myself listening to a little more metal and punk rock though.

CeDany said:

Hello, sorry to bother, I know of people who listen to music while writing their books, novels, poems and short-stories.

The most recent and popular author who said this was Stephenie Meyers with her Twilight Saga.

I'll get started and you carry on below is that fine?

I listen to ELO playlists, Halloween Compilation on-line and sometimes I have either my MP3 with everything-but-the-kitchen-sink on it or drop a CD in my PC or finally a good DVD but not watching just listening.

But ELO's a favourite!

CeDany
BB

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I have actually made a playlist for my work in progress with songs that might have a passing coincidental similarity with events or characters. It is interesting that certain of my characters seem to end up with multiple songs by the same artist. For example, for one of my characters all of his "theme songs" are works by Depeche Mode, another character has "themes" all done by Godsmack. Just having the playlist on helps me get in the mood for writing and if I'm writing from a certain POV I will just listen to the artist(s) that "goes with" the character.

One advice I read in "the animators survival kit", a classic book about animation, is that playing music while working slows you down. It was about animation alright, but after that I tried to write in silence and Bingo! My productivity tripled! Yes, tripled. It's much faster when you can hear your thoughts and theres' no external influence to make you lose focus.

Was able to get together a list of artists that my playlist is currently using:

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Blue Oyster Cult, The Kills, Danger Mouse, The Flaming Lips, David Bowie, The Jam, Phosphorescent, Bright Eyes, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Vaccines, Half Moon Run, Woodkid, R.E.M, Camper Van Beethoven, Nina Simone, Biffy Clyro, The Clash, Iggy Pop, Rudimental, John Newman, Arctic Monkeys, The White Stripes, Rogue Wave, Stone Roses, Simon & Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Imagine Dragons, Raconteurs, Kansas, Dan Auerbach, The Rolling Stones, The Lemonheads, My Chemical Romance, Fun., Bon Jovi, Tom Waits, Willie Nelson, Robert Johnson, Ashter Command, Gnarls Barkley, Kaiser Chiefs, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Who, Of Monsters and Men, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Don McClean, Gorillaz, Redlight King, Elvis Perkins, Crescendo, Aloe Blacc, Foo Fighters, Journey, Jimi Hendrix, The Human League, Mogwai, Casting Crowns, Wire, Talking Heads, Public Image Ltd., The Cars, Vampire Weekend, The Black Keys, Frankie Valelli & The Four Seasons, Eliott Smith, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Psychedelic Furs, Fever Ray, Mississippi John Hurt, Badfinger, Radical Face, Ben Howard, Jurassic 5, Kendric Lamar, Ed Sheeran, Junip, Snow Patrol, Foreinger, Depache Mode, Nirvana, Elvis Presley, Norman Greebaum, Stornaway, Har Mar Superstar, XTC, Dandy Livingstone, Bastille, Jack White, Editors, Temper Trap, Alex Clare, Mumford & Sons, Sun Kil Moon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lewis Watson, George Ezra, Avicii, Jake Bugg, Green Day, Elmore James,

Phew. I'm sure there's a few more. Most of the artists from the selection above were got from either the Spotify Mood playlists or from TV shows.