Favourite working music?

14 points by Vaebn 9 years ago | 34 comments

Hello. I have been wondering if anyone has any suggestions and/or what everyone's favourite "working music" is if any. Particularly among those of you who work from home / reportedly / alone / during your personal projects etc

Myself seem to have mixed results, with complete silence sometimes being the best when I do something that I am actually focused yet other times wanting something in the background to occupy the auditory channel so to speak (or to drawn other environmental noise)

That in turn often has countereffective results, with "too epic" making me feel like I do amazing work, despite not doing any or with "too chillaxing" music actually making me too relaxed in turn and finding myself drifting towards the abyss of random wikipedia article reading.

So I reckon, if 10 people here chip in, and all happen to have 1 particular style (track), that may end up fairly interesting.

mod 9 years ago |

On linux, at least:

play -q -c 2 -n synth brownnoise band -n 1600 1500 tremolo .1 30

That's nice for drowning out noises when I need to. In case you can't test it out, it sounds a lot like sitting by the beach with waves rolling in. Lyric-less (or nearly) music also works well for me, I just have a playlist on spotify.

cag_ii 9 years ago | |

That's great, thanks for that recommendation!

By modifying the last parm I get a more pronounced wave in/out sound that works well for me:

   play -q -c 2 -n synth brownnoise band -n 1600 1500 tremolo .1 75

partisan 9 years ago | |

Thanks for this. I will be trying it for a few hours tomorrow morning.

lighttower 9 years ago | |

wow. I think this beats my brain.fm recommendation. Doesn't need a browser / internet to run. Thank you very much.

kowdermeister 9 years ago |

I love dubtechno, deep house and electronic music mixes to get me into the "zone"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgjEokjcMWw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up-nrmees7U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh_n0NCkpZs

blowski 9 years ago |

* http://www.musicforprogramming.net

* https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shpongle

* https://www.focusatwill.com

p333347 9 years ago |

For me music works only when I am in what I call "mechanical mode" i.e. when all the thinking etc is done and I am only left with doing code review, refactoring, cut paste rearrangement, comment editing etc. Sometimes it gets distracting even then but that usually means I haven't reached the mechanical mode yet.

Anyway, I have a set of songs that I turn to specifically for what you call 'working music'. These songs generally have a broody, even melancholic, feel laced with trance or psychedelic like aspects and there are no sharp rises or falls. In other words, these songs quickly drift into the background and won't interfere, even when they have lyrics. I play these at the lowest possible volume where I can just about hear them, almost as if they are coming from a concert a many kilometers away. And oh, this is my home office routine, not a workplace thing, as I like to hear songs from speakers and not headphones due to the concert thing. And this is usually an after 10.30 pm affair. And of course, played in a loop.

The main songs are these: Russian National Anthem, Israel National Anthem, Dexter Soundtrack - (Blood Theme, Wink), The Last of The Mohicans - I'll find you, Tom Petty - Last Dance with Mary Jane, Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower, Chris Isaak - Wicked Game, Doves' (Blue Crush soundtrack Firesuite, Rise, Here It Comes), Niel Young - Southern Man, Bob Dylan - Knocking on Heaven's Door, JJ Cale (Magnolia, The Sensitive Kind, Crying Eyes), House Soundtrack - Teardrop, Die Toten Hosen - Ich bin die Sehnsucht in dir (German), some country songs too.

csbubbles 9 years ago |

I find that relatively quiet and less complex music works better for me – such genres as downtempo, nu jazz, trip hop.

While I enjoy a very broad spectrum of music in general (from classical music to death metal, and from avant-garde jazz to hardcore gabba), fast, complex, loud or noisy music seems to get pretty distracting in many cases.

But that might depend on your job, actually. If you are a football player and you spend most of the time working out or outdoors, energetic music may work much better. Or, if you are a factory worker, where you have to deal with 120dB noise over your shift. I don't think ambient would be a good choice there, rather thrash metal or hardcore. :)

If you need some specific examples of "calm" music that works for me, please let me know, I probably could recommend something in particular.

sethammons 9 years ago |

I have to avoid things with lyrics.

Vaebn 9 years ago | |

Huh. That's actually fairly interesting! Myself I have noticed the following. I am someone who meddles around with both "artistic" stuff (3d modelling etc) and programming as a hobby/projects.

I have noticed that when I do the 3d stuff, I can usually tolerate music with lyrics, or for that matter even listening to documentaries, TED talks etc just fine. Everything slows down but progress is actually being made.

On the other hand when I do something programmy or for that matter even simple text based stuff such as "writing descriptions" I have noticed that I find music with lyrics utterly distracting.

Although the left/right brain thing is a bit of a myth, frankly it has been extremely clear to me that language neurons get to be dual-purpose components when it comes to logic stuff of a particular kind.

panic 9 years ago | | |

There's an interesting story from Richard Feynman about how he discovered that he and John Tukey count using different parts of their brain:

http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/its-as-simple-a...

andymurd 9 years ago |

I like to listen to music that I find fun, and my Thursdays are all about the bongos!

https://play.spotify.com/track/2teN2uYbwMQraPG7Gu2Zfo

Vaebn 9 years ago | |

Liking the bongos! I mean, I don't know if my productivity has gone up, but I sure have been busy checking a lot of music from this thread out...

drakonka 9 years ago |

I enjoy a mix of things - sometimes I'll be in the mood for instrumental game or movie soundtracks (favorites include Mirror's Edge and Deus Ex: Human Revolution). Other times I'll enjoy electronic/dance music (though I'm very picky about these since I usually don't like this genre, so it's tough to find something I'll be able to work with). Sometimes I like alternative/pop-punk/rock. Usually I'll stick with a genre for a day or so and then move on to something different.

Right now I've been listening to outrun, stuff like Gunship.

bizzleDawg 9 years ago |

Tron Legacy Soundtrack (Daft Punk) - For me this has to be the all time best working music - never found something with the same soothing but motivating composure.

merchang 9 years ago |

Live/Dead Or a any other Greateful Dead live album

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aL-dUZJydcw

malux85 9 years ago |

I like Drum and Bass - because I interpret music spatially, multiple times during the day I notice the beat and the execution of code actually sync up, it's exhilarating to watch

https://youtu.be/ww5z-24x7LY?t=101

I've also started to listen to 2 songs at once, because it's quite a different perception to enjoy the songs together and then individually, simultaneously

lighttower 9 years ago |

I listen to brain.fm [0] I got a promo $25 for lifetime membership. It really works for me... or at least great placebo effect for me.

[0] https://www.brain.fm/app

partisan 9 years ago |

I usually go for anything that is free of lyrics, but lately, I've been stuck on a playlist:

MCMXC a.D. by Enigma

Music for the Masses by Depeche Mode

Music for Programming Episode 24: RITES (64 plays so far according to iTunes)

Music for Programming Episode 37: Lackluster (33 plays so far)

crncosta 9 years ago |

Trance (psy, goa) for code.

vmorgulis 9 years ago |

Starcraft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNt0iVG2VOA

Esau 9 years ago |

I pretty much listen to anything but lately, I have been listening to soundtracks. Today, in honor of Star Trek, I broke out Star Trek II: Wrath Of Khan.

BTW: James Horner died too young.

stephenr 9 years ago | |

Why not Warp 11?

1_listerine_pls 9 years ago |

Prefer instrumental, the genre doesn't matter.

Los Angeles Guitar Quarter - African Suite "Mbira"

Jonny Clegg & Savuka - Scatterlings of Africa

Paradise - Fable

larrykubin 9 years ago |

Mostly instrumental music - jazz, post-rock, or chill hip-hop beats. eg. Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, Nujabes, Miles Davis.

fitzwatermellow 9 years ago |

Opera. Maria Callas singing "Un Bel Di". The overture from Wagner's "Tannhauser" ;)

Cortez 9 years ago |

I usually listen to synth wave when I study because it gives me a euphoric feeling.

chatmasta 9 years ago |

White noise or meditation playlists on Spotify. Or Dr. Dre instrumentals.

vldx 9 years ago |

Just waves sound on background.

Also, Mission Control on Soma.fm is worth checking out.

FlopV 9 years ago |

Alina baraz Spotify radio is one of my favorites.

RUG3Y 9 years ago |

Whitesnake and Savage Garden on endless repeat.

KillerDiller 9 years ago |

"Bright Future" by Somnium.

stephenbez 9 years ago |

Postal Service - Give Up

jebernier 9 years ago |

Bach