

Ask HN: Music while coding? - btnpushnmunky

What kind of music do you listen to while coding?
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dbingham
It depends on my mood and the day. Sometimes I need silence to focus. Other
times I want driving hard rock to get my blood pumping. Sometimes I like
traditional Irish fiddling and ballads. Other times pop-rock or folk. Really
it varies as much as my general music listening does. As long as I know the
music well enough, it will fade into the background -- lyrics or no. So it all
depends on mood.

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bdd
I don't generally listen classical music but when it comes to coding/hacking;
post classical romantic era (1815–1910) European art music is the magical
ingredient of productivity for me.

Action: Tune in to `Frédéric Chopin' or `Franz Schubert' channels on
Pandora/Last.fm

Result: at least 2X productivity compared to sans music environment.

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goodlab
Techno. The repetition gets me into a rhythm. I can listen to the same song on
loop for hours. Each time finding some little nuance that I missed before. I
suppose the same effect can happen with anything without vocals. But techno
(for me) drives concentration.

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AjJi
I listen to <http://www.stereomood.com> \- pretty useful app. Songs are tagged
by "moods" (happy, relaxed, sleepy, ...) which make it easier, for me, to
choose which kind of music I want to listen to.

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MK5
First, we put the Russian Anthem in the office to motivate everyone (it really
works ahah) Then, everyone listens to their own stuff on PC. I'm now fan of
Chinese pop songs! The lyrics are super-lame but it makes me full of joy ahah

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thereddestruby
I don't like to listen to music while coding because I'm not smart enough to
think of two things at once.

But when I'm done, I'll pop in some Bone Thugs & Harmony.

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sutro
This is good: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jw31Howgqg>

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btnpushnmunky
I would think that instrumental is a bit more conducive rather than music with
lyrics which could be distracting. Yes? No?

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dannywoodz
Absolutely. Explosions in the Sky and Monkey3 are favourites of mine for
coding.

It's also easier to deal with lyrics in foreign languages, simply because my
mind can't latch on to what's being said: Sigur Ros (an Icelandic band) are
also on the coding playlist.

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btnpushnmunky
Oh man. I forgot about Sigur Ros. I know I have at least one of their albums.

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pacomerh
Biosphere, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Piana, Kobol

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evo_9
You might want to check out my friends music blog - he's the former owner of
Neptune Records.

<http://www.oystered.blogspot.com/>

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pacomerh
Interesting stuff, thanks

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evo_9
NP. Give a few different posts a listen as he tends to pick a theme and run
with it. Also jump back a few months, he was in a super ambient (aka,
Biosphere-esq) phase for a while there and that might work better for you.

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jkempf
Pink Floyd, Megaherz, Eisbrecher.

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thomasswift
Bassdrive.com smooth liquid dnb!

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huluvu
Rinkadink or Infected Mushroom

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mrpixel
Absolutely none. I need to get my shit done, dude! :p

