
Brain.fm: Music to improve focus, meditation and sleep - eduardsi
https://brain.fm
======
SuddsMcDuff
It's only after hitting the "start listening now" button, after you input your
name and email address, that it's made clear you're only getting 5 free
sessions. I feel like I've been duped into giving my personal information
away.

If anyone from brain.fm is reading, don't underestimate how much resentment
this kind of dishonest manipulation generates.

~~~
dan_brainfm
Hey thanks for the feedback. Sorry that you feel duped - it's not our
intention to manipulate a user into getting their email to market to them and
is why we ask people to opt in to our emails.

I'm going to change the main button to read "Try 5 Free Sessions" to be more
direct!

~~~
SuddsMcDuff
Hey, I'm very glad you took this feedback in a positive & constructive way.
FWIW although my initial experience was somewhat sour, I have spent a good
part of today using up my trial sessions and I do quite like your service :) I
have 1/5 remaining which I'll use at work tomorrow, that'll be the real acid
test!

------
JamesCoyne
$7/month for AI arranged pieces of human written music.

Here is their white paper.

[https://brain.fm/assets/pdfs/new_white_paper_unformatted.pdf](https://brain.fm/assets/pdfs/new_white_paper_unformatted.pdf)

This appears to be the extent of their claim:

"Behavioral results suggested this music did help people over time, but the
differences in the brain appeared first, were easier to see, and verified that
the experimental manipulation (added modulation) was having a measurable
impact on brain activity beyond auditory cortex"

Continuing down the rabbit hole, here is their grant application:

[https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1720698](https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1720698)

They are pursuing publication of a paper, but I can't find anything about it
beyond what is on their website.

Also found this other FAQ paper:

[https://www1.brain.fm/assets/pdfs/science_FAQ.pdf](https://www1.brain.fm/assets/pdfs/science_FAQ.pdf)

They claim their music can improve slow-wave sleep, although this study looked
at just three subjects

[https://www1.brain.fm/assets/pdfs/EEGSleepAnalysis.pdf](https://www1.brain.fm/assets/pdfs/EEGSleepAnalysis.pdf)

~~~
SubiculumCode
They do not seem to actually cite a paper for their claims, but I do wonder
whether they use an active baseline for control group (i.e. music that is not
theirs) rather than a passive baseline (no music). For myself, I wonder if
Bach would do just as well for focus.

~~~
jcul
I've been using them on and off for a while and I have found the focus mode
quite good. If anything sometimes it's too good, I almost feel wired like when
I've drank too much coffee, but it has helped me when I need to get stuck into
something that I'm procrastinating on.

When I was travelling last year I used the nap / sleep mode a bit and I found
it did help if I was finding it hard to sleep.

Of course this is totally subjective so your mileage may vary.

~~~
jackthetab
I use them a coupla' times a week and find the focus mode quite good.

Wish I had thought to listen to sleep mode last night between 3 and 6 AM while
I was tossing and turning in bed.

As someone mentioned below, I could put together a Spotify list but why?
Brain.fm does the job and I don't need to.

When I need to focus, my two choices are Brain.fm or "Ok, Google. Play some
downtempo ambient chill instrumental". The latter oftentimes distracts me. The
former doesn't.

I was having some technical difficulties with the site (not the apps) a while
back. The head of the company was helping me to debug the problem. Great
customer service. Turned out it was something on my end.

I too landed the lifetime subscription.

Highly recommended!

~~~
lowercased
> As someone mentioned below, I could put together a Spotify list but why?

Because I already pay for spotify?

------
swozey
I currently use [http://mynoise.net](http://mynoise.net) which has a huge
number of various sounds by a research/sound engineer.

I'd try this if I could without creating an account. Maybe I'm missing an
immediate test somewhere (start listening now makes me create an account).

Also please add google/github auth. I'm really over making accounts
everywhere, especially if I'm just trying something out to see if I'll use it,
a lot of us are no longer (or never were) fb users. You definitely want more
options available.

~~~
RyanOD
I too would explore this if there was a way that didn't require me to create
an account.

~~~
Raphmedia
You don't need an account to visit
[https://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php](https://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php)

The only exceptions being the super generators which are pages where multiples
sound generators are mixed together on the same page.

Edit: It was confusing how this message is under the myNoise discussion
thread. The parent comment of my answer was talking about Brain.fm

------
vector_rotcev
I had the luck to get a 90% off lifetime subscription code off HN years ago.
Literally one of the best things I ever did for my career development.

When I was a junior developer who had no idea about software engineering, I
found the focus mode just dumped me into that deep pit of focus where it's
just you and what you're working with in a space in your head. This allowed me
to get into the legacy spaghetti and actually do what I was supposed to be
doing.

I still use it to this day (meditation this morning, work soon), and they
recently added a 'drone' focus track that (for me) is to white noise what
white noise is to someone tapping you in the shoulder and asking if you got
the email they just sent.

I recommend actually trialing it for a month and seeing if you can get into
it, because if you can it's so useful.

------
kentf
I bought their lifetime subscription when it first came out, and it's
wonderful. I would recommend, I listen to it nearly daily.

Here are more detailed thoughts: [https://medium.com/@kentf/nootropic-review-
brain-fm-addddeee...](https://medium.com/@kentf/nootropic-review-brain-fm-
addddeee8cfb)

~~~
jimmydddd
@kentf. Great review and great article (keto friendly -- N/A). :-) Like your
other articles too. Nice job!! I also have a lifetime account and give it a
thumbs up. I use it for a few weeks, get burnt out, take a few weeks off, and
then go back to it. My suspicion is that it's not creating individual
scientifically backed AI tracks customized just for for me, or whatever they
imply. I think that back story is BS. But it does work great for me. So the
exaggerated marketing claims don't bother me at all.

------
foobazzy
While I totally appreciate a zero-config, subscription based, AI arranged pre-
recorded, modulated sounds bundle, my personal preference would be to
gravitate towards an area where I can control the mix. Something like
[https://asoftmurmur.com/](https://asoftmurmur.com/)

The reason is that my choice of music depends on my mood. e.g. If I met a cute
girl on my way to getting a coffee in the morning, I want to listen to birds
chirp with the sound of waves in the background. But if I am feeling my usual
lethargic morning self, I would go for singing bowls in a coffee shop sound
mix combined with a distant thunder.

It goes without saying how grateful I am to people who put in the effort to
understand psyche and it's connection with music so that we can all be more
productive.

~~~
ayb
They do have different tracks, and you can skip to the next one.

~~~
ribs
You can choose the specific one you like from the “More Music” page on the
website.

------
truth_seeker
Ever heard of Glossolalia? It's a very effective technique. It helps to empty
your unconscious mind and repressions.

Glossolalia :- [https://www.osho.com/meditate/more-meditations/meditation-
of...](https://www.osho.com/meditate/more-meditations/meditation-of-the-
week/meditation-for-a-more-deeply-refreshing-sleep)

No-mind meditation :- [http://www.oshomeditations.com/no-mind-
therapy/](http://www.oshomeditations.com/no-mind-therapy/)

It's a simple method which has tremendous benefits. If used regularly it
brings permanent transformation gradually.

Lately, many apps are coming with music and what not which is nothing but the
hypnosis. Hypnosis is like a drug, a temporary technique which only has
instant effects but not permanent one.

~~~
superasn
Wow Glossolalia technique sounds very interesting. I'll try it tonight. Any
pro tips for a complete beginner?

~~~
truth_seeker
Yeah. There are few tips.

Gibberish (No-mind active meditation) is a more flexible and workable version
of Glossolalia.

Most important one, Do not judge the outcome of the process while you are
doing it or after it. Your conscious mind will play a trick to persuade
somehow you to not do it by creating a different kind of thoughts. Don't
Reject them. Don't Accept them. Just observe.

Do it in a room which is empty or with minimum things in it.

It's better done standing than sitting and allowing the hand and legs to move
in whichever direction they want. Again Don't JUDGE. Just observe.

Do it empty stomach if possible or at least 2-3 hours of Veg meal and 5 hours
after a non-veg meal. This is to ensure your stomach digestion process does
not get affected when you release your repressed thoughts in a vacuum.

Do it for 15 minutes if you are okay with gradual results which take few
months, 30 minutes to 1 hour if you need results in days. I do it for 30
minutes daily 2 times, before going to bed and in the morning after nature's
call.

~~~
kkarakk
sounds completely bogus

~~~
truth_seeker
What makes you say that ? Have you ever tried it ? Or Are you an enlightened
master already ?

------
gallamine
I'm not sure how I came across them, but i did several years ago when they
were first starting. I think I paid some amount of cash for a "lifetime"
subscription.

I regularly and routinely return to the site when I really want to
concentrate. I might drift back to Spotify for interesting tunes, but whenever
I want to really focus on work brain.fm works (for me) much better than
"regular" music. As always, everyone is different.

------
samsolomon
I purchased a lifetime subscription to Brain.fm about two years ago. I use the
focus mode almost exclusively and appreciate the subtle variability between
the tracks. Would any other series of lo-fi track would produce the same
results? I don't know.

I think I paid about $50 for it and think it was absolutely worth it. Knowing
what I know now, I'd say even the $150 full price lifetime subscription is a
good value. From their website it doesn't appear that they offer lifetime
subscriptions anymore, which is unfortunate. I don't know if I would pay
monthly for this service.

For those of you that already purchased Brain.fm—if you prefer a separate
application for music, I would checkout Fluid App. It essentially turns the
Brain.fm website into a windowed application.
[https://fluidapp.com/](https://fluidapp.com/)

------
puranjay
I subscribed. Like it. But stopped using it.

I find Nujabes "homework edits" on YouTube far better for focus and
productivity.

A few links to get you started:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yYMicbSf98](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yYMicbSf98)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Tpkwph4rM&t=1830s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Tpkwph4rM&t=1830s)

~~~
mitul_45
I also love listening to Nujabes, but there aren't many different tracks on
YouTube. Do you have any other resources?

------
superasn
I too got a lifetime sub from HN but my response is meh. I haven't used it in
almost a year now.

I find Youtube more effective (I've found my sweet spot near 150BPM trance
which gets me into the zone rather quickly if nobody interrupts me). Also I
think the problem is while repetitive music works great with programming you
have to find different music for each day.

~~~
kristofferR
> I've found my sweet spot near 150BPM trance which gets me into the zone
> rather quickly if nobody interrupts me. Also I think the problem is while
> repetitive music works great with programming you have to find different
> music for each day.

Just use web radio, that way you don't have to spend time finding/managing new
music.

[https://DI.fm](https://DI.fm) is a totally awesome alternative, they have a
channel for every electronic genre you can think of. Just music, no talking or
jingles.

I usually listen to their Goa-Psy Trance channel while working, it's around
your BPM: [https://www.di.fm/goapsy](https://www.di.fm/goapsy)

~~~
DiabloD3
I wish DI would fix how they choose to master music. They normalize the audio
range (decrease the dynamic range, or compress it) to such a loud level that
it makes it fatiguing.

I have compared their copies of the music to the originals, and the originals
were already 'loudness war' loud, there was no reason to do this further.

However, I don't think they'll ever change because DI has been this way for
the past 20 years (they celebrate their 20th in December 2019).

------
simonpure
There's a number of 24/7 YouTube live streams as well that are great for
coding. My current favorite -

[https://youtu.be/hHW1oY26kxQ](https://youtu.be/hHW1oY26kxQ)

~~~
tom_usher
This is great - any others you can recommend?

------
deegles
I really enjoy Brain.fm and have the lifetime membership, unfortunately their
app on iOS isn't very good at handling intermittent data connection and
frequently cuts off. This is not necessarily their fault since I have other
music apps that fall flat at the slightest interruption. You'd think playing
music uninterrupted would be a solved problem by now!

~~~
dan_brainfm
Hey Deegles, thanks for the support. We are working on it. Unfortunately
because our files are large and also long length we find some native streaming
problems on IOS sometimes. We are relaunching new coded apps in January that
should account for this. We're working on it and keep trying to improve!

------
edhu2017
This is AI snakeoil.

~~~
jackthetab
I don't care if it's AI snake-oil or a bunch of grandmothers in a yurt in
Nepal.

<MontyPython>It works, mate!</MonthyPython>

------
zwayhowder
I also have a lifetime subscription through some deal years ago, I find the
most benefit is the music doesn't catch my attention. I can't listen to
classical, traditional or other instrumental music without getting caught in
the tune. (Music with lyrics is right out for me when I need to concentrate).

I regularly have problems with the ios and Android apps not downloading or
connecting, and generally just work with them "offline" with my few successful
downloads.

I use the sleep music whenever I travel, combined with my Bose QC20s it's
great for blocking out aircraft noise or even as I discovered on a boy's
weekend the snoring off my bunkmate who people in other rooms complained
about.

I don't know about their scientific claims, but for me it does what I want,
which is distraction free blocking of the (audible) world around me.

~~~
billfruit
You can try some video game music, esp from strategy games like Age of
Empires/total war/endless legend etc, they seemed to me, created in such way
as to blend into the background without drawing player attention away from
gameplay.

~~~
jackthetab
> You can try some video game music

Everytime I read this, I think back to the Quake soundtrack by Trent Reznor,
especially the opening track, and think "That's not what I want to listen to
when I'm coding." (Awesome as it is. :-)

I'll have to look into these strategy games you mention.

------
msaharia
Assuming OP is related to brain.fm. Are you planning to do a Black Friday sale
on lifetime subscription?

------
paul7986
Is this thread fake news ... all i see are reviews of how great this is?

Sorry never heard of this and hearing this many HN members gush about a not
that well known paid service is odd.

~~~
jtwaleson
Some years back they offered lifetime deals for cheap with a HN specific
discount code IIRC, I took it for +- $30 and I bet this got them some loyal
users here. The code reportedly still worked a year ago so you might want to
check it out.

As for how well it works: I use it less and less as I get more of a managers
schedule, but really liked it when I was programming most of the time. I still
feel like I should use it more. Way less distracting than music and good
rhythm to keep your mind going.

------
Bud
If you want some music to improve, well, anything, I'd sooner turn to, say,
Bach, rather than to some engineer who isn't a musician.

~~~
kiliantics
I think it may be because I grew up playing classical music, but I can't stand
listening to it while trying to focus on anything. I find it far too
distracting, there is just too much going on in the music.

~~~
claudiawerner
Have you tried modern classical? In particular the likes of Jurg Frey and Radu
Malfatti, who are known for very well crafted use of silence.

------
forrest92
Tried it based on all the positive reviews here and really didn't like it. A
lot of their modes had some heavy noise distortion that distracted me more
than it calmed me. I am really not sure why people would choose something like
this over just scouring youtube and spotify.

~~~
jimmydddd
Your are correct that Y-tube now has a lot of tracks that would likely work
just as well, such as the binaural beats, etc. A problem I have with that
approach, however, is that then you have Y-tube opened, and we all know where
that can lead. :-)

------
dan_brainfm
Hey guys, Dan Clark here - the CEO of Brain.fm. I’m just seeing this thread
now and want to jump into the thread and answer some questions and address a
few of the comments and points of feedback you guys brought up. Feel free to
ask me anything.

~~~
slig
Hi Dan,

Any chance to have a Black Friday lifetime promo this year? (for those that
regrettably missed before) Thanks!

~~~
dan_brainfm
Sorry rate limited through HN for new account. Hey yes, we are doing a promo
this year. If you go to our website on Black Friday you'll see a big popup!

~~~
gojri
Thanks for your work Dan. After my 5 trials, I ended up buying the yearly one
yesterday. Really really wanted to buy the lifetime sub like last year. Wish I
knew about you guys then!

------
visarga
I find listening to the 'music with repetitive structures' of Philip Glass
very focusing and motivational.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ySGfGr7JsU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ySGfGr7JsU)

~~~
puranjay
You should try out Nujabes. His jazz-hip-hop combination works great for focus

------
octosphere
I just listen to the Star Trek TNG Ambient Engine Noise[1] if I'm coding or
trying to focus.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPoqNeR3_UA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPoqNeR3_UA)

------
larrywright
I’ve been using this for several years (bought a lifetime subscription when it
was on sale). I use it nearly daily, and it’s very helpful. I have known for a
long time that I focus better with some sort of instrumental music playing in
headphones - lyrics kill my focus. I listen to a lot of jazz and film scores
that I have in Apple Music playlists, so I can just start one and it’s good
for 3-4 hours. Brain.FM gives me something additional to add to the mix, and I
do think that it provides somewhat better focus than just regular music.

------
decentrality
I am conscious of the placebo effect, and it having its own value; so even if
it's "all in our head" that doesn't negate the actual impact of a thing.

This being said, today I was feeling a need to look up and use, or quickly
create some new binaural beats for myself to work listening to, and found
this.

So far ( after the first half-hour ) I've experienced a dramatic increase in
energy, concentration, higher acuity, and all the traits I came to expect from
binaural beats.

Would definitely subscribe after the trial so far.

------
mcqueenjordan
I tried the Focus mode. Pretty good.

I curate a fairly large (over 46 hours) Spotify playlist for coding:
[https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ZwAxFYf7y36Al1e1DKUlu](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ZwAxFYf7y36Al1e1DKUlu)

It has a lot of eccentric "spacemusic", but my criteria is simply to add songs
when they help me focus on coding, and remove them when I find that they
distract from it. It's in no particular order, so I recommend shuffle play.

~~~
lowercased
thanks!

------
Void_
If you're looking for Trance music to write code to, try these podcasts on
iTunes:

\- Markus Shulz Presents Global DJ Broadcast \- Above and Beyond: Group
Therapy

There are many more, these two are my favorites.

~~~
amitp
I liked these, along with Perfecto Podcast and a few others, but then I found
Deep Sunset House and Progressive. I liked it even better, in large part
because they don't interrupt the music with talk of their latest show etc.

brain.fm seems to work for me, so I bought a lifetime subscription back when
it was available, but the iOS app is flaky enough that I don't use it that
often. I don't understand what the "AI" is doing for me, but it makes the
experience worse. I'd rather have a static set of music files that are in the
app so that I can play them offline (e.g., while traveling). Or even better,
not in the app so that I can put them into a music player. The app does have
an offline mode but it's awkward.

I recently learned Pzizz (which is nice for sleep) added a focus mode. I
should try that sometime. Their app is much more reliable than brain.fm's app.
However they don't have a lifetime purchase option, and I almost never sign up
for subscription services, so I'm only using the free version.

------
anonytrary
> start listening now

... Right after signing up. Signing up is not worth figuring out if I want to
sign up. Are there no 10-20 second samples I can listen to first, or am I
missing something?

------
jploh
They did a Reddit AMA that didn't do so well with regards to their paper and
the research grant.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/85svjd/i_am_the_ceo_o...](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/85svjd/i_am_the_ceo_of_brainfm_and_were_making_music/)

I used it a couple of times before but it didn't work so well on me. Sometimes
I tune to lofi streams on YouTube which work for me.

------
chatwinra
Never used Brain.fm but I use focus@will a lot and recommend it
([https://www.focusatwill.com](https://www.focusatwill.com))

------
anerrorfound
Just FYI your site is VERY broken on my mobile device (iPhone se Ios11
safari). First the home page loads nicely then before I even have a chance to
scroll I’m redirected to home.brain.fm where it loads painfully slow (js
heavy?) and when it loads is missing ~60% or content and just looks like a
empty template. Totally unuasble. It does sound cool as an idea though.

~~~
dan_brainfm
Hey anerrorfound - thank you! We do have a mobile app, but our mobile website
should work. We are on it!

------
eumm
The idea is great and tried it but probably it is not working for all people
equally. So prefer to use [https://play.mubert.com](https://play.mubert.com)
that can also play indefinetely or just spin up 1-2 hour mixes on RTS.FM
(available on soundcloud and and as Apple iTunes podcasts)

------
amelius
Anyone using a meditation headband to read "brainwaves" and adjust the music
accordingly? Is it worth it?

------
Procrastes
I switch back and forth between brain.fm and mynoise.net. They both work great
for different moods and levels of fatigue or distraction. Some days brain.fm
is all that gets me working.

I don't pay any attention to their claims. The music works as stimulating, non
distracting music without becomming monotonous.

------
mosselman
$5/month if you choose the yearly plan is too much for me. I pay only a bit
more for my spotify subscription which allows me to listen to more music than
anyone can listen to in a lifetime. I'd pay $50 for a lifetime subscription
though.

------
epaga
Just to chime in that it works great _for me_. Was skeptical at first and
assumed it was just a placebo effect.

If so...then I’m fine with that too. It helps me fall asleep on the sleep mode
and it helps me focus on the focus mode.

------
darekkay
Noisli[0] is another background noise generator. The web app is free and it
does not require you to sign up.

[0] [https://www.noisli.com/](https://www.noisli.com/)

------
awakeasleep
The whole idea of listening to music while meditating seems suspicious to me.

Did monks have like a section of non-meditating monks playing wind instruments
while they were in their practice? Seems implausible.

------
oinkgrr
I use this for focus,
[https://musicforprogramming.net/](https://musicforprogramming.net/) 'tis a
podcast as well.

------
amelius
I'm listening to recordings of server-room noise to focus :)

------
FraKtus
Seems to work fine, could you consider having a perpetual license? Or a
nonrecusing one year? I don't like to have recusing subscriptions. Too many of
them already.

------
mgiannopoulos
Also have the lifetime subscription from a HN-only offer they did some years
back. Focus mode has been working for me quite well.

