

Ask HN: What do you listen to when you code? - netconnect

I like to listen to indie rock whenever I'm writing anything, other people I know think that classical or tribal (ugh.) music is the way to go.<p>What gets your mind going? Do you need total silence or are you incapable of coding without your favourite tunes?
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gnosis
If the coding is routine, I sometimes listen to my favorite music (EBM or
psy/goa trance) while coding. I especially like to listen to music while
coding if I'm in a noisy environment (earplugs are good too).

However, when I get to a really difficult problem, I prefer total silence
without any distractions. Again, earplugs are good for that. But if I need to,
I'll go for a walk somewhere quiet to think about it (somewhere with a
whiteboard, and/or maybe talk the problem over with a friend/colleague). Or I
might even have to sleep on it. In all of these cases, there's no music
involved. Music is more for the relatively easy/routine coding.

~~~
humbledrone
Same here. Basically, I don't want music while I'm in the process of figuring
out _how_ to go about doing something, but there's nothing better than a good
beat (Infected Mushroom for me) while actually _doing_ it.

When I'm doing design, music just distracts me -- but when I'm hammering out
code, a repetitive rhythm definitely helps to keep me focused. It is strange
that music has different effects depending on what kind of thinking the brain
is doing. I wonder why that is...

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larrykubin
Lately:

Rock (Tool, Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, Rage, Muse) Post-Rock (Explosions in
the Sky, Mono, Pelican, Mogwai) Hip-Hop (A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr,
Outkast, Digable Planets, The Coup)

The post-rock/instrumental stuff probably works the best since you aren't
tempted to sing, and it helps to listen to something that is a little more
repetitive.

~~~
KiwiNige
Old Metallica always does it for me.... actually silence is usually better but
I don't get that very often around my workplace.

~~~
le_dominator
Orion is the goddamn jam.

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mlok
Techno / electro. These often have the energy and rythm of machines, and it
helps to keep a good pace. I especially avoid any music with lyrics in a
language I understand, so it does not steal my attention. All in all, I want
my surrounding to be an atmosphere of "going forward" and no distraction. I
also need to regularly look away from my screen, release my brain for a
minute, get up and stop being static.

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yread
Hell Im here just a short time but this is at least 3rd discussion of this
since I registered: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=668087>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=716219>

~~~
netconnect
Sorry man, I've only been here for one of those but I dont remember it. Guess
we just like to talk about these kinds of things?

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dbz
If I am at my house, then I like blasting the music as high as possible. Me
sometimes getting up and dancing really isn't a problem because it only means
that I'm in a good mood and the coding is easier. (Of course I sit back down
and code vigorously to make up for lost time afterwards.) However, if I am in
a public place, coding can be hard because I don't like hearing people
shouting (who does? the shouter?) so I prefer silence in that case, but when
you are at home and have the ability, whatever music you like- you should
play.

I listen to a lot of hip hop and rap, so I start break dancing and crypt
walking. Pretty sweet I know =p

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mindhacker
<http://www.simplynoise.com/>

<http://www.simplynoise.com/download.html#soundscapes>

~~~
trapper
Is there a rationale for this? I read on wikipedia but couldn't find anything
- have links to any good papers?

~~~
mindhacker
_White noise is a common synthetic noise source used for sound masking by a
Tinnitus masker._

 _White noise machines are sold as privacy enhancers and sleep aids and to
mask tinnitus. White noise CDs, when used with headphones, can aid
concentration by blocking out irritating or distracting noises in a person's
environment. In open plan offices, large corporations such as ExxonMobil apply
white noise to reduce the reach of speech, thus, by preventing office staff
from being distracted by conversations in the background, safeguarding
productivity._

Source: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_noise>

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Nervetattoo
Depends on mood and problem I'm currently solving. For trivial coding I can
listen to anything and would probably go for something indie. (Currently the
"trivial music" has been Florence+The Machine, Dirty Projectors, Crystal
Castles and Grizzly Bear).

When I'm stuck on a hard to solve bug/issue I like to go for metal as I tend
to get aggressive and that helps me get the aggression out and focus on the
task.

But for all other causes I prefer classical music or something akin to it and
electronica, especially Niccolò Paganini. And Vivaldi, Wagner, Detektivbyrån,
Slagsmålsklubben and Mozart.

I would love to be able to work in complete silence once in a while, but open
office makes that impossible.

~~~
taifun
I agree, Paganini is great.

(And, it is quite fun that your nick is the title of a Motorpsycho song. Yeah,
mine is too.)

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caudicus
This is sort of un-related, but for fans of coding to ambient music (or anyone
for that matter) - if you haven't already, check out "9 Beet Stretch" -
<http://www.park.nl/park_cms/public/index.php?thisarticle=118> \- Beethoven's
9th Symphony stretched out over a 24 hour period. I heard it first on the
"Time" episode of Radio Lab (great show). It's a real trip to listen to.

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DavidHogan
<http://www.dubstep.fm> It's fat and awesome, and rarely are there vocals to
distract you.

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csomar
Silence, I need lot of concentration.

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chanux
Grooveshark.com | Mugasha.com

I like trance when studying. If I'm seriously in to the work, the music
doesn't matter. I just want some music playing in the background.

And of course there are times I need just plain silence.

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mburney
Bach. I find it perfect for coding because Bach is mathematically and
algorithmically beautiful so it gets the mind working in those ways.

I find IDM, electronica to work pretty well too. Autechre, for instance.

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glaze
Something without lyrics. Usually I listen to Juno Reactor.

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le_dominator
I listen to metal (Mastodon, Neurosis, Isis, Misery Speaks, Cult of Luna) in
the day if I'm wired on coffee. Otherwise, I listen to a lot of ambient/IDM
(Marconi Union, Signer,Arovane, etc).

Generally if I'm drawing, daydreaming, designing, or what have you I listen to
a lot of indie, downtempo, sexy/chill house.

When all else fails, it's Wu Tang all day, son.

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weaksauce
I have to throw a shout out to Tarlton, mum(there is a back tick over the u
but I am too lazy to find the letter), and Sanchez is Driven By Demons. They
have gotten me through some tough coding sessions and they are all close
enough to instrumental without being instrumental to make it work. If you
needed to classify it I guess it they would be post-rock.

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bayareaguy
I like the classical and chill selections at <http://icebergradio.com>

~~~
stijnm
I hadn't heard of this one before - I really like the Comedy channel. Been
listening to it doing some mundane work.

I think I will be switching between Grooveshark and this depending on the type
of work I need to concentrate on.

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kennu
I usually watch tv or movies on my iMac's secondary screen while coding in vim
on the primary. Most of the time it's not distracting. If it is, I switch to
techno or trance on iTunes to get into the flow.

However, when reading books, I am unable to watch or listen to anything at the
same time.. Silence required.

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scharan
I'd rather prefer silence. But in noisy environments, I prefer any
instrumental music. Western classical mostly.

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netconnect
Cool links guys, I just discovered this site for some nice indie tunes along
with some other stuff, all totally free of course
<http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Charts/>

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sid
Anything really (rock to trance), but i will turn it off when i have a really
difficult problem that i havnt solved before or if i am learning something
new.

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jaspervdj
Instrumental, or indie. Altough I have to say, after coding for about 20
minutes I don't notice the music anymore because I'm too concentrated on the
code.

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cyen
when i focus - soundtrack music. this means john williams (jaws, memoirs of a
geisha, minority report, star wars), bear mcreary (bsg), hans zimmer
(gladiator, last samurai, the dark knight), howard shore (LOTR soundtrack!),
michael giacchino (ratatouille), klaus badelt (pirates), etc.

it let me concentrate, by not having words, but also lets me register some
background noise in order for me to focus on my code.

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uggedal
Now: the new Mew album: No More Stories/Are Told Today/I'm Sorry/They Washed
Away//No More Stories/The World Is Grey/I'm Tired/Let's Wash Away

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neuromanta
I listen to goa music (psytrance). Generally I like rock, but listening to
electronic music while I code helps me to concentrate.

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dejv
A lot of punk music, combined with blues and jazz during the coding routines,
but turn music off while working on something hard.

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abyssknight
I usually hit Pandora at the start of the day and leave it on unless I'm in a
meeting or working on a really difficult problem.

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stuntgoat
Currently,

Philip Glass: Mishima

It makes reading/typing anything seem more deeply important than it should be.

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woid
A music for the space traveler: <http://www.bluemars.org/>

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jamesbritt
Postrock. Lately it's Epic45, Lymbyc Systym, Petrograd in Transit, The Berg
Sans Nipple, My Education.

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p01nd3xt3r
southern gangster rap

~~~
le_dominator
Boosie Bad Ass <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h267AmRE6iA>

Sho nuff.

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mahmud
The same songs over and over. My girlfriend and her blues band rehearse at
home.

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gkelly
Groove Salad on SomaFM: a nicely chilled plate of ambient beats.

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metachris
i find last.fm 'jazz+funk tag radio' quite nice for coding

<http://www.last.fm/listen/tag/funk*jazz>

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terpua
<http://hypem.com>

~~~
le_dominator
Let's be friends :D

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j2d2
Lots of groove salad and drum n bass. post-rock is great too.

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nuggien
vocal trance channel on <http://www.di.fm> Lots of other great channels on
there too. Sometimes somafm.com as well.

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BerislavLopac
Silence.

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thismat
Four Tet or similar, or silence.

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charlesju
mugasha.com

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TriinT
Bach. Any other music causes me to lose focus. Total silence drives me slowly
insane. Bach is just perfect.

~~~
redcap
And no other 'classical' music does it for you at all? You'll excuse me if I
find that hard to believe.

Probably because I haven't really listened to Bach (youtube et. al. are
blocked for me so I can't go and listen right this instant).

~~~
TriinT
I like violin, cello and piano. No singing. I can't work when listening to
opera, for instance. Italian opera is almost OK, but German opera is too
distracting.

Classical composers other than Bach would probably work, but since most of the
classical music CD's I have are Bach CD's, I can't say I have tried listening
to many other composers, to be honest. I like Mozart, but his music is too
"happy". Bach's music is more mature.

~~~
redcap
My take on a lot of classical music is that they seem to be trying to hard,
doing too much with the instrument (been listening to some piano pieces by
Liszt, Chopin, etc recently). That and I really don't appreciate a lot of high
treble sounds (it depends, but genereally flutes and violins aren't my
favourite instruments).

My recently instrumental fascination has been the work of Yann Tiersen (Amelie
soundtrack), which has recently inspired me to try my hand at the piano again
after 20 years. Not sure if that'd float your boat though. May give Brahms a
go though.

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drhowarddrfine
Every forum on the internet gets someone to start one of these threads which
goes on seemingly forever and nobody reads them. What is this? MySpace?

