

Ask HN: What Music Do You Listen To While Coding? - physcab

Just curious what music you all listen to while coding (can be genre, specific artist, song, or random).  No one is judging you here.
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RiderOfGiraffes
None - I can't code while music is on. Ditto conversation, and ditto doing
math.

There was something in PeopleWare (I think) about an experiment done with
people listening to music. Those listening to their preferred music performed
about as well as those who preferred silence and got it, and about as well as
those who preferred music, but had silence. The group that preferred silence
but had music performed, unsurprisingly, comparatively badly.

The sting in the tail was this. The task they were given had an "Aha!" insight
buried in it. Namely, the full set of transforms they'd been asked to
implement turned out to be trivial, although the individual components
weren't.

All the programmers who had the "Aha!" moment had silence, regardless of their
preference. No one with music saw the short cut.

I've since tried to find concrete evidence to support this anecdote, either
papers, or first hand accounts, but the recounting in PeopleWare remains the
only reference I have.

~~~
ErrantX
heavy music can have the same effect. (as an aside; if I have to concentrate
hard silence tends to distract me, I will get up and make noise to stop it
being silent :) so I had to develop these technigues).

Death Metal or Screamo type stuff can wash over you without engaging much of
your thought process.

I dont have a study to back that up :) but I know Im not alone in experiencing
this (and I think it actually backs up what your saying too).

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RiderOfGiraffes
<http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=192924>

Especially:

<http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=193120>

Previous times this question has been asked:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=61831>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=212682>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=367418>

<http://searchyc.com/music>

\----

If I'm _not_ coding, or if I'm coding something that really doesn't require
much thought, then I like Bach's harpsichord or piano music. Predules, Fugues,
two and three part inventions.

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ErrantX
Almost anything out of my fairly large collection (I hate silence).

I had the misfortune (or good fortune) to grow up next to a gifted musician -
with a massively diverse musical taste. An example playlist I clearly remember
from my late-late teens (blaring out from the room next door) went along the
lines of: Slipknot, Spice Girls, Bach, Eminem, Metallica (or something like
that). That kind of thing, apparently., rubs off :D

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JournalistHack
I've got to go with the "none" crowd.

I don't consider coding an easy or natural activity to me... until I really
get into sort of a zone. Sometimes I have to close my eyes (as well as ears)
and stop staring at the screen... so that _complete lack_ of input lets my
brain percolate a fresh way of looking at a project.

What can I say? There's lots of different mind-styles out there. Took me a
long time to find my own.

------
brk
I don't do much coding like others here ( I am more biz dev/ sales oriented
now) but when I _am_ hacking on something I will usually seed Pandora with
Devin The Dude or maybe Trick Trick.

I will tend to listen to the same general artists/tracks because I don't want
the distraction of new data, but I do like using music as a sort of click-
track to provide a tempo for what I'm working on.

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justlearning
mostly groovesalad from somafm.com - very rhythmic beats with no intrusion,
almost becomes oblivious after a while.

Sometimes Mozart or some random classical music - it boosts me up at
unexpected times. I often tune into online musical stations, but the ads
distract me. If I am reading, sometimes, a violin concerto puts me into zone.
It's better than random distractions.

At the odd times, when I am really comfortable (as in not stopping to think)-
instrumental techno trance.

I have also tried white noise - can't do it for more than an hour max. but it
works for me - is my preferred listening 'music' - actually a session of white
noise helps me concentrate for couple of hours.

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physcab
I guess I'll answer my own question. Typically I listen to R&B, but my older
graduate adviser has recently gotten me interested in classical. My favorite
is the Brandenburg Concerto #5 by Bach.

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ExJournalist
Maybe it's just me, but I really need as close to complete silence as
possible. The hum of HD drive is comforable enough for me. Anything more
distracts. YMMV.

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araneae
A 3.25 hour long .mp3 of techno music played at a rave held in my college
dorm's subbasement.

That, and random OP/EDs from anime.

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synnik
90s Chick Rock. The Cure. Urban Folk. The soundtrack to Run Lola Run. And
Meatloaf.

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bgnm2000
90s and country, but I'm going to try white noise after reading this

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BrentRitterbeck
I go to Shoutcast and bring up All-Classical WGBH 89.7-HD2.

