Do you write to music?
Submitted by innowen on Thu, 2007-06-28 05:28.
Classical
19% (63 votes)
Rock
17% (58 votes)
Jazz
10% (33 votes)
New Age
6% (21 votes)
Electronica (techno/industrial/chill/ambiant)
19% (65 votes)
Movie Soundtracks
7% (24 votes)
None, I don't need music to fan my creative flames
22% (73 votes)
Total votes: 337
A bit of an explanation
Last week, I was listening to music while I was working on my column. And while I was writing, to my favorite streaming station (Digital Gunfire) I noticed how well the words and prose seemed to flow from me. I haven't been listening to music as much as I used to when I write; I figure this mostly due to the loss of my dayjob. It felt so good to be writing while the tunes were pumping to music and it got me thinking. Hence the poll.
I want to know what tunes (or silence) everyone here enjoys when they write. I've always said that fast beats and good rhythm are what gets my muse going. Mostly techno, industrial and gothic music fuel my midnight writing. I even spend most of my October prep for NaNoWriMo composing play lists for the story to listen to while I type fast and furious in November.
So what do you listen to? Got any suggestions? Add it here in the comments below!
/innowen
Max Richter's "The Blue
Max Richter's "The Blue Notebooks." It's a classical concept album based on Franz Kafka's "The Blue Octavo Notebooks". No lyrics except for the actress Tilda Swinton quietly speaking Kafka's words over the typewriter clacking in the b/g in 2 or 3 tracks. But the rest - sublimely moody, wordless, stately emotional instrumental music accented by subtle electronic tics.
A fellow fan!
I absolutely love that album. It's gorgeous.
I can't write to any music, though -- too distracting. Although I did download Brian Eno's "Music for Airports" to try out as background. Haven't gotten around to listening to it yet, though.
--
Steff
[ web site ]
Do you Write to Music?
Indeed I do. My favourite artists are: Robert Rich, Steve Roach, Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Klaus Schulze.
I really love listening to Robert Rich's 'Trances/Drones' CD, especially the tracks:
Hayagriva,
Seascape,
Wheel of Earth.
Ambient artists
David, your list of favorite artists mirrors mine almost exactly! I only recently discovered Harold Budd (particularly his collaborations with Eno). You might also enjoy a new album called "Treasure" by David Helpling and John Jenkins. It has a lot of similarities to another favorite of mine, Patrick O'Hearn.
Have you listened to vidnaObmana? He's very much in the Rich/Roach vein, and his collaboration with Roach (Cavern of Sirens) is one of my all-time favorites.
If you haven't discovered Ultima Thule (www.ultimathule.info), a podcasted program from Australia's public radio, I highly recommend it.
Cheers,
Paul
Too distracting
It's not that I don't need music; it's that I need no music.
I definitely can't listen to anything with a vocal track while I write because I find myself tuned into the words or voice and lose track of my own, but even instrumentals are distracting. I cannot focus on my own creative output with someone else's coming in.
-Erika
Either or
I agree with Erika. Music distracts me too much; I want to listen.
Many years ago I worked in the same room as my boss. He loved to have the radio on while he worked. I got to listen to some great music (he had it tuned into BBC Radio 3) but I did very little work. He turned the radio off; I did the work. So for me it's not
it is a case of
.
Something good from Philip Pullman
I know this is a somewhat dormant thread but I just happened to catch the author Philip Pullman (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) being interviewed on British TV. He says he does not listen to music while writing because it alters the rythm of what he writes. For me this is the only good thing he has ever said; I abhor his work finding it no better than an amateur who's been to a writing class and learnt a few tricks. But still at least here he and I agree writing should be undertaken in silence so the music of the words is loud and clear.
Music is too distracting
I can't write with music playing either. I begin writing something to accompany the music and not writing what I need to write.
Too Distracting
I agree with Erika. At some point in recent years the idea took hold that writing must be accompanied by music. Chris Baty, the NaNoWriMo founder (God love him), pushes this idea heavily in his book "No Plot? No Problem!" He also promotes the idea that writing must by fueled by coffee and food. I've got some problems with that idea also.
Nevertheless, I do love music and have found that certain musical pieces do set a tone for my writing, so I will listen to them for awhile and then turn them off and start writing. I have found the music of Mary Chapin Carpenter to be particularly helpful in helping to set a mood. I don't think I could have written my novel without her song "The End of My Pirate Days."
the end of television
When my new mouse came home, the tele got unplugged. I read an article about sound waves from teles that can hurt small animals. Since then, I have listened to NPR Radio ... they play mostly classical with a sprinkle of folk, etc. I must admit I feel like I'm accomplishing more on the creative level. I recommend less than 30 mins of tele a day and more classical music for anyone :D. Oh and more reading! yay for books!
my artwork | my blog
oh
I should mention that I listen to Chant (mostly from Tibet) when I'm having a very awful day and can't clear my head... works like a charm. :D
my artwork | my blog
Ever listen to Gregorian ?
deep roots from Catholic upbringing 0:)
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
aye
I used to meditate to "CHANT" all the time... Imma former lil catholic school girl. 0 :D
my artwork | my blog
meditation music
I used to listen to Engima's first album for meditation. I found that it had just the right elements and beats (heartbeat included) to bring my brain waves down.
Chants are awesome,
/innowen
How about "Chantmania" ?
Link
The last track ( The Monks' Vow Of Silence ) is especially special 0:)
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
ditto
ditto
Music genre
Hi.
I use Rock to keep my energy up. I use classical and new age to keep me balanced--especially when working with frustrating people. Movie soundtracks are good for either depending on which movie.
I don't need it to compose, but it does help me to shut out the outside world when there are distracting things around. It also helps me stay awake and energetic when I'm feeling a little tired. It always helps the time pass.
shris
Since high school, whenever
Since high school, whenever I need to think really hard, or to put my thoughts on paper (or a computer disk!) I've played Mozart's 40th symphony.
I write pretty much only technical documents (in high school, it was homework) so Mozart doesn't seem to be the natural choice for background music. It's always worked for me, though.
Music to write by
When I'm writing I can't have music with any lyrics playing. I can't listen to someone else's words and come up with my own at the same time. I have a couple of Windaham Hill cd's that I play on repeat when I need to get down to serious writing, especially when on a deadline. The music is even, non-intrusive, and helps me get into the zone. I started listening to them when I was writing my dissertation because they were new to me at the time and I needed something calming to write by. Now I've heard them so many times that when I have them on when writing I don't consciously "hear" them anymore. They make a kind of white noise background while my brain kicks into writing mode.
I forgot to add
I forgot to add that I was pregnant while writing my dissertation and listening to these two cd's all day every day. I found that after my daughter was born I could put on one of those cd's and she would fall right to sleep. It still works 13 years later. Must be some deep in-utero sound memory.
No button for what I listen to
I listen to the radio, specifically Radio-Canada in French. When they have shows that I don't like, I listen to chanson française on my computer. 90% of the time, what I listen to is in French or another romance language. I do have faves in English, but I never listen to them when I write. French and other romance languages are safe, relaxing, mother tongues for me. English is the language I work in. If I have to work, I need to be relaxed. I can't have an overload of English.
"It's better to be a pirate than to join the Navy." -- Steve Jobs
Take a look at this...
Tune Your Brain
I found the book and the original CD years ago and between then and now picked up all of the CD's except for the one for Pregnancy. Being male, it would have little effect on me and my wife is not into this.
I have made some compilations of my own based on the concept.
It works for me, but I have found it to be a very individual thing. Like I said, it does NOT work for my wife.
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
Music
I've been hung up on Ulrich Schnauss lately. Seems to have the right amount of energy, but isn't too distracting.
Oh, although, for me at the moment, writing=testing software. Similar in many ways, although the end result will never be made into a movie.
Also just discovered The Cinematic Orchestra, and the album Ma Fleur. Not amazingly deep or something that will show up in conservatory class assignments, but it has a nice feel. Can't loop that all day like some other things, though.
Brian Eno is too relaxing, and I keep falling asleep on my desk. Love his stuff, but not for brain work.
Music.......YES!
I always listen to music while writing, thinking, creating, etc. For the thinking and concentrating end of things, I stick with music using no understandable vocals, or some slower tempo works like:
Anything from Brain Sync
Anything from Hemi Sync
Anything from the Baroque period
The Goldberg Variations (J. S. Bach)- Glenn Gould
The Cello Suites - Yo Yo Ma
Full Moon - G. S. Sachdev
Anything by Hariprasad Chaurasia
A Meeting by the River - Ry Cooder & V.M. Bhatt
Bach for Relaxation (Series)
I have 1,437 CDs, the above are the best for brain situations.
Cheers, S.
www.eslspider.com
www.healthyexpat.com
I voted for Rock. But most
I voted for Rock. But most of the time its more the jack johnson, nora jones type of music, that I listen too!
yay!
norah jones is great inspiration :D
my artwork | my blog
You need an "Other Music"
You need an "Other Music" choice ... I listen to folk music, almost constantly.
--Liz
Cartesian Bear Industries
Witty science & science fiction t-shirts
http://www.printfection.com/cartesianbear
Need More than One
Cause it depends on my mood and what I'm writing. I listen to Jazz of different stripes, Rock, Classical, Bluegrass and some World stuff.
Jason
-- Coffee and Books, the pleasures of life
-- http://javajeb.wordpress.com
Right now I'm listening to a
Right now I'm listening to a classic rock station I just found, yesterday I set up some chilled dance on musicovery, and the day before that I just had the TV on in the background so yeah, I've not really found a pattern for myself yet :P
composing music
What if, like me, you compose more than one style of music?
"music to write by" perspectives from a musician...
Nice to see a lively discussion on this topic! In answer to the question
from anonymous re: writing music to write by, I'd like to share
my perspective...
The musical artists that have gotten me into a state of flow and
peak creative performance while writing are stylistically diverse --
Aphex Twin, Mozart, Kate Bush, Balinese Gamelan music, Neotropic,
Massive Attack, Death Cab for Cutie, Blue Note jazz artists -- but
they all share a certain quality of transporting me to an almost
trance-like condition that supports and encourages, rather than
competes with, the creative task at hand.
It has litttle to do with genre per se.
I've also been a musician since I was four. Throughout my time as
a writer or software developer at Yale, the National Science Foundation,
Amazon, etc., I've been recording and performing music. Being a
musician is now my full-time career.
The state of mind we get into when writing our music is remarkably
similar to the state of mind that optimal writing music used to put me
into when I was writing words.... When the writing of words is flowing,
and I lose the outside world, when we're flowing with composing
music, we forget we're even playing...
We recently interviewed the most passionate fans of my project,
Two Loons for Tea, throughout the US. We found that every one
we interviewed loved our music mainly because it was a creative
companion in their creative processes, be it weaving, writing code,
or writing.
We didn't aim to create such music, but apparently, that's what
we've inadvertantly done.
So, maybe some of you will find inspiration in our music as well; it's
trip-hop / chill / pop with some amazing guest musicians from
Tori Amos, King Crimson, etc.
If you're curious, you can check out the music at Amazon:
"Looking for Landmarks"
"Two Loons for Tea"
"Nine Lucid Dreams"
And you can hear full song previews at our myspace page.
sincerest regards, and best of luck and joy with your writing (music OR words)!
jonathan
two loons for tea