Classical music , and the more sad the better. I tend to listen to movie soundtracks though, like Clint Mansell, Nick Hooper ( his songs for harry potter 6 are really good ! ) Hanz Zimmer , i got into him a day ago.... some singers like Adele and Regina Spektor/Skeptor ( her name confuses me) , weezer, and dashboard confessional.
I forgot to mention Yiruma, who's a Korean pianist who writes absolutely amazing music. Also, Francis Lai's 'Love Story' from the movie of the same title is heartbreakingly sad. ~Christian
I plan scenes based on songs, they go like music videos in my head but I don't write well when I listen to the same songs. Silence is the best inspiration I guess.
What music do you listen to while writing? I listen to mostly Regina Spektor songs. For the novel I am currently writing, I listened almost exclusively to one of her songs and now, every time I hear it, it reminds of my novel. What music do you listen to while writing?
I have a song for every scene in my current novel. Some are leona lewis, kelly clarkson and shinedown
None at all. I need total silence when I work. Any background music either drives me insane, or I start to listen to it and stop writing.
Hard metal. Sometimes I'll tolerate light rock. But by light I mean things like "Family Force Five" and the like. I like to listen to Brian Head Welch or Linkin Park or other things. I do not listen to light music well listening... drives me crazy! I save the Zoe Girls music for some other times.
Usually chill electronic music like electronica, trance or house. I tend to try to listen only to instrumental or primarily instrumental songs that fit the tone of the story or scene. I listen to a lot of 80's pop and R&B too.
Family Force 5 is so much fun to see in concert. Especially when one of them runs around with the hulk hands! XD And so is Linkin Park...mainly because their pure awesome haha. I like your taste in music wizard. =] While writing though, my music ranges based on the mood I wish to portray. If I want a sullen, moody, even angry piece I'll put my Alice in Chains collection on. While creating settings I like to have Nine Inch Nails's Ghosts album on - hours of instrumental and mixed sounds works well for putting together your own world. Bands like Alter Bridge and Linkin Park can be hit or miss for me - sometimes they'll be inspiring, but if I have too much energy I'll just start singing and lose track of writing. What works best for standard old writing though is putting on this wonderful hard rock/metal/medium rock playlist I made a few years ago. A lot of bands that aren't my favorites, but still good. This works because I'm not singing along the whole time, but it still gives me the power to write and write and write. This was probably WAY too explanatory, but I really enjoy music. =]
I love music, and I do my best brainstorming while listening, but when I actually sit down to write music is waaayyyy too distracting. I get lost in music when I listen to it, so I find it impossible to listen to things when writing and produce anything of quality. That said, the music that is inspiring my current work is mostly really alternative stuff. Somber music, because it's a somber story. A lot of Dylan, The Smiths and Morrissey, Matthew Good, Coldplay's first two albums, Pete Yorn, mostly slow, acoustic stuff. It's a winter story, so a lot of songs that evoke the cold and gray of wintertime. A little classic rock too (Clapton, Wings, Bob Seger, Fleetwood Mac). Other stories call for other music to brainstorm to. Depends on the tone of what I'm working on.
It varies a lot, but it's usually some form of metal or punk with lyrics and/or music I find really inspiring in a variety of ways. Usual favorites are bands like Between the Buried and Me, Protest the Hero, Rise Against, Motion City Soundtrack, A Skylit Drive, The Receiving End of Sirens, Alexisonfire, Thrice, Coheed and Cambria, 36 Crazyfists, Behemoth, Opeth, Darkest Hour, or Anathema. I'll sometimes listen to something more ambient or atmospheric too though. Brian Eno, Sunn O))), Biosphere, Benn Jordan, Boards of Canada, Jon Hallur, and NǽnøĉÿbbŒrğ VbëřřĦōlökäävsŦ.
You can have my entire bilingual playlist English: The Only Rose -romantic Proterra - rock Canada - ??? The Ocean Road - rock, romantic In Scandinavia - rock, romantic Day of Days - rock Gaelic: Faileas Air An Airigh - best Gaelic song in modern history Chi Mi'n Geamhradh - romantic Pog Aon Oidhche Earraich - romantic An Ros - romantic
I don't actually listen to music while I'm writing, I find it too distracting. It is perfect though for getting me into a certain mood or giving me ideas.
God you lot have a foul taste in music! I don't listen to anything while I write, as lyrics would limit my vocabulary, I'd probably end each sentence with away, day, may, say etc etc. haha I do read a lot while I'm on a writing binge though, and I'm a songwriter myself so I write and record entire albums when I need a break from reading/writing. If I do listen to music its alternative lo-fi stuff mainly, but I like anything good. see My Red Cell, Liars, Flaming Lips, Midlake, Eastern lane, Beethoven, Orff, Nirvana, Radiohead et al Would never ever EVER listen to The Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers post Californication, Coheed and cambria (wheetus without the one hit wonder anyone?), RnB (the modern pop braindead watered down hiphop stuff, not old RnB which was guitar based); Eminem, 50 cent, Akon and all the rest of the dross that is out there. I withheld the swearing...it being PG13 here and all.
Actually, I can put my ipod on shuffle when I'm laying in my bed, and any song that pops up gives me ideas (when I'm in the mood, of course ). I do have a lot of movie soundtracks... I those. @ Spirij: Are you sure you don't end every sentence with a curse instead? Seems like that's what's on your mind a lot... (If like this a topic makes you want to swear already )
Hey now, the first Killers album was awesome. Their music after that? Not so much. And I have some respect for Eminem in that he actually puts some thought into his lyrics. BTW Flaming Lips are fairly awesome. Not to get off topic....
I listen to all sorts of music when writing. Well I did, not so much anymore. I have noticed that I might aswell not be listening to nothing because the songs I listen to blur into the background to the point I am not even aware of it at all.
I listen to it to get me inspired. I don't write WITH music, though. I have a hard time blocking out sounds and am in my version of Hell when more than two people are talking to me, or someone is trying to talk to me when I'm on the phone (or watching television). I cannot separate easily. So, in order to let the voice in my head breathe, I usually write in silence. Before writing? In the car, walking, I use music to think about my story to do the pre-writing part. It can be anything from symphonic/score (movie) music to rock or modern pop. Lately, "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot has been getting me into one novel. "Shelter for the Storm" by Bob Dylan is getting me into a short story. For another possible novel, a Carmina-Burana'esque song has been adding to my creative visions nicely. I usually see my story unfolding in a trailer of sorts, flashes/clips, etc. Music is definitely helpful before I write.
Nowadays I just point iTunes radio to some ambient station, like Dronezone or something. It's music I don't have to pay attention to, and somehow it provides the perfect atmosphere for me to write in. Otherwise, it's soundtrack music, like The New World, In The Valley of Elah, and Sunshine right now. Those are my favorites. I used to listen to regular music, but I can't help but think about the music while writing. It's mostly disruptive for me.
I smell an indie/alt rock elitist Sunshine has a fantastic soundtrack. Do you listen to any of Underworld's other works aside from it? If not, you should. Now.
I'm a huge soundtrack/score person. I haven't tried any of those yet, though I've heard good things about Sunshine, though. Some of my favorite soundtracks/scores: Glory 1492: Conquest of Paradise Ned Kelley (Heath Ledger version)
I find the music I'm normally attracted to has a fantasy, dramatic element and it blends nicely into the fictional worlds I live in -- I mean, create. It seems to work opposite for me though: I write something, then inevitably and quite unintentionally find a song that reminds me of it. After some serious daydreaming with background music, I often go back to what was originally written and rewrite it. It tends to help, a lot. Now, do I listen to it while writing? Rarely, but when I do, it has to be at a level that would annoy the neighbors. I have no idea why I find an average level too distracting when writing, but more helpful if my eardrums are bleeding. But again, it's rare I turn on music when writing, at all. To tack on the suggestions: Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, Tristania, Unsun, On Thorns I Lay, and the occasional Nightwish and Evanescence. Oddly, I've even drawn from Blaq Audio and Shinedown. Just the matter of what fits the bill, I suppose.
I mostly listen to Regina Spektor or classical music while I write. Sometimes, I listen to the same song over and over again while I write, which makes me associate the song to my story.
I listen to music while I write all the time. I listen to the music that I would picture playing in the background as I write the scene in the story.
I just listened to one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. I may be inspired to write a story off of it. Holy crap. :/
