I don't typically write according to the feel of the piece, but I DO constantly have something playing, mostly Indie-Electronic, or either of both genres, with some odds and ends. The biggest players on my play list are: Death Cab, Dashboard Confessional, Passion Pit, MGMT, The Working Title, Owl City, et cetera.
I don't listen to music when I write, I can't concentrate like that, for me, it has to be completely slient. But if I could listen to music while writing, I would most likely listen to rock/punk music, and/or classical music.
I quite often listen to Sigur Ros when I write. I suppose it's largely because I don't understand the lyrics which, for whatever reason, means it doesn't distract me.
A fun activity I seem to be doing right now is making a mini-soundtrack for a particular book. My demon story is accumulating an interesting soundtrack....
I generally pick music according to the mood of what I'm going to write. If it's a cynical satire I jam some NoFX (Like my newest blog post! Shameless self promotion!) If it's something brooding and darker I like Tool or Sigur Ros. Something sad, generally Radiohead. And then if it's epic, ALWAYS the Plastic Constellations. *** I also like listening to really experimental underground hip-hop when writing. Stuff like Subtle, Aesop Rock, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, or El-P.
Sad Classical Music anyone? I don't know why, but it helps me write. I usually listen to the occasion movie soundtrack because that inspires me the most, but I was wondering if anyone knew any songs I could look into? So far I'm a big fan of Clint Mansel and Nicholas Hooper, as well as Bach.
^ goooood stufff if you can do pandora internet radio, making a station from clint mansel (or requiem for a dream) will get you a lot of really good stuff what about stuff like hans zimmer? (soundtracks like "beyond rangoon", "the last samurai" and such) not all of these will fit your bill, but some artists i like: apocalyptica, takenobu, rafter, r. carlos nakai (the first three will probably do you good, the last is native american flute but i also really like it) enjoy~! (as i will enjoy this thread! i need some good stuff too!)
Don't have any suggestions for classical music, but you could search for relaxation music. It really helps me clear my mind and focus on writing. Just search relaxation music on youtube and see what comes up. Hopefully there is something that will help you out.
A Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy is probably the saddest piano song I've ever heard. It's been used in hundreds of movies so you've probably heard it before. Hope that helped.
I do this all the time! I usually will listen to classical, and I've listened to the relaxation stuff before too. I don't write while I listen but it seems to give me inspiration If I just sit and relax for awhile. I listen to a lot of New Age stuff like Enya and Mood songs. The best place to find that stuff might be in Borders books and music, least that's where I find most of them. Enya you can find anywhere but I found a whole bunch of others.
thanks guys I hope more comes for anyone interested, if you like relaxation, Dashboard Confessional's acoustic guitar songs like Hands Down (acoustic version), So Impossible, Living In Your letters, The swiss army romance, etc. u will find more by this amazing guitarist.
I agree with kangaroo about Hans Zimmer. He's done some great soundtracks (Lion King and Gladiator being two of my favorites). Otherwise I'd recommend the Lacrimosa part of Mozart's requiem. Handel's Sarabande is a rather sad piece too, in my opinion at least.
Hans Zimmer writes some really nice soundtracks - I especially recommend 'The Last Samurai.' Philip Glass is in the same boat. I love all of his music, but the 'Kundun' and 'The Hours' OSTs are both really good. Of course, Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' and 'Symphonie Pathetique' are quite good, as is Mozart's 'Requiem in D Minor.' My favorite sections of that piece are the Dies Irae (Sequence) and the Kyrie Eleison. The Lacrimosa is highly overplayed, in my opinion. Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridson both write very solid contemporary choral music that I think would fit the bill. Also, Frank Tichelli's 'Earth Song,' is just absolutely gorgeous, but that's the only song from him that I really like. ~Christian
These may not be considered classical, but they are instrumentals. Lucia Micarelli, especially "She Is Like the Swallow" and "Nocturne from Bohemian Rhapsody" Ludovico Einaudi usually does some good emotional pieces. Martin Barre "As Told by" sounds kind of sad.
This is some of the classical I have on my iPod that might fit the bill: Mahler - Symphony No. 5 - Adagietto Mozart - Not just LaCrimosa, but all of Requiem Ryuichi Sakamoto - High Heels OST - High Heels Barber - Adagio for Strings: Molta Adagio Debussy - La Mer Yo-Yo Ma & Bobby McFerrin - Double Mandolin Concerto Liszt - Liebestraum No 3 in A Flat Bach - Orchestral Suit No 3 Air on a G String Beethoven - Moonlight Debussy - Valse Romantique Jon Brion - Synecdoche, New York OST - Can't Return (For The Last Time) Jon Brion - Synecdoche, New York OST - Still Can't Return (Still Trying) Jon Brion - Synecdoche, New York OST - Something You Can't Return To Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jaques Morelenbaum - Babel OST - Bibo no Aozoro Handel - Concerto grosso in A minor op. 6 No. 4 Dvorak - Largo (Can't remember which symphony, probably New World, although 7 & 8 are both pretty awesome) Aphex Twin - kessondalef (off of the album Drukqs) Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 Craig Armstrong - 1st Waltz Albinoni - Adagio for Organ & Strings Ryuichi Sakamoto - Song Lines (from the album Heartbeat) Handel - Largo (from Xerxes) Vaughn Williams - Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis Sibelius - Finlandia Amon Tobin feat. Kronos Quartet - Bloodstone Grieg & Sibelius - Ase's Death (from Grieg's Peer Gynt) Rachmaninov - Vocalise, Op. 34/14 Casta Diva from the opera "Norma" (2046 OST) (This doesn't fit the bill, but it's just awesome so: Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2) Sibelius - Valse Triste Dvorak - Slavonic Dance No. 2 Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F, BWV 1047: II. Andante Verdi - The Force of Destiny Overture Rachmaninov - Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3/2 (personal favorite) Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 Beethoven - Pathetique Hope this helps you out.
So...no one else a big fan of Trance and Techno? Ambiance? Industrial? DnB? A list of artists found on my playlist 'When Writing' on my Ipod: Tiesto Paul van Dyk ^Syphonmax ^Nighthawk22 ^TMM43 ^BOUNC3 Infected Mushrooms Dj Immune Darude ^ApproachingNirvanna ^Dj-Nate ^Yelltek Puddle of Mudd (For the song Blurry XD) Eiffel 65 ^DenVessidence ^Envy ^F777 ^Liquitech ^Skymarshall *Edit: Forgot some, here: Dream Theater Aphex Twin The Beatles Children of Bodom Gorillaz Z-Ro That's pretty much it. I know that likely almost 90% of these will be foreign to all of you, but look them up, they're pretty good. Most can be found on www.newgrounds.com/audio ^=Found on Newgrounds
I used to listen to 'Music For Airports' to go to sleep but can anyone really be a "fan" of ambient music? Edit: Just read the whole thread, nice lists guys. I'm going to be studying classical guitar at college in a year or so and I really need to start immersing myself in it again.
I agree with Marshmallow on three of them, Tiesto is always good to listen to so as to zone in and be able to really crank out some pages of prose. Z-RO is great when I need something rough, his lyrics are great, one of the better rappers to come out of h-town. As for others I sometimes listen to: 2-Pac Notorious BIG Dj Ravine (Great aussy happy hardcore dj!!) Dj Cotts
I know at least eight of them. One of them, Dream Theater, is one of my favourite bands. For what I've listen to lately while writing- Phideaux- I post alot about them in the thread on the off-topic board, but they really are fantastic. They're at the opposite end of progressive from Dream Theater- there aren't a lot of mindblowing solos, but in terms of composition the only songwriter I like about as much as them is Neal Morse. Their music, while dense and challenging, is also very soothing. I've been playing some Pascal Obispo when writing- the music blends into the background and just the vocals shine through which is probably the best way to enjoy him. I've also been listening to some Stratovarius, Visions of Atlantis and Amon Amarth while writing. Of course, Alizée is still at the top of my playlist.
Sometimes, though, do you enjoy classic rock, IE Styx, Boston, and Journey? Sometimes I put on Amanda and just freakin' trance out. It's so awesome.
Often or not I need music to keep focused - i have an easily distracted mind - so either I need to be solitary or just zone out with my headphones on listening to music. But sometimes I can get some inspiration for music - for one piece I put on Pink Floyd's Echoes and just took some notes from the moods and changes in music and the images I got from it and I came up with a short story which is now expanding into a novel. But sometimes music can be helpful when you're writing certain moods, listening to The Offspring and writing a depressing scene don't quite mix. I was writing a sad moment between a daughter and her parents, so I stuck on My Dying Bride, which is a band I'll only listen to when I'm writing, because they are that depressing. For happy stuff, I can listen to general music as long as it's not too catchy, though an upbeat tune helps and some blues like Gary Moore helps or even Otis Taylor. Though I've commonly listening to stuff like Opeth, Symphony X, Stratovarius, Ted Maul, Dimmu Borgir and all of the likes for stuff that I don't need to set the mood for. Interestingly they're all bands that help me concentrate more.
I used to listen to hard metal and loud music, because it helped to make me more excited. But now, I like the classics and the trance music. It's better to have only music and not a lot of words pressing to my drums when I try to write a good piece.
I used to listen to the sound track from the movie Braveheart. I loved the haunting bagpipes, flutes, and whistles. I do have a few other Irish and Scottish instrumental cd's kicking around too. If I listen to music while writing it has to be strictly instrumental. I can't listen to music with words, or I get distracted from writing. If I don't have an instrumental cd that fits the mood, I go with the white noise of a fan, or my sound machine (ocean sounds, rain forest, ect...) Otherwise I write in perfect silence.
