I'm not quite sure whether this is the right topic, but I'll take my chances. I am in dire need of more music - I just seem to write better with my headphones plugged in and lately, my music library just doesn't seem to be up to the challenge. Which just positively sucks - because I was in such an amazing flow and I want to keep going! I need to keep going, and I am keeping on going... and then I am thinking "what on earth am I listening to... This doesn't suit the mood/the scene at all!" After which I will be scrolling through my library for the next fifteen minutes, after which I will be ending with a song that kind of seems to work but doesn't fit as perfect as I'd like, which I will put on repeat simply because the rest doesn't fit whatsoever... So, my question to you, my fellow writers: could you please present to me... more music. And not just any music, no... Think of the most ordinary person you can imagine, the most dull and dreary life possible - and then please, list the songs that pop into your head. Any suggestions?
Depends on what kind of music inspires you, but I find that instrumental helps me write the best. I suggest OSTs by Clint Mansell (Moon), Patrick Doyle (Hamlet), Carter Burwell (Fargo), and Jon Biron (Magnolia), which are quiet, subtle, packed with emotion and not distracting. Also, there is a sub-genre that I listen too which is trailer/epic music. Some names to start with there are Zack Hemsey and Mark Petrie.
Wouldn't it be much more fun to search for yourself? Try sites like YouTube and last.fm to discover new artists. I spent Saturday working on a script that will be filmed for a local company. A good hour was spent on websites that offer uncopyrighted music to use as an outro/intro. While searching I found some brilliant tracks that I downloaded not because they would be useful for the production I was working on but because I thought they would be good as background music while working on my novel.
Try some of the excellent playlist music sources out there - Songza.com and 8tracks.com to name a few. You can choose music based on what you're doing/mood, etc. Personally, my muse is "Muse"! They always give me shivers and send me to the keyboard.
@ Shadywood and Conrad: thanks a lot - I wasn't familiar with songza and 8tracks, so I know where I'll be spending my evening Usually I work with regular songs including vocals, but if they fail me I suppose it's time to cast a wider net ^^ @Yoshiko: I did - if I would have found anything helpful, even if it was just one tune, I wouldn't be asking here
I'm a big Youtube person I watch a lot of videos and sometimes hear a song I like, find the artist and then track down more music by them. I'm in a constant repetition of hedonic adaptation and need new music constantly. Just to get my brain to sit down and focus.
I have the exact same problem. I´m really specific with the songs I hear to get inspired. Like for example I really like Danny Elfman, but only very few of his soundtracks I find actually fit. Then I fell in love with the Coraline soundtrack. And actually I´ve been looking for more music like that, but I haven´t had much luck. Try Youtube though, it´s what I´ve been doing. One video/song leads to another and you might be surprised with what you find. I´ve found songs I wasn´t really expecting to be a good fit for my story but they turned out giving me great ideas. But at the moment, I´m actually in another song drought again. It´s nice to find another person who has a similar writing habit ^^
Baroque. Not everyone's choice I know, it wasn't mine either until I read that the beat in baroque matches the beat of hearts and brain pulses. Studies have proved it is the best music for studying. I forget exactly what the results said, all I know is that I tried it and it works for me. Any other music now gets in the way.
Good out-of-the-box suggesting, JennyM, but I'm not a fan of baroque (except maybe Handel's Messiah and one or two Vivaldi pieces). J.S. Bach bores me to tears, at least most of the time. When I was in university, two friends and I arranged Bach's Little Fugue in G minor for two electric guitars and electric bass. I played first guitar. It was fun to learn, and we had a good time, but I sure was glad it was short! A little of that stuff goes a very long way, I think.
Hi Minstral, not saying I could listen to baroque for hours at a time either. Though it does get me to the 'zone' better than any other. The power of musical vibrations are definitely underestimated.
@ Snicket: thank you for the tip on the film music! If it works for setting the mood in a film, why wouldn't it work while writing a novel? ^^ I can't believe I hadn't thought of that xD @RosieTy: Good to see I'm not alone I've been Youtubing all evening yesterday, too, but not much came out =.= I really like Danny Elfman's work, too, by the way.. I hadn't thought it would work with my story up until now, but hey, how can I know if I haven't tried, right? @ JennyM: Thank you - I don't really mind baroque (I'm a fan of old victorian music, too), but I didn't know it was really the best music to study on o.o Will definitely try, thanks!
I am a soundtrack freak. Hence my list, between these guys, they have scored a massive number of films. Some of their lesser known stuff is actually some of their best. ie: Lady in the Water and the Village done by James Newton Howard. But of everything listed below, Nightwish and Two Steps from Hell, tend to show up the most consistently on my playlists. Mix and match pieces from your own library, see if you can find a compilation that follows the current situation of your storyline. Putting together a new playlist actually does help me think when I get stuck. James Newton Howard Howard Shore Hans Zimmer Nightwish Steve Jablonsky Alan Menken John Ottman Alexandre Desplat Danny Elfman John Williams Jerry Goldsmith Patrick Doyle 2Cellos The Piano Guys The Deviations Project Two Steps From Hell
I would add E.S Posthumous and The Vitamin String Quartet to this list! Another way I've found a lot of really good music is looking up OST's (Original Soundtracks) from anime and video games. There's a lot of really well done, epic music there too. And when I'm looking for something more mellow, I usually go onto Spotify and start with the band Sigur Ros--they're icelandic, and the majority of the singing is unintelligible (even if you know Icelandic)--and then go with the suggested artists from there. I've found some really great instrumental bands that way. Hope that helps!
I like writing to the music of Bartok, Cage and Satie. I also like to use music for "research" purposes, to put me in the time and place of the story, along with finding recipes to add taste and scents to my immersion into the setting. And sometimes, I just explore to find something different, like Portuguese "fado" music.
I find music with lyrics distracts me (and sometimes, when I'm going over work, I find that I'd subconsciously typed random words from songs). Anyway, Ludovico Einaudi is quite good. When I first heard some of his music, I realised that I was familiar with a lot of it from adverts/films and the like.
I have also always found this to be true. Back in my college days, I remember asking about this in a basic psychology course (the professor of which specialized in experimental psychology - sufficed to say our course was a little different than most Psych 101 courses). The explanation was that when the brain is faced with two different forms of stimuli (such as reading and music), the less dominant one will reinforce the more dominant one. So, music that is less invasive will serve to improve your concentration while more invasive will usually distract. I would say that, for me at least, music with lyrics is more invasive - as is loud rock music or very stirring classical music, and I can't work and listen to those, either. For me, the best music to write to is either smooth jazz or soft classical, like baroque.
As already mentioned, Ludovico Einaudi. I found his music a few days ago myself... but so far seems to be really good stuff.
Home for Dark Butterflies is another remarkable score...But I forgot the composer.... Thank you, Google. Panu Aaltio.
Audiomachine, Immediate Music, Thomas Bergersen, and Globus are some of my favorites for writing. Mostly instrumental, but cover a wide array of moods to leech off of. Also: Yuki Kajiura and Yoko Kanno, because they're awesome.
NgHere's what I do. Think of a movie or music that fits the emotion or genre you are trying to write. Go to pandora and make a channel of that film or song and it should give you a constant stream of similar music. Skip all that you don't like. If you find an album or ost you want to hear exclusively then find the playlist on youtube. That's my music process. Hope it helps.
you gotta listen to some Bob Schneider, His music has every emotional aspect to it and he basically has no exact style. I always tell people he is the greatest musician that nobody knows of because he's not mainstream like the garbage that is played on the radio nowadays.
Not sure why someone hasn't suggested Pandora, or Turntable.fm.. both are great places with a plethora of music depending on your tastes that suggest songs based on what you've thumbed down or up.. well, pandora at least.. Turntable has people bringing their own music libraries to the table, mostly obscure, and you can develop your own library through their influences. I've found endless supplies of different artists from both of those websites.
