1. Ramivacation

    Ramivacation Member

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    What music do you write to?

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Ramivacation, May 19, 2011.

    Hey gang. I don't know about the rest of you, but I always need something moody to listen to when I write. It really helps me get into the zone. I've been quickly burning through my usual YouTube selections as of late.

    What or who do you like to listen to while you're writing?

    Here are some of my favorites!

    Thomas Newman
    Jeremy Soule
    Immediate Music
    James Newton Howard
     
  2. JimFlagg

    JimFlagg New Member

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    I think this question was asked before but I like music with no lyrics. Classical music, Techno, and any thing with no lyrics or little lyrics.
     
  3. The-Joker

    The-Joker Contributor Contributor

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    Not so much writing, but conceptualizing. I totally feel you on your own choices.

    My favorites.

    1) Two steps from Hell---- anyone who's ever thought about writing an epic fantasy and hasn't listened to these guys really should. You will be inspired.

    2) X-Ray dog. same as above

    3) Hanz Zimmer--- Love the guy. The best score writer of our time in my opinion. His music can singlehandedly make a mediocre movie fun to watch ie. Pirates of the Caribbean. And he has inspired a small army of imitators, Steve Jablonski, Trevor Rabin, Harold Closer etc. who all sound almost as good as him which is awesome.

    It's amazing what clarity of thought can be achieved when listening to this type of music. It's like the scenes just build themselves.
     
  4. Unit7

    Unit7 Contributor Contributor

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    Whatever is in my youtube's Writers Playlist. Which I have no idea what's really in there at the moment. It's just songs and AMV's that I have enjoyed and they found their place in the playlist.
     
  5. nastyjman

    nastyjman Senior Member

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    Sigur Ros (especially Saeglopur) and Explosions in the Sky.
     
  6. martial_wolf

    martial_wolf New Member

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    I head over to Pandora and listen to my "new age ambient" station.
     
  7. Kio

    Kio New Member

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    I listen to everything except country music. No offense to those who like it, but I usually don't get into it.

    I listen to rock, rap, pop, music ranging from the forties to the nineties, basically. I also listen to Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and other classical musicians that I can't think of at the moment. I listen to soundtracks from video games, movies, and television shows. I also listen to music from all around the world such as Kodo drums, Native American music, Mayan drums, latin, all that stuff.
     
  8. Lord Malum

    Lord Malum New Member

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    I don't write with music. I found that it distracts where I want the story to go and changes my mood I sat down with. That's why I tend to go to the library when I can to write. It's nice and quiet and I can focus everything on getting the story out of my brain.
     
  9. Velox

    Velox Member

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    Sometimes nothing at all, but if I do it'll either be some sort of rock, classical, or movie soundtrack [LotR, the Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.].
     
  10. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    Like Lord Malum I prefer writing to silence... though I come up with my best story ideas and scenes for my WIP when I listen to music. it can be anything really... classical music would never work, it has to be something with lyrics for the inspirational process, lol. Only very rarely I listen to music when writing, and that is when I find that I need to listen to the same songs that gave me the inspiration while writing, to be able to catch that particular feeling again and put it down on paper, and in these cases I listen to them on repeat on youtube, but that doesn't happen very often.
     
  11. AmbitiousK

    AmbitiousK New Member

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    I listen to anything when i'm writing, as long as it has lyrics as it helps with the creative process. I used to listen to the radio when i created my first draft of my novel Lady of the Kryptonites, that way the music wasn't relating to any scenes.

    Since editing though i've been listening to Enya, Evanescence, Linkin Park and Massive Attack. They are my main bands. :)
     
  12. Ramivacation

    Ramivacation Member

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    Wow, a lot of you listen to music with lyrics in it when you write.

    Music can sometimes be distracting for me, but without lyrics, it typically isn't.

    Also, for Sigur Ros... Have you heard of .. hm. I can't think of the Icelandic word for it. It's called "Hopping in Puddles" in English, though. Beautiful song. I had totally forgotten about it!

    *listens again*
     
  13. nastyjman

    nastyjman Senior Member

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    Hoppipolla. The video is cute too.
     
  14. Daydream

    Daydream Contributor Contributor

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    Any music made before the 21st century :p Beatles, Guns n Roses, Phil Collins, The Doors, Queen, Bob Marley...etc etc.
     
  15. Chudz

    Chudz New Member

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    I need it quiet while writing. I may listen to some music beforehand, but I find it too distracting otherwise. Just my two cents, though.
     
  16. dizzyspell

    dizzyspell Active Member

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    I don't really listen to music per se, but I need a certain level of sound to write when I'm at home. It doesn't matter what I'm listening to, but it HAS to be the right noise level, one that's quiet enough it doesn't command your attention, but loud enough it's definitely there.
    I think I just like having background noise that I don't pay attention to, as I also enjoy writing in cafes, by the sea, etc, regardless of noise level.
     
  17. tristan.n

    tristan.n Active Member

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    Ditto
     
  18. Leatherworth Featherfist

    Leatherworth Featherfist New Member

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    I don't write to music a lot. Though, when I do, I like to write to John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ali Farka Toure (Listen to this man), "There Will Be Blood" soundtrack, Duke Ellington, The Bad Plus, Ahmad Jamal, Palo Colorado (Local band; amaizing), Marvin Gaye (When I'm in the mood), Dizzy Gillespie, Funkadelic, Grateful Dead, Phish, Isley Brothers, Curtis Mayfield, Thelonious Monk, Pink Floyd, Al Green.... There are many more artist that I can write to, but this is a summary. I usually have a good time writing to instrumental music, but I can occasionally write to songs with lyrics; if they're good.
     
  19. Mister Cheech

    Mister Cheech New Member

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    I listen to podcasts.
     
  20. thalorin19

    thalorin19 Member

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    Some of them have been mentioned here already.

    But Two Steps from Hell, Immediate Music, and X-Ray Dog are all excellent choices when you are writing something epic - like fantasy or something.

    Lately I've been listening to a lot of Bear McCreary - the guy who did the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack, and there are a lot of emotional pieces in there that are excellent.

    But mostly, I kind of come across a lot of random, little things.
     
  21. Infinitytruth

    Infinitytruth New Member

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    Lately, I've found that I can't hear myself think with a bunch of music in the background.
     
  22. cruciFICTION

    cruciFICTION Contributor Contributor

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    ...
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    OH MY GOD. Saeglopur is very definitely my favourite Sigur Ros piece. Like, by far.

    I stick to music with no lyrics, or not English lyrics, and instrumental versions of songs I like. Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails can be quite good.
     
  23. StrangerWithNoName

    StrangerWithNoName Longobard duke

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    The usual music I listen to: Led Zep, Rush, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, old Metallica, all pre-93.
     
  24. Yoshiko

    Yoshiko Contributor Contributor

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    I can't stand silence at all; I always have music playing (or, in the evenings, the TV on in the background) no matter what I'm doing.

    I'll listen to almost anything but I've a preference for boy bands, hip pop, electronica and R&B and I'll often write to them. However, I also listen to ballads, acapellas or music box versions of songs more often when writing than when just normally listening. Until recently I was also writing while listening to British 80's artists but recently I've been finding it somewhat distracting. I don't listen to rock music much anymore (was obsessed until 2009) but I sometimes will when writing.
     
  25. MidnightPhoenix

    MidnightPhoenix New Member

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    I like listen to a bunch of stuff.
    Within Temptation
    Nickleback
    Muse
    Cheryl Cole
    Avenged Sevenfold
    Sarah McLachlan
    and lets say a lot more :)
     

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