I usually can't listen to anything when I write, though I don't really have a choice when my sister plays her Ipod. I've learned to tune it out, but also enjoy a few songs. I really love it when Lady Antebellum comes on, it makes me want to write a love story.
Two steps from hell, X Ray dog, Hans Zimmer, You haven't heard epic until you've heard Two Steps from Hell. I also like steve jablonsky. He did a great job with the transformers scores.
I mainly listen to bebop jazz, Portishead, Massive Attack, Tom Waits. As to songs with lyrics, most of the time I know the lyrics so well that the singing is part of the music like the other instruments, so the singing doesn't distract me.
I can't write in total silence so I'll usually put on my Chillstep internet radio station or my Thievery Corporation playlist and turn the volume down. Usually this makes excellent background music that won't keep grabbing my attention. Other times I'll just have a live stream of someone playing video games running in the background, also with the volume turned down. I find this also provides excellent background noise that makes my room feel less empty.
I love writing to a soundtrack. I try to pick a song that has a similar feeling to a scene that I'm writing (Something bittersweet and suspenseful, I would listen to time from inception! Great soundtrack!). Anyways here's what I like to listen to when I write! Hans Zimmer (Inception soundtrack and Batman xD) People of the North Pole from the FFX soundtrack I have a lot more, and if I were to post all of them, we would be all day ^^!
Right now it's The Civil Wars - but that's mainly because I've been writing a funeral scene. It's sombre and goes with the mood. Most of my novel was written listening to Florence + The Machine (Lungs & Ceremonials). There's something hypnotic and haunting about her music - you can get lost in the music, but sometimes a lyric stands out that makes you think hard. If I'm writing an action scene - Muse all the way!! Other randoms are Lady Gaga, Mumford & Sons, Adele, The Smiths, etc. I could go on. Music is important to my writing.
I've got an extensive music library, some months worth of melodies. I absolutely adore music, culture- and the double helix that they make when put together. If I'm going for a more modern bit then I might even throw the song into the story shamelessly.
I have a wide range of music to listen to while I write from Linkin Park, Avenged Sevenfold, Evanscence (apologies for the spelling), Alex Clare , Florence and the Machine... and thats just a few, I find it funny listening to songs that feel similar to what I write at times, but it certainly helps me find inspiration.
Writers have an affinity with musicians. I guess, in a way, music is a lot like literature. But I guess all art bleeds into each other. All art is inspired by art. Now that I sound like a pretentious twat... I don't listen to music when I write. I can't. I find that whatever I listen to directly affects what I'm writing. I can sit down to write a love story and then I turn on Nick Cave's Murder Ballads and it turns into something really macabre. I listen to white noise when I'm writing. Just white noise. But before I write I listen to a lot of music. I drown myself in it. And the kind of music I listen to depends on what I want to write. Like if I was writing poetry I'd listen to Listener. If I were going to write something really dramatic and action-filled I'd listen to E.S. Posthumus beforehand. If I were going to write something emotionally heavy I'd listen to blah blah blah blah. So yeah. Music is awesome.
I always like to ask fellow writers, don't know why. Personally my preferences change by the day, but do you listen to music or any other sort of white noise while you write? If so, what're your druthers? As I said, my choice changes from day to day, but lately I've turned to turn-of-the-century Europop and ska. No, I have no reasonable explanation for that particular combination.
Anything that has no words to it. Music scores for movies works well...though, mostly silence is best. That's probably why I write in the middle of the night so often.
Yep. Listening to AC/DC as I write this, and I've got a fair bit of metal and (hard) rock on my playlist. The only things I don't have are rap, electronic music (with a few exceptions), mainstream pop and black/death metal. I like music with a recognizable beat and someone who doesn't sound like they're trying to deepthroat the mic while they roar from the top of their lungs.
I LOVE music while I write. One art fuels another! It really depends on what I am writing for what "jams" I listen to. When I was writing my play, I listened to Eminem and Ellie Goulding. When I was writing my short horror story, I listened to bush and creepier music. And now with my most current project, it's songwriter/folk-y type songs. Sometimes I just put on a random mix and see where it brings me. I really do feel that music generates more writing for me than silence.
I have a hard time writing without some kind of music - I guess because I grew up with my father, who can't speak without shouting, so I always needed something to block him out I like to listen to music that fits the setting or mood of what I'm writing because I am a huge dweeb. For my current story I set a Pandora station that plays Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix and all that fun stuff.
I like JS Bach and Ludwig Van. The later romantics (e.g. Wagner and Mahler) are too distracting. I end up listening to the music too much and can't concentrate on writing. My wife gets surprised when she comes home and hears Adiemus playing
Same here. haha I've even gone so far as to make playlist for specific moods and characters. In general it's not anything specific. I have pretty varied taste in music. If it has good lyrics or musicality I will most likely enjoy it.
I spend hardly any time on my own so I use music to block out the people around me. I often listen to one song or an album (if the track order flows well) on repeat until I'm finished with a section. I bounce around with artists and genre depending on what I feel fits that day. For my current WIP I've been listening to a mix of ballads, cabaret, dark wave, metal, rock, and 80s/90s pop. Today I'm feeling rock ballads.
Good point, never tried writing to rap or mainstream pop before (I have with black/death metal...that was very distracting). And today I think I will experiment with typing to rap. Hey, never know till you try.
I can't do movie scores, as much as I would love to. I start thinking about the movies instead of my work, haha.
Ever since I started writing, some years ago, I slowly started to only listen to classical music--while writing and brainstorming. Then, eventually, it began to be the only thing I listen to, period. Since I am always brainstorming my book, all day, everyday--no matter where I am. And, well, I love it. I used to fall asleep to it as a child--rediscovering my love for it a few years ago was easy. I have been listening to a lot of Handel and Brahms lately: You also can't go wrong with some Bach: If anyone is interested, Amazon has insane deals on classical music. I myself--even with the terrible cover art--love the "Rise of the Masters" collection: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=rise%20of%20the%20masters&sprefix=rise+of+the+mast%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Arise%20of%20the%20masters For some reason Amazon doesn't have the Brahms collection, I had to get that in iTunes.
I need music to write by, in order to drown out the ice cream vans that constantly circle our neighbourhood like a school of sharks. There are only so many times you can listen to the same two tinkly bars of 'Whistle While You Work' or 'Sail, Navy, Down The Bay, Anchors Aweigh' before losing the will to live. I drown them out with classical guitar music or classical music (like chamber music) which is even in tone, and doesn't have a lot of loud versus soft bits. I find I can write to this kind of music. I would prefer silence, but chance would be a fine thing...
i fing Progressive Metal helps me a lot with writing, especially bands such as Opeth, Dream Theater and Symphony X. I do sometimes end up using lines in a slightly shuffled form as part of my writing, generally for a description or something.
I'll admit, I've had pretty limited success with those three in particular (as much as I'm a fan of that second one). I found echolyn and Royal Hunt for some reason do the trick though.
