Soundtrack for the writing mind

B Neil Brown · Dec 20, 2009

I am new, so I hope I am posting in the right forum room! If not, would a mod please put it where it needs to be, please?

OK, so, when I write, I can't stand to have utter silence. Everything I do in life has it's own soundtrack. Driving, exercising, working (in the world of mundania) and of course, writing.

When I sit down to write, I find it helpful to have appropriate music in the background, usually from my mp3 player and headphones. A good for instance:

Joe Satriani and apopolyptic when I am writing slightly more fast paced action.
Enya or the Chieftains when I need to slow things down for introspection

Prince when I am writing more sensual moments or in some instances needing to be flippant.

I have many playlists I use, with music ranging from Megadeth to Nickel Creek.
I try to use more instrumental when I am writing, as I have been known to accidentally drop in lyrics to the current song at hand into my MS..lol
My work around for this is finding new music from an artist I enjoy that I haven't heard or don't know the lyrics to.

I found a great band to listen to while writing, called This Love Affair. I made the mistake of jamming their music on a long drive once, now I know the lyrics and tend to get distracted a bit. :Shrug:

What is playing at low volume in my ears really helps me focus.

Anyone else have anything that puts them more "in the moment" when writing?

AryaT92 · Dec 20, 2009

Arctic Monkeys, Deadmau5, Justice, The Last Shadow Puppets, Led Zeppelin, Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks, The Beatles, Death Cab for Cutie, Jimi Hendrix, 311, Air, Bob Dylan, Bright Eyes, Bob Marley, Dr.Dog, Blink 182, Incubus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pinback, Modest Mouse, The Shins, John Lennon, Brand New, John Butler Trio, Nirvana, Queen, Radiohead, The Pixies, The Subways, The Wombats, The Harlem Shakes

Bolded the ones that are most frequent for me.

I can't stand silence anywhere, you can always find me with at least 1 earphone in.

Libbie · Dec 20, 2009

I guess I'm weird in that I usually have to have a soundtrack for everything (typically science or short-story podcasts for me) but when I write I need quite. Or white noise. Sometimes I'll turn on a fan for some background hum.

Slushie · Dec 20, 2009

I don't always listen to music when I write, but when I do it's usually classical stuff like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Hayden, etc. This is really the only time I listen to classical music, though.

AryaT92 · Dec 20, 2009

^ That's interesting.. I listen to a lot of instrumentals as well, I found it helps get the creative flow going.

Slushie · Dec 20, 2009

I also like listening to Explosions In The Sky. No vocals, just great instrumental work. Definitely can help the creative flow.

virtue_summer · Dec 20, 2009

I also listen mostly to instrumental music when I'm writing, usually jazz. Miles Davis is a favorite.

kaitie · Dec 21, 2009

It depends on what I'm writing. Certain things work for certain tones, of course. I used to put on Disturbed for the "angry" scenes of my last book. That was a lot of fun. However, most of what I listen to when I'm writing directly relates, either something that somehow fits the story, or something that the MC would listen to. Weird or what? And they aren't usually what would be most obvious. My last MC listened to lots of old eighties music, but also would have been a fan of the new Radiohead and Coldplay albums, meaning those also got a lot of rotation. If I needed to get into his head, I could just put on one of those and I fell right into it. I still do it when I'm editing sometimes if I'm having a hard time with something.

The best I've discovered for the new one so far is Florence+The Machine. That one's really bizarre on the surface, but it makes perfect sense somehow lol. I'll probably discover more as I'm writing.

When I'm just listening to randomness for background noise, it depends on the mood, but a lot of soundtracks as well. I love soundtracks.

willietheshakes · Dec 21, 2009

I'm another one for whom the music is utterly dependent on the project (and, oddly, vice versa).

The story that is currently being serialized at torontoist.com went through two stages of music. The first couple of sections -- solitary, wintery, lonely, a little scary -- were written to Sigur Ros and Arvo Part. That music seemed to encourage those elements that I wanted to capture.

For the later sections of the story -- warm, familial, touched with magic -- I shifted over to Jethro Tull's Songs from the Wood.

The shift happened virtually without me being aware of it -- I've got to the point now where I follow my intuition, music-wise.

Kathleen42 · Dec 21, 2009

I have playlists for each WIP -- sometimes multiple playlists. Usually the playlists feature a wide range of artists and songs. The playlist for the work I'm hoping to get back to in January, however, is completely dominated by The Smiths and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Noah Body · Dec 21, 2009

I can write in silence, but I prefer to use movie soundtracks -- orchestral, usually. Typical artists are Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, Basil Poledouris, Jo Hisaishi. The music helps me evoke the proper imagery.

Kathleen42 · Dec 21, 2009

Noah Body said:
I can write in silence, but I prefer to use movie soundtracks -- orchestral, usually. Typical artists are Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, Basil Poledouris, Jo Hisaishi. The music helps me evoke the proper imagery.

I listen to scores when writing promotional/corporate copy.

BenPanced · Dec 21, 2009

I just listen to whatever's on the radio, my iPod, the cable music channels, or a CD I'm in the mood for. It doesn't have to fit the particulars of the work I'm doing; it just can't be a brand new CD because I'll want to pay more attention to that than to my writing.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 21, 2009

I usually listen to old time radio dramas or comedies when writing. But I like silence, too. Silence is getting to be a lost mode of existence, and I find that very sad.

I think everyone should have the chance to spend at least a week somewhere that had no TV, no radio, no phone, no iPod, etc. A month would be even better.

theantisplice · Dec 21, 2009

I need quiet to write, too. I can do music if I'm brainstorming or outlining, but actually writing? Mute it.

Richard White · Dec 21, 2009

When I'm doing fantasy, I tend to use soundtracks like "Ladyhawke", "Princess Bride", "Lord of the Rings", "The Three Musketeers", etc. and alternate with groups like Mediaeval Baebes, Wolgamut, Lisa Furukawa, or some of my classics (Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi)

For the YA Urban Fiction, I'm alternating between Tyr, Muse, the Underworld Soundtracks, Dream Theater, Lacuna Coil, Serpentine Garden, and others.

Slushie · Dec 21, 2009

Jamesaritchie said:
I usually listen to old time radio dramas or comedies when writing. But I like silence, too. Silence is getting to be a lost mode of existence, and I find that very sad.

I think everyone should have the chance to spend at least a week somewhere that had no TV, no radio, no phone, no iPod, etc. A month would be even better.

Camping is underrated.

Richard White · Dec 21, 2009

So were field problems when I was in the military. Camping trips with enforced insanity, as I used to call them.

Varthikes · Dec 24, 2009

I tend to listen to New Age and soundtrack scores mostly while I work on my science fiction stories. Enigma, Vangelis, David Arkenstone, Yanni, Sarah Brightman, Christopher Franke's Babylon 5, John William's Hook and Star Wars (particularly Star Wars III), Hans Zimmer's Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, among others. I've been listening to Pandora a lot lately and find a lot of great music there.

I often try to find music that fits the scene I'm working on at the moment. Like, if I'm writing a battle scene, I'll listen to Gladiator, At World's End, Babylon 5, Star Wars. In the book I'm working on now, there's going to be a fight sequence involving a character-gone-bad. "Battle of the Heroes" in Star Wars III will be perfect for that.

S.J. · Dec 28, 2009

Like others, classical and movie scores are my preferred soundtrack because the lyrics aren't distracting. At the moment 'The Lark Ascending' is playing on a loop. Classical music is so epic.

... I sound like a little old lady, haha.

NeuroFizz · Dec 28, 2009

Monday Night Football on the tube, Little Fizzy coughing in his sleep, Fizzette waking and calling out for a drink of water, the dog wanting to go out then scratching to come back in. It doesn't get any better than that because they're all the sounds of life.

Tepelus · Dec 28, 2009

I need quiet.

Richard White · Dec 28, 2009

I finally broke down and downloaded my first album from iTunes.

If you're doing Fantasy and like big musical soundtracks, I highly, highly recommend the Dragon Age: Origins soundtrack. Damn, I wish this one was available on CD so I could take it in to work to listen to when I'm doing tech writing.

EA/Bioware definitely got their money's worth with this soundtrack.

bkwriter · Dec 29, 2009

Yea, battle of the heors. I do both. I like listening to easy listening on demond but sometimes I'm in the mood for songs with words. If I do it's background noise.

Selanfene · Jan 11, 2010

I actually prefer not to listen to music while I write, because I am also a musician and a dancer, so even if the music has no lyrics, I find the natural rhythm and beauty of music distracting. I prefer to put on tv shows (occasionally movies) on in the background--preferably ones I've already seen or am familiar with but don't care much about. I like tv shows because if I get stuck, every 20-45 minutes the entire plot changes, which helps to keep me inspired. My favourites for that purpose are old episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Bones, and That 70s Show.

Soundtrack for the writing mind

Dyslexics are teople poo

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

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