What kind of music (If any) do you listen to while writing?

[Natasha_Rogue]

I've found personally nothing motivates me more while writing then music that goes well with a scene, character emotions or jut something that makes me want to jump right in and give it my all. I listen to everything from Linken Park to Disturbed, then switch it up fo some Akon. Anyone else have a weird playlist to write to?

 

[shadowbox]

There is already a thread for this in the lounge


http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/47788-what-music-makes-you-want-to-write.html

 

[Natasha_Rogue]

Ok but is that just makes you want to write or what you actually listen to while you write? There is some distinction

 

[Shoegaze99]

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/47788-what-music-makes-you-want-to-write.html

No music makes me want to write. But I do listen to music while I write. There is, I think, a difference.

I tend to listen to instrumental music while writing, sometimes jazz or classical, but more often ambient or drone music. I find that it sort of fills up my head with sound in such a way that my mind becomes a blank slate; I can focus on the page in front of me and only on the page in front of me because these sheets of sound sort of cancel out everything else.

I like the works of Brian Eno, Windy & Carl, Popol Vuh, Mogwai and others while I'm writing. I also create my own "soundscape" drone music. It's layered guitar made to sound like ... I dunno. Sheets of sound, I guess.

You can download loads of it here. "Dying Mother" from the album of the same name is a good sample, or "Ugly Dirty Angry Stares part 1" from The Dialogue of Narrow Sorrows, "Preparing a Resume" from Eight Times Alone, or "Touching Io" from From Seven Fields of Vision.

It's free, and I don't mind people passing it on.

 

[Natasha_Rogue]

No music makes me want to write. But I do listen to music while I write. There is, I think, a difference.

I tend to listen to instrumental music while writing, sometimes jazz or classical, but more often ambient or drone music. I find that it sort of fills up my head with sound in such a way that my mind becomes a blank slate; I can focus on the page in front of me and only on the page in front of me because these sheets of sound sort of cancel out everything else.

I like the works of Brian Eno, Windy & Carl, Popol Vuh, Mogwai and others while I'm writing. I also create my own "soundscape" drone music. It's layered guitar made to sound like ... I dunno. Sheets of sound, I guess.

You can download loads of it here. "Dying Mother" from the album of the same name is a good sample, or "Ugly Dirty Angry Stares part 1" from The Dialogue of Narrow Sorrows, "Preparing a Resume" from Eight Times Alone, or "Touching Io" from From Seven Fields of Vision.

It's free, and I don't mind people passing it on.

I'm going to check it out...alot of people have suggested classical of intrumental to me...but I find I get lost more in music that I can imagine almost playing in the background of a scene...closest Iever came t in instrumental was Requiem for A Dream. That is such a powerful song.

 

[HareBrain]

Mostly instrumental, like edited game soundtracks (FFVII, Breath of Fire 4 and (very heavily edited) Xenogears are current faves), or film/TV soundtracks like Kingdom of Heaven or Fullmetal Alchemist, or Godspeed You Black Emperor. If I'm writing a scene with a particular mood I might put on something that reflects that mood, but if I really have to concentrate on the writing I usually prefer to do it in silence.

 

[WafflesToo]

Mostly instrumental, like edited game soundtracks (FFVII, Breath of Fire 4 and (very heavily edited) Xenogears are current faves), or film/TV soundtracks like Kingdom of Heaven or Fullmetal Alchemist, or Godspeed You Black Emperor. If I'm writing a scene with a particular mood I might put on something that reflects that mood, but if I really have to concentrate on the writing I usually prefer to do it in silence.

I thought I was the only one who did that!

 

[Malloriel]

I prefer writing in silence as well. I find it easier to organise my thoughts and words without a song distracting me. I can get inspired by songs, though, and I'll admit that listening to the inspiring song can change the energy I put into what I'm writing, but I also feel that specific parts of songs inspire particular scenes, and how the scene progresses corresponds to the music, which means as the song continues and my writing lags behind, it's only appropriate some of the time.

Seleana's Song was bits of story floating about in my head mostly forgotten for a long time until I listened to At Wit's End from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The ache of loss and the strength of determination that suffused it pulled the ideas back into the foreground and then the opening wrote itself for me.

 

[bloodfiredeath]

I find that it depends on what you are writing about. If I am contemplating a fight/battle scene, I personally love some metal. It seems to up the ante, and set the scene. Preferably something like epic pagan/viking metal (Bathory or Graveland etc) And it doesnt make you lose focus on your writing (well me anyway) it tends just to wash over you.
That said however! some more ambient/instrumental/soundtrack style is more relevant for most other scenario's for me.

 

[Natasha_Rogue]

I find that it depends on what you are writing about. If I am contemplating a fight/battle scene, I personally love some metal. It seems to up the ante, and set the scene. Preferably something like epic pagan/viking metal (Bathory or Graveland etc) And it doesnt make you lose focus on your writing (well me anyway) it tends just to wash over you.
That said however! some more ambient/instrumental/soundtrack style is more relevant for most other scenario's for me.

That's how it works for me exactly. One piece I have is set in older times so I tend to lean to either silence or something classic with that...but for my urban fantasy's I try to get into my characters mindsets and very rarely are they somewhere really quiet, so I set myself up in a simular setting (at least audibly, is that a word). Fight scenes is hard core rock and club scenes...well whatever might be playing in clubs at the time. But like someone mentioned above some songs really help set up a scene...for example for a death scene recently I listened to Hurt by Christina Aguilara and In the Arms of the Angel by Sarah McLachlan over and over to the point I was so sad by the time I was done I needed to take a step back, shake it off and avoid those two songs for awhile

Ok I'm gonna shut up now, I know it sounds silly but I get really attached to my characters sometimes.

 

[Malloriel]

That doesn't sound silly at all. What's silly is you calling it silly to a forum of other writers. I can only assume you don't get to hang out with writers much where you are, but we ALL get attached to our characters. For most of us, it's unavoidable, so you needn't feel silly about it at all. You can feel you're finally home.

 

[chopper]

oddly enough, having to listen to music all day at work decreases my desire to listen to it in my leisure time. so i listen to Radio 5 Live instead - especially in the evenings or weekends. people talking absolute bollocks (sports commentators & Richard Bacon, you know who you are!) in the background is quite soothing and not at all distracting.

 

[bloodfiredeath]

oddly enough, having to listen to music all day at work decreases my desire to listen to it in my leisure time.

I am the opposite, despite having music all day at work, I go home and first thing I do is turn the stereo on. I love it, guess the old adage of "Music soothes the savage beast" must come into play!

 

[Jimmy Magnusson]

It depends on what I'm writing, but my favourites are the soundtracks from the Lord of the Rings and Half-Life 2.

YouTube - Half-Life 2 Soundtrack 2 CP Violation

 

[mygoditsraining]

, guess the old adage of "Music soothes the savage beast"

"breast", isn't it?

I stick on the radio and then leave it to burble away in the background. Funnily enough, if it's really quiet, I find my mind wandering - if that makes any sense.

 

[Zubi-Ondo]

"breast", isn't it?

No, that's the perverted version.

Myself, I love music too much to listen to it while I'm writing. What I mean is that I only keep music that I love in my répertoire, and so when I'm listening to music, I'm listening to the music. Sometimes, I can handle soft instrumental stuff and write with it, but for me it doesn't usually add any inspiration. I've got music in my head all of the time anyway. It serves me better as a writer to have quiet when I'm writing because it improves my focus. Supposedly, women are better at handling several inputs simultaneously (not here-say, I saw it on a documentary), but I'm sure there are exceptions in both directions.

- Z.

 

[Aes]

Why hello, thread. I suspect like many others, when I want to write anything, I tend to gravitate towards instrumental music as opposed to anything with lyrics. The only words I want buzzing around in my head are the words I'm typing. Now, here's where my inner nerd rears its head; the music I typically listen to for this is video game music, originals and remixes from this franchise in particular:

YouTube - Touhou 10 - Native Faith (OST Track 15)

 

[Natasha_Rogue]

That doesn't sound silly at all. What's silly is you calling it silly to a forum of other writers. I can only assume you don't get to hang out with writers much where you are, but we ALL get attached to our characters. For most of us, it's unavoidable, so you needn't feel silly about it at all. You can feel you're finally home.

lol...no I suppose you're right, it is kinda silly. I don't hang around with alot of writers so all I know is when the people I do hang around with hear me say something like "Wow...this song is perfect for so and so" they usually look at me funny. It's nice to finally have found a place where people might get my way of thinking a bit more.

 

[Saffy]

I don't really listen to music when I write, but I do like to play it in the background as I can't stand complete silence either. Usually certain songs will give me inspiration for a scene or character motivations. I've noticed that I tend to listen to certain songs more than others, usually ones that remind me of one of my characters, and I'll keep listening when I want to develop a certain aspect of them further. My characters actually have their own music styles wierdly enough

 

[Stephen Aryan]

It really depends on my mood. Sometimes I work in silence, sometimes I need some music to help me get into a certain place in my head, to wake up my writing muse, other times I need it to evoke certain emotions in me so I'm writing with genuine feeling, be it anger or sadness, to help me better feel what the characters are experiencing. Other times I can just channel it without the music. It really varies.

Repetitive music sometimes helps me get into the zone, instrumental stuff like Robert Glass is good, it's sort of like using it to put myself into a writing trance! New music I can't work to as it is unexpected and that makes me listen to the lyrics, when it just needs to be there, in the background, most of the time.