Ask HN: What music do you like to listen to while you program? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What music do you like to listen to while you program?

24 pointsdaviddavis57 comments

I'm interested in what people listen to while they program or do work. Any related thoughts on how music impacts your work are welcome too.

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Sometimes Dubstep. Sometimes Opeth (progressive/melodic death metal, probably not for everyone). But my real silver bullet is the Symbols album by KMFDM.

Edit: And when I need to chill out more and concentrate, Indian classical music, particularly tabla stuff since I like percussion, is fantastic. I've also recently found that Herbie Hancock had a similar effect, (an album where he sounds more like conventional jazz.)

Agreed on the classical. I really enjoy listening to Bela Fleck, and this NPR video has him (banjo), a bass fiddle player, and another playing with a Tabla. Highly recommended.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1286522...

That's quite a lovely album (and also one of my favorites to listen to while working). You might also like Yo-Yo Ma's recent album which has a surprisingly similar feel even though it features different performers -- http://www.npr.org/event/music/142242654/yo-yo-ma-edgar-meye....

Although I don't listen to it elsewhere, I've found that trance music works really well for me. I curate a short Spotify playlist that reliably gets my brain going for me: http://open.spotify.com/user/benwerd/playlist/2srQ17pp4T1CNs...

house music. things without words or where the words really don't mean/add much is easier for me to have in the background. Classical works well too.

I'm a big fan of electronic music and used to DJ, so all kinds of electronica, dubstep, garage/2-step, a bit of house/electro/tech house, drum & bass, and recently a lot of techno. Pretty much anything fast with a steady beat.

I find techno to be good music for coding to because it is very subtle and has long build ups whilst maintaining a decent pace. I'm still new to techno but I'd recommend both the CLR.net and Drumcode.se podcasts, but get yourself a decent pair of headphones :)

Dubstep can be fantastic for coding but I prefer the darker more underground tunes as opposed to Skrillex and the poppy sound which gets played a lot recently. Keep an eye out for tunes by Mala, Kode9, SP:MC, Distance, Lynx, Skream, Loefah. I listen to Youngsta's shows on Rinse.FM which you can download from their site on Tuesday mornings GMT.

Also some downtempo/chilled stuff is good for more relaxed coding. I've enjoyed Emancipator's albums over the last couple of months and would recommend them to pretty much anyone.

To be honest, music often distracts me, but even distractions can be good sometimes. They get your mind off the issue at hand so you can work on things subconsciously. You might jump to a new issue and find the solution to the old one.

I listen to a large variety of music, but for programming, I normally listen to heavy metal and recently I have been listening to dubstep. It is my favorites of what I would normally listen to, though. I find it best to keep the playlist short, though. After hearing the same thing repeatedly, it becomes background noise and only pulls me out of focus periodically. Like I said, that can also be a good thing.

I actually have a pretty hard time coding without music, maybe I'm used to it. I usually listen to electronic but nothing too fast. Generally anything that is at the bob-your-head tempo. PhuturePrimitive (lately: Kinetik), Max Melvin, Eastern Sun, Sounds From The Ground. Oh, and sometimes I just _need_ to listen to Underworld, DubNobassWithMyHeadMan. If I don't want to think about putting creating a playlist or selecting an album, I'm listening to GrooveSalad on Somafm.com.

FWIW, my spotify username sanjayU. I would be interested in learning other HN spotify usernames, especially if you like downtempo/triphop/world/etc.

edit: Added phutureprimitive.

spotify:user:122311263

Haven't discovered how to give myself an actual name yet

Interesting...if I add you to friends it shows your name

As silly as it sounds, dubstep and other fast-paced, energetic music. I find my pace of coding often matches my internal energy so that I start to slow down and get less done when listening to relaxing, meditative music.

Even though I listen to slower/ambient music I can totally understand this. I used to crank up Way Out West and drink lots of caffeine...I would get an amazing amount of work done (at least relative to myself)

The sort of Dubstep you often hear on Dubstep.fm I think is the ideal sort. It's usually not constantly blaring funny noises at you the way it is when you see it live (bro-step, you might say.) It is usually somewhat upbeat but laid back and groovy at the same time.

Daft Punk - Tron Legacy soundtrack

Makes me feel epic and I feel like I am fighting a war with code

Super extreme metal. Messuggah, Vried, Vektor, stuff like that. Tech/prog death mainly. Have to start it a bit gentler in the morning, usually some old school doomer/stoner (St. Vitus, Slough Feg, Candlemass, etc)

Usually d&b, jungle, house/trance. As long as there are no lyrics, I find that the words in music draw my attention away.

Edit: I have a friend who listens to podcasts while he codes, I really couldn't do that!!

Varies, but it's not much different that what I listen to when I'm not programming. My tastes bounce around from day to day, but I tend to classical (mostly chamber music), old metal (original Sabbath era), "classic" jazz (coltrane era), celtic, "old time" banjo, and recently dubstep (Skrillex).

Mostly though... nothing. When I listen to music, I really listen to it, so when I'm concentrating on coding, I usually have it as silent as I can make it.

Anything that I already know very well (and like, of course). What that is will depend on the day/mood.

The main thing is that I find I work better with music already known over silence or new music. My brain can kind of just go along with it without any extra work since the patterns are familiar and it seems to help thought flow.

There are times when I prefer no music though, if it's involved research or something I really need to think over or internally debate.

Dubstep, I listen to techno/dubstep/trace music because usually there are little to no words/lyrics which tend to distract me. Also I make sure to listen to LARGE playlists so that I rarely hear a repeat in the span of a few days which keeps my mind from memorizing the beats/music so I don't get caught up in the music I just let it play. Check out Rusko and Skrillex those are the top 2 I listen to when programming

Here are few Spotify playlists I've found on sharemyplaylists.com and have kept around:

A Soundtrack For Coding spotify:user:joannabutler:playlist:5DWd75wM11HGHF2rBgikAQ

Coding music spotify:user:vesanieminen:playlist:2BJneVq6neamXAi7MfYtZJ

Perfect for Coding spotify:user:tbibb:playlist:0gaXIS4Ucs3G6YNBJ8m29b

Coding Paradise spotify:user:scottix2:playlist:62oWivdtZmmTdMdUFh7ALt

For me, anything works that I'd normally listen to, but trance really gets me immersed and focused.

Here is my own, if you'd like to add it to the list

spotify:user:122311263:playlist:3Fh1B8D32GUrshQhuQdJVf

I listen to pretty much anything on Pandora when I'm having trouble focusing or I'm not in a quiet place. Music with words doesn't bother me. I've been listening to holiday music lately. My favorite groups to listen to are Coldplay and The White Panda. (White Panda music is all free on their website. They make money from concerts.)

TV is too distracting for me oddly enough.

I find that house, trance, dance, drum and bass are energetic enough to motivate me without proving to be too much of a distraction.

Here's my Spotify playlist for coding: http://open.spotify.com/user/gr33nie/playlist/5Yamm2Pj3ZNywr...

Any upbeat music that I've heard a million times (so that I'm not paying attention to the lyrics instead of my work).

Mostly, Somafm. Secret Agent / Groovesalad. (If you are not familiar, then you should definitely check it out: http://somafm.com/)

In a noisy environment (coffeeshop, etc.), I listen to Nightwish or Tool with my cheap earphones.

Also, once in a while I pop in the Diablo II soundtracks.

Awesome, Groovesalad ! I had forgotten this one since a while, definitely tuning in right now !

I mostly like to listen to electronic music while I code. The BBC's essential mix has served me well over the last ten years. BBC Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra have some decent shows with no commercials.

Like some have said sometimes I need silence. Mostly on complex sections of code or when I need to think a lot.

I use music (with headphones) when there is noise in the background. I have a list in iTunes named "work" just for this.

It's a mix of progressive rock from the seventies (Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson, Mike Oldfield) and new age (Enya, Madredeus)

I'm afraid it shows my age...

During design phase I like something mellow, Waylon, Willie, Alabama, Charlie Daniels, etc. When I'm actually writing code I like to get angry as fuck with some Opeth, Killswitch, Machine Head, Goat Whore or Charred Walls of the Damned

Nothing. My brain can't process music while I'm coding. I literally don't hear it, or at most, it's just a increase in background noise. I wish that weren't true, but I just can't think and listen to music at the same time.

Background noise sounds good to me. When I'm listening to music while I code, I'm not actively "listening" to it, either - if you ask me what the last three songs that played were, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you.

Is is proven that any music/noisy sound distracts your attention and you get not realizing some details that you would if not listening to music. The book "Clean Coder" has a section about it...

edit: it is true for most people.

I listen to some House music and electronica stuff most of the time. Other times some good rap or classical stuff can get my thought juices flowing. I find that listening to music that is too loud distracts me.

Anything instrumental/classical, The Social Network soundtrack, Daft Punk's Tron Legacy soundtrack, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo soundtrack, and NIN's Ghosts I-IV.

There's quite a bit of Trent Reznor in this list.

1) With little or moderate background noise I don't listen to nothing

2) Otherwise I like Flamenco music(instrumental) and also some slow musics like Current Swell and other Surf Music stuff

Anything that I've heard at least a few times before, and has a strong drum beat. I'm pretty good at tuning lyrics, etc. out, but I need that strong rhythm.

No music at all. I zone out and don't really hear anything after awhile so its pointless to even have music on for me, or rather, it makes no difference.

The first Crystal Castles album is perfect: kind of droney so it doesn't force you pay to a lot of attention but it's got a good beat throughout.

The band "Cults" debut album is pretty good. The fast paced tempo is good for getting me to get started working instead of reading logs or email.

WFMT from iTunes Classical Radio. Or cycle through my favorites list on my iPod, it is about 3.2 days long so the repeat factor is not annoying.

Mostly post-rock and downtempo. Like ohashi mentioned, few or no words is ideal.

For those on Spotify spotify:user:122311263:playlist:3Fh1B8D32GUrshQhuQdJVf

I came here to find good work music, and people are apparently into everything that ruins productivity, I've found.

I just fire up console.fm while working

Soundtracks - mainly instrumental ones.

Trainspotting, Reservoir Dogs, Snatch, Run Lola Run.

They're moving, the backdrops to quickly developed stories, builds momentum :)

I've noticed 2 things.

1) I'm better without music. 2) If I do listen to music, anything instrumental distracts less than anything with lyrics.

During the day, I work best in silence. No music. At night, I work best with a TV on in the background at low volume.

Heavy metal, preferably melodic death metal. Drum n bass or drum-heavy electronica. A good rhythm is vital.

I am 18 and pop is my game. I would rather not disclose the artists but pop should suffice. (No! Justin Bieber is not on the list, if that is what you were thinking)

Although strange but I have found that putting a single track on loop is better than playing a playlist, dont know why. So i usually have a single track on loop for the night.

ITunes radio. Lots of stations, you're bound to find something you can work along with.

Depends on the time and my mood.

I certainly wake up and stop hesitating after I turned on a fast track.

GYBE (godspeed you! black emperor), Opeth or Porcupine Tree are my goto trio

White noise, for sure. I'm not smart enough to think of two things at once.

rainymood.com -- I've been listening to this 30 minute loop of thunderstorms continuously for over a year. Music with words breaks my train of thought, so this is perfect.

Drum & Bass, mainly. It keeps me awake, no need for coffee.

I usually stream AH.FM. Lots of live progressive/trance sets.

internet radio - WCBN, WWOZ, TSF, WFMU, KCRW, etc.

anything by Tim Hecker

For energy and good mood, something fast and heavy. Death metal (Meshuggah, Nile) is the main genre. But right now, Kvelertak is the favorite. (-: I'm to wimpy for real black metal. :-)

Otherwise, it can be quite different. Modern jazz, singer songwriters, diverse folk/world music, etc.

If it is complex music I need to know the album well to be able to be in the zone.

My guilty favorites now are Lykke Li and Jamie N Commons.

Edit: Also, thanks for this HN question. I hope to mine interesting stuff outside my comfort zone.

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