I rarely listen to anything, but I'm going to give it a try for a week and how it affects my productivity.<p>Looking for playlist recommendations.
Vocals tend to pull my focus, and repeated phrasing in a lot of EDM is distracting. I find post-rock as a great genre for coding. I frequent the r/postrock sub-Reddit and keep yearly Spotify playlists updated with new releases [1].<p>I have also enjoyed combining jazz with a rain simulator like RainyMood [2]. Volume-balance them together and it's sublime.<p>[1]: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/edlerner/playlist/5TJbCB33vOzTkQgaQRlNxS?si=9ePbvRJ0Tmek48T8_IyA0A" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/user/edlerner/playlist/5TJbCB33vOzT...</a><p>[2]: <a href="https://www.rainymood.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.rainymood.com/</a>
I tried a bit of everything and its really random for me. As i metal/rock fan i rarely listen to the genre.
Here is some artists to get you started that really help me focus on programing:<p>- Trent Reznor and NiN: Social Network, Ghosts and The Fragile.<p>- How to destroy Angels (also a subproject of Trent Reznor).<p>- Daft Punk: live album and Tron soundtrack.<p>- Miles Davis: Bitches Brew.<p>- RadioHead: OK Computer, KID A and Amnesiac.<p>- Gojira: Magma and From Mars to Sirius<p>- Opeth: Live at Royal Albert Hall<p>- U2: Songs of Inocence and Songs of Experience.<p>- Massive Attack: Mezzanine<p>- Blade Runner soundtrack.<p>- Interstellar soundtrack.<p>Recently Synthwave DJs<p>- Kavinsky: Outrun<p>- The Midnight: Any song (i really love these guys and the atmosphere they put into their songs).<p>Hope it helps you find a music for your mood.
Any of the lofi hip hop live streams. Usually calm with minimal vocals. This is my favorite one <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilxhlnDo7_M" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilxhlnDo7_M</a>
Boards of Canada are the obvious one (as seen from their heavy usage across here <a href="https://musicforprogramming.net/" rel="nofollow">https://musicforprogramming.net/</a>), along with a bunch of Warp record acts from the 90s.<p>Recently been listening to loads of Hard Bop Jazz though, Sonny Rollins in particular.
Video game soundtracks should be really good, as they often contain no vocals and are supposed to keep you focused (on the game). E.g. Deus EX Human Revolution Soundtrack [0]. Movie scores from Hans Zimmer are also really good (e.g. Inception OST)<p>[0]: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyG6YMLEWus" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyG6YMLEWus</a>
When lines > quality, deep/tech house is good: Stimming, and Oliver Schories<p>While thinking/reviewing/learning, generally instrumental jazzy/stoner trip-hop stuff:<p>Jan Jelinek - Loop Finding Jazz Records: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hIgBEXuQD8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hIgBEXuQD8</a><p>Fila Brazillia - A Touch Of Cloth: <a href="https://youtu.be/RjuP9cvgLic?t=4m56s" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/RjuP9cvgLic?t=4m56s</a><p>Also Kruder & Dorfmeister/Peace Orchestra, John Abercrombie, Hidden Orchestra (highly recommend the albums Archipelago and Wingbeats).
Drum & Bass without vocals. I've put a lot of time, thought, and experimentation into this; nothing else comes close to keeping me as focused and highly productive.<p>Some examples:<p>Monrroe
<a href="https://youtu.be/TmENer4RPhw" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/TmENer4RPhw</a>
<a href="https://youtu.be/41OKIznqMCg" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/41OKIznqMCg</a>
<a href="https://youtu.be/IKbadsY2MSs" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/IKbadsY2MSs</a><p>Mix
<a href="https://youtu.be/LYgNN8lDQ5s" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/LYgNN8lDQ5s</a><p>You're thinking, "but it all sounds the same!" That's the point. It keeps you moving forward without breaking your stride.<p>For longer, less mentally demanding tasks this kind of stuff works great, too:
<a href="https://youtu.be/VNP0-Tb9big" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/VNP0-Tb9big</a>
I've got tons of playlists that I listen to while coding, usually instrumental music of various styles, sometimes I also prefer silence, especially when I need to focus on learning something completely new.<p>Most common genres that I listen to are electronic, trip hop, trance, techno, drum & bass, ambient and post-rock. Some of my favorite artists include Bonobo, Emancipator, Tycho, Gramatik, The American Dollar and DJ Shadow.<p>Here are some interesting Spotify playlists that you might enjoy during coding:<p><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/chillhopmusic/playlist/74sUjcvpGfdOvCHvgzNEDO?si=qqY1S7OzRmi60uTj9Z_lFw" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/user/chillhopmusic/playlist/74sUjcv...</a>
Or find more like this on chillhop.com<p>Here's a few from me:<p>Post-rock / instrumental rock
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/116691196/playlist/78eqGh29jt0Np6P2EcWcpv?si=lBIOqUBsQAmgdpVO2zKmwg" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/user/116691196/playlist/78eqGh29jt0...</a><p>Chill House music
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/116691196/playlist/6DalghuQizi32L772HWF7e?si=Xz4euMGHQYqJKw32P2JufQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/user/116691196/playlist/6DalghuQizi...</a>
Opeth
Bloodbath
Leprous
Soen
Haken<p>Mostly prog metal that I know well already. I find it hard to focus with music I have not heard before, but can quickly go into very deep focus mode with something well known.
Mostly music without singing. If a voice starts, I automatically listen to the words and loose my focus.<p>So a lot of OST (movies or games), jazz, neo rock, electronic music, etc..
I have definitely found that controlling the sound around me has an immense effect on productivity, and that I can use different sounds to influence my work. I use several tools for playing non-music sound when I'm working.<p>SimpleHabit Focus Player (beta) [0] and Focus@Will [1] both play instrumental-y type sound, not really music per se. These two require a subscription but are inexpensive relative to the productivity boost they provide. Then SimplyNoise [2] and Zero Noise [3] for playing just colored noise in a noisy environment. The former uses Flash, so the latter is a bash script I made that's similar. I use the Spotify Focus playlists like Deep Focus sometimes, but they're more general and not as good as the dedicated services.<p>I find these are especially good for combatting interruptions, conversations, and variable noises like conference calls. Sometimes I'll use something upbeat and EDM-y to get into flow when working on simple things.<p>Another recent HN thread where I listed a few more related suggestions is <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14886317#14888870" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14886317#14888870</a>.<p>[0]: <a href="https://www.simplehabit.com/beta/focus" rel="nofollow">https://www.simplehabit.com/beta/focus</a><p>[1]: <a href="https://www.focusatwill.com/app/music" rel="nofollow">https://www.focusatwill.com/app/music</a><p>[2]: <a href="https://simplynoise.com/" rel="nofollow">https://simplynoise.com/</a><p>[3]: <a href="https://github.com/tedmiston/zero-noise" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/tedmiston/zero-noise</a>
I like instrumentals. I mostly hit up Spotify's focus playlists (not as good as the old Songza ones). They tend heavily to the electronic side, so I made a couple I enjoy.<p>Prog Rock Instrumentals: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/frogblast/playlist/1RqHAhrFCEIJnM7OliWoUs?si=xQDN-d-xQYmtCrDV_ypGMQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/user/frogblast/playlist/1RqHAhrFCEI...</a><p>Calexico Instrumentals: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/frogblast/playlist/6KDPLvi4akh7vTiX8Jujfh?si=e78_XQHLSB6_h7RrzSrc1A" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/user/frogblast/playlist/6KDPLvi4akh...</a>
Movie and video game soundtracks.<p>Can't recommend Ramin Djawadi enough(he wrote soundtracks for Game of Thrones and Westworld). Here's a great example of his music:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS-gbqbVd8c&t=0s&list=PLTT-Xb7kSZWXO48LcIeXBIP-hetLW50YG&index=80" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS-gbqbVd8c&t=0s&list=PLTT-X...</a><p>Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard are also great:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxabLA7UQ9k&list=PLyVPkvhD7G7rcW4o7MLMXus6Kq1cbh2Op&index=1" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxabLA7UQ9k&list=PLyVPkvhD7G...</a><p>And I love halo soundtracks, here's my collection:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTT-Xb7kSZWWp4MXXUtnye9kvlqS3JTP3" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTT-Xb7kSZWWp4MXXUtny...</a>
The only time I listen to music while coding is when I'm really sleepy, and need something to get juices flowing again. For this, I have my "waking up" playlist, which is pretty much a bunch of really intense opera classics, with Russel Watson (I don't know Italian, so the lyrics don't distract me): <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/smllmp/playlist/4VfhqzNUFHQntXkBPYTzU9?si=QfewzmzpQBWxZOUnQ-cPJw" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/user/smllmp/playlist/4VfhqzNUFHQntX...</a>
Lo-Fi Chill hop 24/7 live playlist such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FlxM_0S2lA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FlxM_0S2lA</a><p>Surfpop / Shoegaze mixes, this is one of my faves! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiwd4yCrws0&t=2515s" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiwd4yCrws0&t=2515s</a><p>Artists such as Mogwai<p>Sometimes skate punk or metal (weirdly first thing in the day to get my brain going!)<p>Liquid/Intelligent Drum 'n Bass mixes (again good for motivation) This Netsky mix is a classic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwTU4IVHlEg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwTU4IVHlEg</a>
It's not free, but I listen to brain.fm while writing code at work:
<a href="https://www.brain.fm/app" rel="nofollow">https://www.brain.fm/app</a><p>I have found my ability to focus is increased when listening to their "Focus" music.
For (more or less trivial) code reviews, JIRA or email work I often just listen to whatever I like and whatever fits the mood. Works well by giving me some endorphins while keeping me able to focus (sometimes I have to avoid listening to stuff I like too much :)).<p>For coding, design and code reviews that require focus, silence is the best.<p>My long-time addiction that has helped me a lot on numerous occasions is <a href="https://www.focusatwill.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.focusatwill.com/</a>. I also use it as pomodoro timer. Silence is still better, if you're in a distraction-free environment.
I'm going to be boring and say "music". I don't really get distracted by lyrics - I never really take them in anyway. So, whatever I want - Jazz, Electronic, Rock, Folk, Classical, Metal. Anything.
I found plenty of nice background music in here(50 playlists) <a href="http://musicforprogramming.net/" rel="nofollow">http://musicforprogramming.net/</a>
Brain.fm or my coding playlist (mostly synthwave) also instrumental surf<p><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/josemenor/playlist/2g37r5uAPEipv7g5neYgAB?si=AoY8D9NdT5CefN9q-O2yDg" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/user/josemenor/playlist/2g37r5uAPEi...</a>
Lofi beats for late night coding:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/562Steezy" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/user/562Steezy</a>
For upgrades, patching, P1 issues, anything high-stress I prefer classical - Corelli, Locatelli, Handel.<p>For coding I usually like electronica. I go back and forth between ambient stuff, like Koan or H.U.V.A Network, and vocal trance which has a pleasing, hypnotic aspect.<p>I've tried binaural beats as well, they're not awful but they're not my go-to. Spotify has a ton of these kind of 2-hour tracks. Rainstorms can be nice as well.
There's only one right answer to this question and it's: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZcmTl_1ER8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZcmTl_1ER8</a><p>I'm only kinda joking but otherwise seriously check this out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqOVpiXfq0o" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqOVpiXfq0o</a>
In the "listening" mood I code with atmospheric black and post-black like Alcest, Agalloch, or Kauan. I find both "Sorni Nai" and "Pirut" by Kauan to be able to induce almost trance-like focus.<p>Otherwise, I put on my trusty 3M Peltor X5A with -37 dB rating, so most of Wework's office noises and sticky pop background tune down to a barely audible droning.
One track of pop, on repeat for the duration of the session. Today it was something by Dragonette, but that’s just what came to hand. After a few repeats, it becomes somewhat hypnotic, and something with human voices in is helpful for cutting out external distractions (open plan office, at the moment...)<p>Coding music has little overlap with what I’d pick if I actually wanted to “listen to music”.
I typically listen to podcasts when writing documentation, but when it comes to real development time, I listen to "minimal techno"/edm as in Tycho, deadmau5, marshmello, apex twins, thievery corporation, ODEZA, Emancipator, Tame Impala
I put together a sample playlist for a teammate who didn't usually listen to music: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm761ub-NrD7jq1zwjHlSqwtB0ZFZtA4s" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm761ub-NrD7jq1zwjHlS...</a><p>That stuff works for me, but, uh...I doubt a lot of people share my taste in programming music.
On one screen, I have inspirational / epic / fantasy music going with pictures always changing (example: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWQbkJA9ZQs" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWQbkJA9ZQs</a>)<p>I get bored of coding so I like looking at the pretty pictures while I vim away on the other screen.
Mostly ambient, enough to register but still stay in the background. Some examples:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0svuurLibQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0svuurLibQ</a><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wLwxmjrZj8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wLwxmjrZj8</a>
typically I can't listen to music with words while coding. I stick to EDM, mainly Drum and Bass. Many years ago I found <a href="http://www.bassdrive.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.bassdrive.com</a>. Streaming Drum and Bass from DJs around the world. They have IRC interaction and mostly Live shows. Cheers!
I'll just leave this here. 8 hours of concentration: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk26FUe38y0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk26FUe38y0</a><p>Helped me work through many a days.<p>Otherwise anything ambient that I find on youtube :)
Deltron 3030 Virus <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrEdbKwivCI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrEdbKwivCI</a><p>I'm not writing viruses but when writing simple bash scripts with white text on a black background terminal it can be very enjoyable
<a href="https://mynoise.net" rel="nofollow">https://mynoise.net</a> which is a fantastic source of ambient sounds to block out outside noise or help to focus/relax. Made by a very knowledgable sound engineer.
I'm a big fan of Raymond Scott's electronic stuff because it's interesting, non distracting, and usually doesn't have lyrics. <a href="https://youtu.be/rYVIDJtKU-A" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/rYVIDJtKU-A</a>
Wave music like Noah B lately
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/4F4w1Gkfja6wPJzuMKCLmk?si=2jr05sMaTCeUvbLApwpr5Q" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/4F4w1Gkfja6wPJzuMKCLmk?si=2j...</a>
Krelez's chiptune livestream: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gdhoj8HgaQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gdhoj8HgaQ</a>
Or sometimes a white noise generator..
Ozric Tentacles. No vocals in 30 albums except for 1 or 2 songs. I can't code well with words going on. Some would say I can't code well without words going on, either. LOL.<p>Tycho. Also no vocals.
I didn't see them or may have missed them - this will destroy you, if these trees could talk, russian circles, john frusciante and my fave would probably be clouddead but what do I know :)
For me, it depends on the mood. Usually I just put in my current state of mind in the search bar and usually a playlist is present.<p>I've seen that songs I know already provide way less distraction than new music.
Hardcore/screamo.<p>It has a similar effect to white noise while providing high energy rhythm.<p>Recently most played:<p>* Norma Jean<p>* Devil Wears Prada<p>* Blessthefall<p>* The Anchor
I prefer silence or isolation most of the times. When I can’t get that or I am in the mood for music, I usually listen to random video games music, or tavern music in games ( on YouTube ).
Classical music in loop, such as this: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzeRSsNHtsQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzeRSsNHtsQ</a>
Mainly video game music and remixes: <a href="http://ocremix.org/" rel="nofollow">http://ocremix.org/</a><p>Medieval and Renaissance music too, sometimes.
For some tasks I can listen to audio podcasts like Fresh Air and comprehend it while coding but for other things I need silence. Music often distracts me.
when i absolutely must think very carefully: silence.<p>when i’m doing something tricky but not right at my limit: palestrina and other polyphonic composers of medieval and renaissance sacred music.<p>plug and chug coding: kind of whatever.