Do you listen to music while you code?

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

When I first started coding I needed complete peace and quiet to concentrate on the code I was writing. I started out back when PEEK and POKE commands were the rage but still :)

It didn't take very long before I enjoyed having the radio on while I worked on code and not much longer before needing to step away for a couple of hours didn't mean needing to start something over, I could pick up ideas again midstream.

Lately I find that I'm wearing headphones with the volume turned up on songs I like. Evanescence - bring me to life is turned up as I write this. On some occasions the energy from the music compels me to push through a problem more quickly and has even given me energy to be more complete with my projects, even when I've been at it for an extended period of time.

Just curious, assuming you have an office or workspace where privacy isn't an issue, do you listen to music or the radio or an ipod or? headphones? Turned up or turned down?

[eelixduppy]

My headphones are on when I'm not on the phone or in a meeting. I find I work better to music with no lyrics, so I listen to a lot of classical and trance/electronic music, as well as movie soundtracks. Productivity is out the roof for some of my playlists :)

[andyll]

Later at night I'll pop in the Tron Legacy blu-ray and code to the music of def punk.

Someday I'll get off my rear end and find some other music in the same vane.

Movie soundtracks are a good idea since they typically don't have lyrics and are more 'up beat'

[engine]

I like to have music on, too.

I always choose tracks which are appropriate for the situation at hand. Up-beat music does help speed along through projects. When i'm in a blue sky thinking mode Classical music always works for me.

[rocknbil]

Music has been too much a part of my life and when it's playing, it DEMANDS my attention. I can't do anything but give it my all, so no. Nothing for me.

People in the office play that techno/DJ beat artificial sound they're calling music these days and I find it isn't distracting at all. It is devoid of expression and humanity, so it doesn't demand my attention and I don't find it distracting.

[bakedjake]

My thoughts exactly mirror rocknbil's.

[scooterdude]

Sadly, I work better in silence, i've tried music but i end up sitting back an enjoying it :)

[HuskyPup]

I've had music playing in my office since the early 80s and for the last few years my station of choice has been 1.fm's blues channel...my granddaughter loves it:-)

[lorax]

When I need to think (strategies, prioritizing, planning, problem solving, etc...) NO music or orhter distractions.

When I'm in production/programming mode - upbeat techno or trance are great. Since I haven't found too much of this that I like I tend to favor one episode of the Essential Mix from Radio 1 - Pete Tong (featuring Armin van Buuren).

I also happen to like the sound tracks to Cirque du Soleil because the music sets the tempo/trance but the lyrics are in a language I don't understand so they don't distract me.

[eelixduppy]

>> Essential Mix from Radio 1 - Pete Tong (featuring Armin van Buuren).

Yes! What a great mix; I too listen to this, sometimes. :)


If you want really intense coding music (where you find yourself slamming the tab key extra hard for those indents), listen to just about anything by E.S. Posthumus [en.wikipedia.org].

[bunltd]

I don't always listen to music when I work, it depends, sometimes it helps, others not so much. When I do, it's often Versa Emerge. Sgt_Kickaxe if you like Evanescence, check them out. Immersion by Pendulum is good (Watercolour, Under the Waves, Witchcraft), also Mind Heist by Zack Hemsey.

[martinibuster]

Like others, stuff that doesn't demand full attention. My favorite right now is a young Canadian woman who performs as Grimes [youtube.com]. Her latest album is on 4AD and it's in that mid to late eighties dead can dance/Cocteau Twins vein.

[Visit Thailand]

Yes, I always listen to music while working. I do not necessarily pay much attention to it, but it helps motivate me and gives me an excuse for a quick break when something good comes on.

[Old_Honky]

I never listen to music radio when working because it is rare that they play what I like and listening to stuff I really hate doesn't help me become productive. I sometimes put on something from my music collection, but I like to have speech based radio on I find it more interesting and more relaxing. BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio 4 and LBC are my preferred choices. Although I occasionally put on something on You tube that I can listen to - Pat Condell is always worth a listen.

[brotherhood of LAN]

>it DEMANDS my attention. I can't do anything but give it my all, so no. Nothing for me.

Same for me. I build up a deficit of not listening to music, and then go and appreciate some... but never while working. It's too distracting.

[henry0]

Second that:

but never while working. It's too distracting.

BTW I hate those leaf blowers! Even tried airplanes' ear plugs to no avail:)

[Mr Bo Jangles]

Coders who have listened to music - it's the reason satellites don't get into the correct orbit, Mars 'Rover' gets stuck, banking systems crash.