Writing music

[RokofAges75]

We may have had a thread like this before, but if so, it's been awhile, so I thought I'd start one [again?].

Who likes to listen to music as they write?  And for those who do, what do you usually listen to?  Do you have any recommendation s?  Are you looking for recommendation s of a certain type of music yourself?

[RokofAges75]

I don't always listen to music when I write; sometimes it can be distracting, but other times, it actually helps me focus and get inspired.  I usually stick to classical and instrumental stuff; I can only listen to songs with words if I'm really on a roll with the story already, cause otherwise I just get distracted and sing along instead of write LOL.

I have a whole folder/playlist of "writing music" - some classical stuff, instrumental versions of songs, movie scores, and that kind of thing.  I pick what to listen to based on the tone of the part I'm trying to write... is it sad and angsty, suspenseful and dramatic, gooey and romantic?  I'm writing scary, action-packed stuff now, so I'm trying to boost my collection of music to go with that, without being too loud and distracting.  Any recommendation s?  I have a ton of the sad and romantic stuff if anyone wants any recommendation s for that!

[mare]

I can't listen to anything at all when I write. I need it 100% quiet. lol

[RokofAges75]

That's how I ended up being tonight too LOL.  Nothing really fit what I was trying to write, so silence ended up being best.

[cabybakes]

I can't listen to anything either, I get too distracted if I do...

[Chaos]

Depends on what I'm writing. I usually don't play music because most of my writing lately seems to be done in the middle of the night when everyone else is sleeping so it tends to be really quiet (and I hate wearing headphones, so...). Sometimes I do find it helpful to play music that sort of fits the mood of the story I'm writing. I also sometimes have in my head kind of a "soundtrack" that goes along with the story that kind of helps me keep track of scenes in my head--I'll associate a scene with a particular song. In those cases I might have a playlist set up on my IPOD that has those songs and play that while writing to help trigger the scenes in my head again (though these days I've found it much better for me to just write the stuff down rather than do the association thing that used to work perfectly for me...) More often lately when I want music playing while I'm writing, I choose more classical stuff that doesn't have lyrics that distract me; it often gets me in the right(write) mood without being overly distracting.

[RokofAges75]

Bumping this thread because Cinzia mentioned music in the question thread, and I discovered an amazing piece of writing music yesterday!

Primavera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmxFAT581T4

I was watching figure skating yesterday, and a girl skated to this piece, and I was like, "This would make great writing music!"

Perfect for drama writers who like this kind of thing.

[RokofAges75]

It took me forever to find this thread that I knew existed.  I should have put it in Tips & Tricks instead of General Discussion, but oh well.

This isn't technically writing music, but it's similar, so I'm posting it here instead of starting a new thread for it.  I stumbled onto this cool YouTube channel called Mindscapes.  It's full of videos that are basically white noise with different themes - some are relaxing nature sounds set in different environments, while others are more music-like.  I thought it might be inspiring for those of you who find actual music distracting, but want something more than total silence when you write.  Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCklz_LyHU8JnpgEgbDMLN1A/videos

I don't usually get into that kind of thing, but I found the one called Bedside Life Support while I was researching for a scene with a character waking up from a coma, so I gave it a try.  I found it totally distracting at first and kept laughing at it, but after a few minutes, I was able to semi-tune it out so it became background noise, and it actually really did help me focus and get into the scene more.  I listened to the full hour of it without even realizing it and stayed focused on writing the whole time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGkvyZNT9wM&feature=youtu.be

There's also a zombie/horror-themed one called Dead of the Night that might have been helpful when I was writing Song for the Undead.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUDvHLGpnGA&t=1721s

[Carter-Orange]

I just listened to a bit of both Julie, and while I find any kind of noise distracting to write with, I can see how those could be a help with scenes.

[RokofAges75]

I'm currently obsessed with this song from last week's episode of Game of Thrones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1frgt0D_f4  It's even better in the context of the episode, but it's a hauntingly beautiful piece of music on its own, too.  Definitely added this one to my writing playlist!  Game of Thrones has great music, but this is the first piece I've gone out of my way to search out and download.