This fascinating article explains that those not prone to boredom generally performed intellectual tasks better while listening to complex music as opposed to simple or no music, while boredom prone individuals performed better with simple or no music at all. Definitely worth a read if you're interested in the impact music plays during periods of focus.
It got me wondering about what kinds of music people prefer while they code. Personally, I tend to prefer electronic, vocal-free music, but I can also surprisingly listen to heavy metal and still stay focused.
What do you listen to while coding, if anything at all, and why?
Top comments (28)
I did a post on this a while back. Personally I need something without lyrics to really concentrate, so some of my favorites are the Tron:Legacy soundtrack, IDIOTAPE's 11111101 and the Bolling: Suite for Cello and Jazz Piano Trio album.
I absolutely love the TRON soundtrack as well!
It really is a great one, and I like how it is nice and upbeat sometimes I find trance/techno too repetitive but this whole album really works for me.
Seems silly. but I like epic sound track music when coding.
Like those by "Two steps from hell," or "Audiomachine"...
Definitely not silly, I do the same thing!
Never expected this here :v
Impossible is one of my favorite songs.
Not silly at all! That epic soundtrack music is very motivating, TSFH is awesome haha. Lots of good YouTube playlists for that kind of music!
I've been checking out some of the mood playlists on Spotify and they are usually quite cool! Favorites are:
I love Brain Food, that was my go-to for a while! Will definitely check out the others.
Check out the user-created Developer $hell - really good!
this one??
cool, thanks for the tip!
You got it!
I think I saw it in the theater, and just thought how cool the soundtrack was and how it really made the movie. At the time I was already a software engineer, and was always trying to find good music to develop too. I was a bit more into japanese anime music at the time, but I think it when I got a bit more into trance and techno after this.
I find I tend to work better with music I'm very familiar with - doesn't really matter if it's crazy techno, ambient, pop. If I try and listen to new music I get distracted by it.
That’s a good point! I think I’m in the same boat as you. With familiar songs you don’t need to focus on what might come next.
I don't listen to music while coding. Unfortunately I work in an open plan with about 10 people so it sometimes gets very noisy and disturbing and I'm tempted by putting on headphones. I found out I'm not really productive while listening to music though, as I enjoy the songs and get distracted by them.
I could just wear headphones to block all the noise, but I don't find them really comfortable.
Techno, house, rock, metal, ambient. Basically anything that comes on autoplay really. Although, when I do listen to music, I find myself spending a lot of time finding the right song, so I'm better off listening a whole concert or something that I don't need to change very soon.
I'm with christine - no lyrics. My go-to is baroque or romantic period music, with a special emphasis on German and Russian composers. Spotify radio stations based on Bach, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Strauss, etc. keep it interesting.
Most of the time when I am coding I listen to soundtracks, just about anything Hans Zimmer Inception, Man of Steel, Interstellar, etc. The Martian, Game Of Thrones, Black Panther, Daft Punk.
Other times I like listening to LoFi music, or electronic. Rarely do I listen to music with vocals when I need to concentrate. Occasionally I listen to Rap when feeling creative.
Awesome, agree with you there. Film scores and other soundtrack stuff is really motivating!
I personally prefer absolute silence. Any semblance of melody just throws me off the road. Though I might try turning on some "background noise" such as rain or forest sounds for a change, since I find that it helps my focus when I'm playing video games lol.