15 ms·

Does anyone know of any actual conclusive studies in this area? Like most here, I have my own rules and preferences. The main rule seems to be it must be famili

by 3chelon 10y ago

Does anyone know of any actual conclusive studies in this area? Like most here, I have my own rules and preferences. The main rule seems to be it must be familiar, in fact it's best if I've heard it a thousand times already. But there are only three kinds of music that work for me:- 1. Music I first got into during my teenage years when I was sitting up all night coding assembler (OK, I admit it, Pink Floyd) works well because I think my mind is conditioned in an almost Pavlovian way to go into programming mode when I hear it; 2. Ambient EDM works well because it is very repetitive and doesn't have any strong lyrical structure - my trouble is, as an old fart, I find only a very small subset of the vast range of EDM that I actually like. 3. A certain kind of loud, wall-of-sound rock music which is very heavy on distortion with subdued vocals works well but only at night. Received opinion says classical music is good for cognitive tasks, and I've tried over the years but never good great results.

felideon 10y ago
Closest I've seen has been Brain.fm's stuff: https://brain.fm/app?v=7827#!/learn/BrainFMWhitePaper.pdf https://brain.fm/app?v=7827#!/learn/BrainFMWhitePaper.pdf
closed 10y ago
I can only speak from the angle of memory/attention research, but a couple lines of study struck me. 1. Irrelevant speech / sounds tends to reduce memory capacity for the task at hand[a]. 2. People with ADHD self-stimulate by, e.g, squirming. Music can help them with attentional tasks by providing stimulation [b]. Overall, I'm not that familiar with studies specifically on music, but I'd guess that it's a trade-off between arousal (e.g. rock music or something to pump you up) and dividing attention. Music could also set a context (e.g. put you in programming "mode"), which tends to have a small positive effect on performance on a number of cognitive tasks. [a] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrelevant_speech_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrelevant_speech_effect [b] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_arousal_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_arousal_theory
- Klathmon 10y ago
  I have ADHD, and it's really difficult to describe to people how the "self stimulation" works. It's almost like I need to keep part of my brain busy so the other "quieter" part can work. Music, driving, pacing around, and to a lesser extent fidgeting or tapping can all "placate" that part of my brain so the other can actually do work. I'll even do things like play music while listening to a talk or presentation while working, because without the music keeping me "busy" I just can't focus on the topic of the talk.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - sosuke 10y ago
    Great phrasing of the feeling. I started listening to e-books, fiction, after finding that my programming thoughts don't really intersect my verbal thoughts. The benefit being I don't get distracted reading anything else because my speech center is already occupied. The only time I have to pause the music is during a planning session where I do have internal dialogue. ATTN paki123: I can't reply to your comment but you should visit and read http://addforums.com/ http://addforums.com/ for support, drug reviews/experiences and tips
    - paki123 10y ago
      Holy shit, I do this too. Is there a resource(besides adderall) that can help me deal with this and understand this better?
      - Klathmon 10y ago
        I "vouched" for your comment as it was showing up dead for some reason... I can second sosuke, addforums.com was a great resource. I haven't been there for a long time though.
        ThrustVectoring 10y ago
toxican 10y ago
For me I actually avoid music I know/like and just go for straight up instrumental (usually piano or acoustic guitar playlists on Spotify). If it's music I know I'll get distracted by trying to find a song I like more than what shuffle gave me. But with instrumental I can work and enjoy the music at the same time effortlessly.
Scarblac 10y ago
My experience is a lot like yours (especially "must have heard it a thousand times"). I apply one more trick, that I got from some self help book once: my energy level is not always the same, and too little energy is a problem for concentration but so is too much energy. If it's just right, I'll likely be able to find the flow and then the music matters less. Rage Against the Machine and Rammstein can improve energy levels. Very quiet music (current favorite Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens) can quiet me down so I can concentrate.
- 3chelon 10y ago
  Rammstein makes sense. I suppose my preference for the loud stuff at night comes down to stimulation and energy levels. Never actually thought of it in that way until now, thanks.
  - JoachimS 10y ago
    For me it is very related to what I need to do. Wringing out 1000 LOCs in a day -Nitzer Ebb, Ministry and Rammstein it is. EBM in general is really helpful. And interestingly this specific song by U2: https://vimeo.com/41133252 https://vimeo.com/41133252
dwc 10y ago
I love classical music, but not for coding. It's too musically interesting and it pulls me off task. I'll be fine and then it gets to that one part, and then I'll notice that I've been actively listening to the music and not coding for 10 minutes. I tend toward electronia (usually) without vocals. I'll find a suitable artist and get several of their albums and listen to all the albums on loop. For me this is enough to quickly gain that familiarity you mention, hearing the same songs in the same order all day long.
- felideon 10y ago
  You should try something like "Baby Mozart"[1] which has with fewer dynamics. Then again you might fall asleep. :) [1] e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEEizbmU-hU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEEizbmU-hU
rdiddly 10y ago
"A certain kind of loud, wall-of-sound rock music which is very heavy on distortion with subdued vocals..." Sounds like you're describing My Bloody Valentine...
- 3chelon 10y ago
  Certainly MBV is one of my favourites in that genre, yes. Slowdive, Lush, Mazzy Star... that kind of thing is my "night programming" playlist.
  - krylon 10y ago
    I have been a fan of Mazzy Star for a couple of years, as well as of Hope Sandoval's solo work, she just has an awesome voice. Lush, I only discovered about four weeks back, but I went in head over heels, they are just great. And, yes, I agree, there is a certain affinity between this kind of music and dim lighting. It doesn't work in broad daylight. ;-)
petra 10y ago
One key search term to look is "“Irrelevant Sound Effect”" . I forgot the details, but here's one very interesting study to start: http://webistem.com/acoustics2008/acoustics2008/cd1/data/articles/001293.pdf http://webistem.com/acoustics2008/acoustics2008/cd1/data/art...
vlunkr 10y ago
Personally, it doesn't really matter what the music is, but it's best if I'm already familiar with it, otherwise I get distracted investigating new artists.
Noseshine 10y ago
I have made a strange observation. Okay, "strange" is relative, so maybe I should say "interesting" to be as fuzzy and generic as possible. When I program in my favorite roastery and coffee shop (http://www.roesttrommel.de/info/laufer-gasse.html http://www.roesttrommel.de/info/laufer-gasse.html) I want people, noise and background music. I can concentrate on my my code very well. However, when I'm at home and I have to concentrate - on the exact same code - I need complete silence. If I leave music running or anything else I can't concentrate. So there seems to be higher-level processing involved in the brain so that the complete context matters, and not just something as simple as "music/no music" (medium level processing).
- Xcelerate 10y ago
  Weird, I'm the exact same way. I can concentrate perfectly fine in a coffee shop, but at home it is difficult unless I have absolute silence and total solitude. The presence of one person (even if they're not bothering me) is enough to completely derail my ability to concentrate. I think it's because in the back of my mind, I know that person might interrupt me, and just the "threat" of interruption is enough to prevent focus. I wish I was like von Neumann sometimes. He was known to do his best work on quantum mechanics in the living room with his whole family sitting around talking and the television blasting.
- pokemongoaway 10y ago
  I have a feeling that quite a lot of people are like this... If the study hasn't been done yet - I'll contact some researchers I know who would be willing to do the study. Anyone here is welcome to help design the experiment. I'd recommend tracking a few more variables including EEG, pulse, w/ & w/o Adderall, w/ & w/o caffeine, ... Just brainstorming for now.
  - Noseshine 10y ago
    One aspect that probably plays a role: I'm feeling good because I kept busy, but I've been pretty isolated due to an extended health issue (heavy metal poisoning) that takes loooong to recover from (but it works fine thanks to chelators), and I deliberately work a low-paying job from home. While I'm not an extrovert I'm no introvert either, I enjoy talking and even presenting and got very little of that the last few years. So the reason I go to the coffee shop is - people. While I don't talk to anyone (because that only very rarely works here in Germany) somehow just being in the crowd feels good, it satisfies some deep desire. Somehow merely having "noise" at home, even if the source is people, is not the same. The brain is not that easily tricked, it knows the context. It's more complicated though since having people talk does help even at home, but it's different, different brain circuits are exercised, it's not a replacement for the 2-3 hours in the coffee shop.
golergka 10y ago
I have to clarify: in which of the possible meanings do you use tge term "EDM" here? The Skrillex type of post-brostep, pop deep house inspired top40 bangers, all electronic club-friendly dance music or all electronic music in general? Like "techno" or "dubstep", this word can mean very different things for different people.
- 3chelon 10y ago
  Yes, I find the sub-genres hard to describe. Future Sound of London. Burial. Four Tet. Boards of Canada. Some DJ Shadow. Suggestions welcome, actually, it's all a newish field for me...
  - rorygreen 10y ago
    You've got some really great selections there! I've picked a fairly random list of albums and EPs from a range of electronic music, I really hope you find things you like amongst it. Also I don't want to be the genre police but I wouldn't call any of this EDM, that term seems to have been adopted by a type of music of which, I guess I'll just say I'm not a fan. In no particular order: Arovane - Tides (2000) Tim Hecker - Virgins (2013) Donato Dozzy - K (2010) Autechre - Amber (1994) James Holden - The Inheritors (2013) Andy Stott - Faith In Strangers (2014) Jon Hopkins - Immunity (2013) Recondite - On Acid (2012) Lemon Jelly - Lemonjelly.ky (2000) Max Graef - Rivers Of The Red Planet (2014) Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise (2010) Plaid - Reachy Prints (2014) Rival Consoles - Sonne (2014) Shlohmo - Bad Vibes (2011) St Germain - Boulevard (1995) Traumprinz - Mothercave (2013) Valerio Tricoli - Clonic Earth (2016) Romare - Projections (2015) Space Dimension Controller - Orange Melamine (2016) Actress - R.I.P (2012) Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998) Rob Clouth - Clockwork Atom (2014) And shouts out to Datassette who appears to have done a bunch of the instalments on the music for programming site (mixes/playlists, whatever they are. I've never listened to any of them). This EP is gorgeous: Datassette - The Aviatrix (2009)
    - 3chelon 10y ago
      Thanks for the list! The Massive Attack album is one I already love, so I'll check out the others.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
corey_moncure 10y ago
Some recommendations for you sir. EDM) Menno de Jong https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-live-at-lucent-pres-menno-solo-san-diego-july-30th-2016?in=mennodejong/sets/menno-de-jong-live-sets https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-live-at-luc... https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-cloudcast-046-june-2016-ibiza-sunset-special?in=mennodejong/sets/menno-de-jong-cloudcast https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-cloudcast-0... Like other continuously mixed, mostly-ambient EDM but favors minor mode and affected arps that keep my brain occupied in it just enough to avoid distraction. Japanese Drums) The Ondekoza, or any competent group https://www.amazon.com/Haru-Ichiban/dp/B003P5RMBM https://www.amazon.com/Haru-Ichiban/dp/B003P5RMBM Pure rhythmic impulse, monotonic yet with remarkable complexity. Classical) Glenn Gould's Bach, Mozart https://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-plays-Bach-Chromatic/dp/B01DH0YNVG/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1478018321&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=gould+partitas https://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-plays-Bach-Chromatic/dp/B... Julian Bream, Bach, Lute http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/julian-bream-plays-j-s-bach-julian-bream/1984#productInfoTabs http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/julian-bream-plays-j-s-bach-... Jonas Nordberg, de Visee et al, Theorbo https://itunes.apple.com/es/album/jonas-nordberg-visee-weiss/id1030113455 https://itunes.apple.com/es/album/jonas-nordberg-visee-weiss... Perhaps too much for deep flow sessions but extremely stimulating for more inspirational, breaking-down-the-problem "aha" moments. When it comes to `classical` music, keep in mind that the term encompasses hundreds of years of evolution and dozens of genres or utilities that the music was composed to serve. For our purposes, we may want to stick to "salon" style solo or small ensemble compositions which were made by the masters with the express purpose of stimulating the logical and emotional mind. Church music and large symphonies for example are a completely different animal, but get unfortunately rolled in under this catch-all term.
- darmok 10y ago
  I started my first programming job back in 2000 and was reading Cryptonomicon at the time and came across this little gem in the book: "When Randy gets back to his cell, he sits crosslegged on his bed with the Walkman and begins dealing out the CDs like cards in a solitaire game. The selection is pretty reasonable: a two-disc set of the Brandenburg Concertos, a collection of Bach organ fugues (nerds have a thing about Bach)" So I thought 'why not' and got a two-disc set of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. And sixteen years later I still listen to it when I'm working and have never tired of it. Great music for focus.
__david__ 10y ago
My go-to programming music is psytrance/goa [1]. It's high energy in the bass drum/bass line category, but the other melodies are often ethereal or even ambient sounding. It's repetitive enough to slot into the background quite easily for me. I found it by accident one night back when radio was still a thing and it took me 10 years to even turn the sound that I was hearing into a genre name. I find it to be as effective as caffeine, which is very interesting to me. [1] Example: http://streamer.psyradio.org:8030/ http://streamer.psyradio.org:8030/ And make sure you have headphones with a good bass response or a subwoofer. I find the music loses a lot without its bass line.
pimeys 10y ago
2. Have you tried some German labels, like Perlon, Ilian Tape, Ostgut Ton or from the jazz side ECM? I bought the Ricardo Villalobos & Max Loderbauer Re: ECM album yesterday and it's two cds of experimental smooth modular jazz electronica. Perfect for concentration!
makmanalp 10y ago
> works well because I think my mind is conditioned in an almost Pavlovian way to go into programming mode when I hear it I agree with this a ton, there are certain songs and albums where I've listened to them hundreds of times and familiarity plays a huge role in helping me focus. > A certain kind of loud, wall-of-sound rock music which is very heavy on distortion with subdued vocals works well but only at night. Couldn't agree more! See my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12849064 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12849064 We should trade music!
Jemmeh 10y ago
Your phrasing made me realize, this is probably why I listen to things on loop a lot while working. I really am hearing it a thousand times... so it isn't overly distracting.
kfrz 10y ago
Same thing here. I listen to music I listened to when I first started spending 6+ hours after school coding. It's not what you'd guess. I know the music so well it puts me into a comfort zone that always allows me to just get shit done. Brain hacking at it's best. Bonobo radio on Spotify is a great starting point for laid back EDM that isn't anxiety-inducing but keeps energy up. I love all forms of jazz too much to listen to it while I work, because I start listening critically and getting into musician mode not coder mode.
- 3chelon 10y ago
  Thanks, I'll check out that Spotify channel.
jeffreygoesto 10y ago
I think I know what you mean by 'Wall-Of-Sound', spent half of my PhD writing with Propellerheads DecksNDrumsNRockNRoll and quite a bit of commercial programming with Ostkreuz 'Motor' https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NzkxZfhgHso https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NzkxZfhgHso Guess I need to lock out the world with some well known(!) and impervious sound.
ryankey721 10y ago
Wish I could help with the studies, but if you're interested in more anecdotes, I can help there. Your #1 and #3 definitely work, especially in harmony, but I have found that I do well with songs in langauages that I don't know at all but I like the general style. For example, when I need enegry and work, I listen to Rammstein or The Pillows (Japanese). If I need to relax a bit and work, Seeed (german reggae) or something french are my go to. There's a lot more and sometimes I just put on a Spotify international playlist. The randomness and lack of understandable lyrics helps me, as long as I don't try to learn what they are saying.

by 3chelon 10y ago

felideon 10y ago

Closest I've seen has been Brain.fm's stuff: https://brain.fm/app?v=7827#!/learn/BrainFMWhitePaper.pdf https://brain.fm/app?v=7827#!/learn/BrainFMWhitePaper.pdf

closed 10y ago

I can only speak from the angle of memory/attention research, but a couple lines of study struck me. 1. Irrelevant speech / sounds tends to reduce memory capacity for the task at hand[a]. 2. People with ADHD self-stimulate by, e.g, squirming. Music can help them with attentional tasks by providing stimulation [b]. Overall, I'm not that familiar with studies specifically on music, but I'd guess that it's a trade-off between arousal (e.g. rock music or something to pump you up) and dividing attention. Music could also set a context (e.g. put you in programming "mode"), which tends to have a small positive effect on performance on a number of cognitive tasks. [a] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrelevant_speech_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrelevant_speech_effect [b] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_arousal_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_arousal_theory

Klathmon 10y ago
I have ADHD, and it's really difficult to describe to people how the "self stimulation" works. It's almost like I need to keep part of my brain busy so the other "quieter" part can work. Music, driving, pacing around, and to a lesser extent fidgeting or tapping can all "placate" that part of my brain so the other can actually do work. I'll even do things like play music while listening to a talk or presentation while working, because without the music keeping me "busy" I just can't focus on the topic of the talk.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- sosuke 10y ago
  Great phrasing of the feeling. I started listening to e-books, fiction, after finding that my programming thoughts don't really intersect my verbal thoughts. The benefit being I don't get distracted reading anything else because my speech center is already occupied. The only time I have to pause the music is during a planning session where I do have internal dialogue. ATTN paki123: I can't reply to your comment but you should visit and read http://addforums.com/ http://addforums.com/ for support, drug reviews/experiences and tips
  - paki123 10y ago
    Holy shit, I do this too. Is there a resource(besides adderall) that can help me deal with this and understand this better?
    - Klathmon 10y ago
      I "vouched" for your comment as it was showing up dead for some reason... I can second sosuke, addforums.com was a great resource. I haven't been there for a long time though.
      - ThrustVectoring 10y ago

toxican 10y ago

For me I actually avoid music I know/like and just go for straight up instrumental (usually piano or acoustic guitar playlists on Spotify). If it's music I know I'll get distracted by trying to find a song I like more than what shuffle gave me. But with instrumental I can work and enjoy the music at the same time effortlessly.

Scarblac 10y ago

My experience is a lot like yours (especially "must have heard it a thousand times"). I apply one more trick, that I got from some self help book once: my energy level is not always the same, and too little energy is a problem for concentration but so is too much energy. If it's just right, I'll likely be able to find the flow and then the music matters less. Rage Against the Machine and Rammstein can improve energy levels. Very quiet music (current favorite Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens) can quiet me down so I can concentrate.

3chelon 10y ago
Rammstein makes sense. I suppose my preference for the loud stuff at night comes down to stimulation and energy levels. Never actually thought of it in that way until now, thanks.
- JoachimS 10y ago
  For me it is very related to what I need to do. Wringing out 1000 LOCs in a day -Nitzer Ebb, Ministry and Rammstein it is. EBM in general is really helpful. And interestingly this specific song by U2: https://vimeo.com/41133252 https://vimeo.com/41133252

dwc 10y ago

I love classical music, but not for coding. It's too musically interesting and it pulls me off task. I'll be fine and then it gets to that one part, and then I'll notice that I've been actively listening to the music and not coding for 10 minutes. I tend toward electronia (usually) without vocals. I'll find a suitable artist and get several of their albums and listen to all the albums on loop. For me this is enough to quickly gain that familiarity you mention, hearing the same songs in the same order all day long.

felideon 10y ago
You should try something like "Baby Mozart"[1] which has with fewer dynamics. Then again you might fall asleep. :) [1] e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEEizbmU-hU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEEizbmU-hU

rdiddly 10y ago

"A certain kind of loud, wall-of-sound rock music which is very heavy on distortion with subdued vocals..." Sounds like you're describing My Bloody Valentine...

3chelon 10y ago
Certainly MBV is one of my favourites in that genre, yes. Slowdive, Lush, Mazzy Star... that kind of thing is my "night programming" playlist.
- krylon 10y ago
  I have been a fan of Mazzy Star for a couple of years, as well as of Hope Sandoval's solo work, she just has an awesome voice. Lush, I only discovered about four weeks back, but I went in head over heels, they are just great. And, yes, I agree, there is a certain affinity between this kind of music and dim lighting. It doesn't work in broad daylight. ;-)

petra 10y ago

One key search term to look is "“Irrelevant Sound Effect”" . I forgot the details, but here's one very interesting study to start: http://webistem.com/acoustics2008/acoustics2008/cd1/data/articles/001293.pdf http://webistem.com/acoustics2008/acoustics2008/cd1/data/art...

vlunkr 10y ago

Personally, it doesn't really matter what the music is, but it's best if I'm already familiar with it, otherwise I get distracted investigating new artists.

Noseshine 10y ago

I have made a strange observation. Okay, "strange" is relative, so maybe I should say "interesting" to be as fuzzy and generic as possible. When I program in my favorite roastery and coffee shop (http://www.roesttrommel.de/info/laufer-gasse.html http://www.roesttrommel.de/info/laufer-gasse.html) I want people, noise and background music. I can concentrate on my my code very well. However, when I'm at home and I have to concentrate - on the exact same code - I need complete silence. If I leave music running or anything else I can't concentrate. So there seems to be higher-level processing involved in the brain so that the complete context matters, and not just something as simple as "music/no music" (medium level processing).

Xcelerate 10y ago
Weird, I'm the exact same way. I can concentrate perfectly fine in a coffee shop, but at home it is difficult unless I have absolute silence and total solitude. The presence of one person (even if they're not bothering me) is enough to completely derail my ability to concentrate. I think it's because in the back of my mind, I know that person might interrupt me, and just the "threat" of interruption is enough to prevent focus. I wish I was like von Neumann sometimes. He was known to do his best work on quantum mechanics in the living room with his whole family sitting around talking and the television blasting.
pokemongoaway 10y ago
I have a feeling that quite a lot of people are like this... If the study hasn't been done yet - I'll contact some researchers I know who would be willing to do the study. Anyone here is welcome to help design the experiment. I'd recommend tracking a few more variables including EEG, pulse, w/ & w/o Adderall, w/ & w/o caffeine, ... Just brainstorming for now.
- Noseshine 10y ago
  One aspect that probably plays a role: I'm feeling good because I kept busy, but I've been pretty isolated due to an extended health issue (heavy metal poisoning) that takes loooong to recover from (but it works fine thanks to chelators), and I deliberately work a low-paying job from home. While I'm not an extrovert I'm no introvert either, I enjoy talking and even presenting and got very little of that the last few years. So the reason I go to the coffee shop is - people. While I don't talk to anyone (because that only very rarely works here in Germany) somehow just being in the crowd feels good, it satisfies some deep desire. Somehow merely having "noise" at home, even if the source is people, is not the same. The brain is not that easily tricked, it knows the context. It's more complicated though since having people talk does help even at home, but it's different, different brain circuits are exercised, it's not a replacement for the 2-3 hours in the coffee shop.

golergka 10y ago

I have to clarify: in which of the possible meanings do you use tge term "EDM" here? The Skrillex type of post-brostep, pop deep house inspired top40 bangers, all electronic club-friendly dance music or all electronic music in general? Like "techno" or "dubstep", this word can mean very different things for different people.

3chelon 10y ago
Yes, I find the sub-genres hard to describe. Future Sound of London. Burial. Four Tet. Boards of Canada. Some DJ Shadow. Suggestions welcome, actually, it's all a newish field for me...
- rorygreen 10y ago
  You've got some really great selections there! I've picked a fairly random list of albums and EPs from a range of electronic music, I really hope you find things you like amongst it. Also I don't want to be the genre police but I wouldn't call any of this EDM, that term seems to have been adopted by a type of music of which, I guess I'll just say I'm not a fan. In no particular order: Arovane - Tides (2000) Tim Hecker - Virgins (2013) Donato Dozzy - K (2010) Autechre - Amber (1994) James Holden - The Inheritors (2013) Andy Stott - Faith In Strangers (2014) Jon Hopkins - Immunity (2013) Recondite - On Acid (2012) Lemon Jelly - Lemonjelly.ky (2000) Max Graef - Rivers Of The Red Planet (2014) Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise (2010) Plaid - Reachy Prints (2014) Rival Consoles - Sonne (2014) Shlohmo - Bad Vibes (2011) St Germain - Boulevard (1995) Traumprinz - Mothercave (2013) Valerio Tricoli - Clonic Earth (2016) Romare - Projections (2015) Space Dimension Controller - Orange Melamine (2016) Actress - R.I.P (2012) Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998) Rob Clouth - Clockwork Atom (2014) And shouts out to Datassette who appears to have done a bunch of the instalments on the music for programming site (mixes/playlists, whatever they are. I've never listened to any of them). This EP is gorgeous: Datassette - The Aviatrix (2009)
  - 3chelon 10y ago
    Thanks for the list! The Massive Attack album is one I already love, so I'll check out the others.

deleted 10y ago

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corey_moncure 10y ago

Some recommendations for you sir. EDM) Menno de Jong https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-live-at-lucent-pres-menno-solo-san-diego-july-30th-2016?in=mennodejong/sets/menno-de-jong-live-sets https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-live-at-luc... https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-cloudcast-046-june-2016-ibiza-sunset-special?in=mennodejong/sets/menno-de-jong-cloudcast https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-cloudcast-0... Like other continuously mixed, mostly-ambient EDM but favors minor mode and affected arps that keep my brain occupied in it just enough to avoid distraction. Japanese Drums) The Ondekoza, or any competent group https://www.amazon.com/Haru-Ichiban/dp/B003P5RMBM https://www.amazon.com/Haru-Ichiban/dp/B003P5RMBM Pure rhythmic impulse, monotonic yet with remarkable complexity. Classical) Glenn Gould's Bach, Mozart https://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-plays-Bach-Chromatic/dp/B01DH0YNVG/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1478018321&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=gould+partitas https://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-plays-Bach-Chromatic/dp/B... Julian Bream, Bach, Lute http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/julian-bream-plays-j-s-bach-julian-bream/1984#productInfoTabs http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/julian-bream-plays-j-s-bach-... Jonas Nordberg, de Visee et al, Theorbo https://itunes.apple.com/es/album/jonas-nordberg-visee-weiss/id1030113455 https://itunes.apple.com/es/album/jonas-nordberg-visee-weiss... Perhaps too much for deep flow sessions but extremely stimulating for more inspirational, breaking-down-the-problem "aha" moments. When it comes to `classical` music, keep in mind that the term encompasses hundreds of years of evolution and dozens of genres or utilities that the music was composed to serve. For our purposes, we may want to stick to "salon" style solo or small ensemble compositions which were made by the masters with the express purpose of stimulating the logical and emotional mind. Church music and large symphonies for example are a completely different animal, but get unfortunately rolled in under this catch-all term.

darmok 10y ago
I started my first programming job back in 2000 and was reading Cryptonomicon at the time and came across this little gem in the book: "When Randy gets back to his cell, he sits crosslegged on his bed with the Walkman and begins dealing out the CDs like cards in a solitaire game. The selection is pretty reasonable: a two-disc set of the Brandenburg Concertos, a collection of Bach organ fugues (nerds have a thing about Bach)" So I thought 'why not' and got a two-disc set of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. And sixteen years later I still listen to it when I'm working and have never tired of it. Great music for focus.

__david__ 10y ago

My go-to programming music is psytrance/goa [1]. It's high energy in the bass drum/bass line category, but the other melodies are often ethereal or even ambient sounding. It's repetitive enough to slot into the background quite easily for me. I found it by accident one night back when radio was still a thing and it took me 10 years to even turn the sound that I was hearing into a genre name. I find it to be as effective as caffeine, which is very interesting to me. [1] Example: http://streamer.psyradio.org:8030/ http://streamer.psyradio.org:8030/ And make sure you have headphones with a good bass response or a subwoofer. I find the music loses a lot without its bass line.

pimeys 10y ago

2. Have you tried some German labels, like Perlon, Ilian Tape, Ostgut Ton or from the jazz side ECM? I bought the Ricardo Villalobos & Max Loderbauer Re: ECM album yesterday and it's two cds of experimental smooth modular jazz electronica. Perfect for concentration!

makmanalp 10y ago

> works well because I think my mind is conditioned in an almost Pavlovian way to go into programming mode when I hear it I agree with this a ton, there are certain songs and albums where I've listened to them hundreds of times and familiarity plays a huge role in helping me focus. > A certain kind of loud, wall-of-sound rock music which is very heavy on distortion with subdued vocals works well but only at night. Couldn't agree more! See my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12849064 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12849064 We should trade music!

Jemmeh 10y ago

Your phrasing made me realize, this is probably why I listen to things on loop a lot while working. I really am hearing it a thousand times... so it isn't overly distracting.

kfrz 10y ago

Same thing here. I listen to music I listened to when I first started spending 6+ hours after school coding. It's not what you'd guess. I know the music so well it puts me into a comfort zone that always allows me to just get shit done. Brain hacking at it's best. Bonobo radio on Spotify is a great starting point for laid back EDM that isn't anxiety-inducing but keeps energy up. I love all forms of jazz too much to listen to it while I work, because I start listening critically and getting into musician mode not coder mode.

3chelon 10y ago
Thanks, I'll check out that Spotify channel.

jeffreygoesto 10y ago

I think I know what you mean by 'Wall-Of-Sound', spent half of my PhD writing with Propellerheads DecksNDrumsNRockNRoll and quite a bit of commercial programming with Ostkreuz 'Motor' https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NzkxZfhgHso https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NzkxZfhgHso Guess I need to lock out the world with some well known(!) and impervious sound.

ryankey721 10y ago

Wish I could help with the studies, but if you're interested in more anecdotes, I can help there. Your #1 and #3 definitely work, especially in harmony, but I have found that I do well with songs in langauages that I don't know at all but I like the general style. For example, when I need enegry and work, I listen to Rammstein or The Pillows (Japanese). If I need to relax a bit and work, Seeed (german reggae) or something french are my go to. There's a lot more and sometimes I just put on a Spotify international playlist. The randomness and lack of understandable lyrics helps me, as long as I don't try to learn what they are saying.