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Ask HN: Music while coding

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121–130 of 179 posts

Re: Ask HN: Music while coding

#122

that´s funny. for me it´s just the other way round: if there´s music while i´m coding i can´t concentrate very well and always listen to the music instead of coding. :) but it´s possible that this is because i´m a musician too. i always wonder why i can´t blend it out while coding. (i can blend it out while driving a car e.g.) has anybody else similar experiences?

Yes. If music is on, I want to listen to the music. It's distracting if I'm trying to think about something else.

An interesting exception is in cafés, where I'm fine to hack away as long as the music isn't too loud.

One other point about music while programming is that it leads programmers to put headphones on, which I sometimes find detracts from collaboration.

Re: Ask HN: Music while coding

#125
post #103

I don't usually listen to music when I code, but when I really need to concentrate or am distracted by background conversations, I usually go for Einstein on the Beach by Phillip Glass. Back in college, I'd often listen to classical music while working on math. But I occasionally found it distracting (especially Bach, I'd concentrate on the sequence of notes rather than the problem at hand).

Glassworks by Phillip Glass gets me to be productive, it is repetitive and some people can't stand it but it works for me. For math the only thing that works for me is silence.

For casual browsing I use Spotify and just look around a bit for something I like, the artist radio has found me quite a couple of gems.

Re: Ask HN: Music while coding

#126

It depends on the language. Things like assembler demand Nine Inch Nails, Atari Teenage Riot, and other really fast things. This is possibly due to the fact that I have the attention span of a whippet, and I need to be kept up to speed. C++ lends itself to distorted acid noise in the manner of mu-Ziq, LFO, Squarepusher and Aphex Twin. Possibly because this music is good at dispelling C++ induced rage. Java is pleasan…

What would you listen to while writing lisp?

Re: Ask HN: Music while coding

#127
post #83

Bach is almost exclusively my favorite classical composer. If you want some of his music, check out classiccat.net. It makes great programming music, but some of it is worth listening to when you're not distracted. (-: I also enjoy Aphex Twin (all of the similar bands, like Boards of Canada and Autechre, not as much). I actually wrote one my of first web applications listening to "Selected Ambient Works 85-92". Ratat…

Definitely Ratatat, especially the leaked album which is more repetitive and less in your face than songs like wildcat.

Re: Ask HN: Music while coding

#128
post #58

Porcupine Tree

+1. I find that their psychedelics (Lynton Samuel Dawson, Voyage 34, Staircase Infinities, No Reason To Live No Reason To Die, Moonloop) mix quite well with Pink Floyd's (A Saucerful of Secrets, Atom Heart Mother, Set the controls...). Most of the later works are too vocal and distracting.

Re: Ask HN: Music while coding

#129
Drum and bass FTW.

Some free sources of D&B are BassDrive.com (live djs), Pandora and Last.fm. After you know what you like there's plenty available (used & cheap) on Amazon.com

Also a lot of techno, Vivaldi and Bach

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