Music for Programming (2011) • Hacker News Board

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#141

Post by aidenn0 » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 4:54 PM UTC

coreyp_1 wrote: post #35

Am I the only person who can't listen to anything while coding? My attention goes straight to the music, and I can't concentrate on the task at hand! When I was in high school, my math teacher would play Mozart during tests, claiming it would help us. It would drive me crazy, and I doubt that my grades improved as a result of the distraction. For what it's worth, I have a BMus in Piano Performance. I love music... bu…

When I am doing a task that requires full mental thought, I need silence. However, for more repetitive or mundane tasks, I need music to drown out the various stray thoughts in my head that would otherwise distract me from the task at hand.

For really repetitive thought-free stuff (e.g. mopping a floor), music that I would listen to while just sitting down is fine. For less repetitive stuff, either something with a set pattern (like 8-bar blues) or something I know well enough to "tune out" when I need more focus on the task at hand is better.

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#142

Post by DoofusOfDeath » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 4:56 PM UTC

alecmg wrote: post #131

DoofusOfDeath wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on what my current task is. If it's something tedious, i.e. robotically making some kind of change throughout a code base, then my attention span can handle the additional load and the music may help me not procrastinate. But for anything involving serious thinking, all forms of music I've tried are too much of a distraction. I have ADD, which may be a factor.

Similar for me. Track has to be something very familiar and with a steady rhytm. Task has to be something semi-mechanical, like implementing an idea in code with no additional thinking required. Haven't been diagnosed, but attention span is pretty short.

May want to get evaluated for ADD. My worklife improved greatly once I had a diagnosis, because at least for me there are some meds that truly help.

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#143

Post by apples_oranges » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 4:59 PM UTC

vesinisa wrote: post #109

apples_oranges wrote: post #67

To inspire others who were kids in the 80s/90s: My current favourite programming music is old Commodore Amiga game and demoscene music. (Lots and lots of tunes can be found on Youtube of course.)

Hey! That's absolutely awesome. My current favorite coding music is something similar, a style called "Synthwave / Retrowave" that draws heavily from 80s/90s chiptune music, but made with a bit more modern instruments and techniques. There's tons of hour+ mixes on YouTube. Just a random one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk1nnAHI1mI

Yes, I know Synthwave, and you're right, it's close and also, for me at least, super compatible with programming. Thanks for the link, will check it out. :)

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#144

Post by tomcooks » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 5:00 PM UTC

TheLastMan wrote: post #133

tomcooks wrote: post #20

Nothing better than Gamelan, the album Degung Sabilulungan vol. 2 in particular[0] The repetitive, gentle sounds put me into a high efficiency mode without putting me to sleep like most ambient. [0]: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nrgTossoB0

Oh wow, I didn't think i'd see someone mentioning Gamelan, but while were on the subject, have you tried Geinoh Yamashirogumi? Check this out! Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRQiaRrNbCY

Big fan of their Ukranian folk album "Chi no Hibiki Higashi Yuroppu wo Utau", it's a jewel for programming (apart from THAT track).

It's precisely via Gamelan, which led me to Akira OST gamelan sounds, that I've discovered Geinoh Yamashirogumi (which then led to Muslimgauze, tangentially)

Cheers!

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#145

Post by awalton » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 5:02 PM UTC

Is there a mix among these that isn't so... dark? I tend to go for lighter tone colors/airier ambient works when I want to really engage.

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#146

Post by alfalfasprout » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 5:03 PM UTC

coreyp_1 wrote: post #35

Am I the only person who can't listen to anything while coding? My attention goes straight to the music, and I can't concentrate on the task at hand! When I was in high school, my math teacher would play Mozart during tests, claiming it would help us. It would drive me crazy, and I doubt that my grades improved as a result of the distraction. For what it's worth, I have a BMus in Piano Performance. I love music... bu…

tl;dr you may have ADD

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#147

Post by asaddhamani » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 5:11 PM UTC

pier25 wrote: post #128

Would be great if there were also Spotify playlists. This way you could play/pause from the keyboard, find albums, related artists, skip tracks, etc.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7w33zSxzXN5blasm8mk6cc

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#148

Post by tcoff91 » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 5:12 PM UTC

tombert wrote: post #91

inform880 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would invest in a pair of nice noise canceling headphones. They work wonders for me and are a must have in open offices.

Don't those only really work with low-pitched repetitive background noise? They don't do a lot for people talking. I do have noise canceling headphones and I like them, but they don't really do a lot for people talking.

Get some 3M work tunes headphones. Really cheap and they work much better than active noise canceling headphones.

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#149

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 5:12 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Music for Programming (2011)

#150

Post by imglorp » Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 5:12 PM UTC

plibither8 wrote: post #19

Past submissions: 2018-07-20: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17573053 2016-11-01: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12844434 2012-02-18: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3605957 2012-02-03: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3547694

Every time I feel like writing a "pastbot" I start to think it ought to be part of the site, and then I look up top and see the "past" button! :-) Maybe it should be highlighted and blinking if it's a frequent flyer...