Writing With Music

[BellaLestrange87]

I'm curious about this. How many people write with music playing? If you do, why, and what kind of music do you listen to? If you don't, why not?

 

Personally, I listen to music when I'm writing to drown out background noise (people talking and stuff like that). I listen mainly to instrumental music - whether classical music or movie soundtracks - and I simply pull up a playlist from the 8tracks app. It has to be instrumental because otherwise I get distracted by the lyrics.  :

 

What does everyone else do?

[MegGonagall]

I'm the same way, for the most part. I almost have to have music playing while I write, or I can't write. I think because music was and is such a huge part of my life since I was in the womb. There's something about having music playing that makes me feel creative.

 

What I listen to varies. Sometimes I'll throw on something mellow and chill. Like I listen to a lot of Radiohead when I write. Typically Kid A, In Rainbows or their new album A Moon Shaped Pool. Shatter Me by Lindsey Stirling is another album that I write to often. Then other times I'll listen to instrumental stuff, more along the lines of electronica/house and stuff like that. 

 

I agree about being distracted by lyrics. If I put on music that I listen to a lot, or know all the words to and tend to sing, I won't concentrate on writing. Only exception being Radiohead, for whatever reason.

[Guest pookha]

I almost always write to music.  I don't tend to be distracted by lyrics, so I can play anything we have from Celtic, New Age, to hardcore and thrash metal. Currently, Rush is playing, but I've written stories while Placebo ('Taste in Men'), Loreena McKennitt, Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, the Chieftains, and many others.  I have to have some noise going or it's too quiet for me.

[ImaRavenclaw]

I almost always have music! Some songs have lyrics, and some don't. Some are classical pieces too! Sometimes when I'm writing a particular story, I'll have a playlist for it. Music that makes me think "this story!", and then I'll have a completely different playlist for other stories.

 

I also have a playlist on I Tunes of music codes. Like, songs 1-5 are really good for writing passionate makeout scenes, songs 5-24 are perfect for writing scenes that are about moving out, songs 24-27 are great for flashbacks and nostalgia, remembering life moments. Etc.

 

 

[ichigopan]

Writing or drawing with music's always been a must for me and my range of music is quite eclectic, to say the least.

 

Some of it are gaming soundtracks ("Journey," FF series and most recently, "Kingdom Hearts"), Argentinian tango music (love me some Gotan Project), J-Rock (LUNA SEA, Nightmare, GLAY, ONE OK ROCK, Asian Kung-fu Generation, etc.), anime OSTs ("Ristorante Paradiso", "ORANGE", "Samurai Champloo", "Cowboy Bebop", etc.), Coldplay, Radiohead, Fall Out Boy, Blind Pilot, GUTS, Nujabes, Lovedrug, Quantic, Good Tiger...

 

And depending on what I want to write, I'll put on a specific artist or a song to get the creative juices flowin'.

[Alexis Black]

Depending on the story, my music playlist changes. For my dark/horror story, the playlist included soundtracks from the movies Silent Hill, The Thing, Halloween, Sleepy Hollow, and Amityville Horror.

 

For my Muggle werewolf tale, the music leaned towards country songs like Me and Charlie Talking and Brass Bed, along with the occasional play of Wolf Girl from the movie Blood & Chocolate.

 

My ongoing re-write of an old WIP mixes classic rock with movie, tv and game soundtracks. It has selections from bands like Van Halen, Aerosmith, and Journey along with tracks from Tristan and Isolde, Chronicles of Narnia, Superman Returns, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Outlander.

 

Of course, various tracks from the HP films got thrown into each of three sets, depending on the scene.

[Nhaz]

Classical music helps me concentrate, but modern orchestral soundtracks are another story. They're one of my main sources of inspiration. Sometimes it even happens that I'm listening to a piece (often the Transformers score, oddly enough) and a scene just floods my head that fits super well into my fic. I mostly imagine colours, lights and camera angles first, and the mood of the scene. Dialogue usually comes separately. And at times I get afraid that it's becoming too Michael Bay-ish, so the time comes to stop the music and write some quiet dialogue or a philosophical bit.

 

Rammstein helps me with Snape and Voldemort scenes, though.

[Phoenix_Flames]

I tend to write with music playing in the background--nothing with lyrics and never with the volume too loud, but I find that it helps me concentrate and helps get my muse going. Sometimes I just have a very difficult time getting into the groove of something, but I can turn on a movie score, and that generally gets the juices flowing. Anything Hans Zimmer or Steve Jablonsky.

 

Sometimes I will even pair scenes with music. I've done this with a few of my chapters on HPFF--mostly the climax chapters, but I will envision the scene going down a certain way, and while I am creating that scene in my mind (before I even start writing it), I see it and know how I want it to go down play-by-play, and sometimes music is the key to helping me figure out the tone of how I want to write it and how I want the scene to feel. Then, because I of course used that song as the baseline for how I wanted the scene to feel, that song tends to flow really well playing in the background while reading the finish product. So sometimes, in my stories, I'll drop in an author's note and say "If you want to read this to accompanying music, play this song at the cue in the chapter." Then readers can choose to listen if they want to or not.

 

For me, reading and writing pair wonderfully with music, and music is my inspiration for a lot of things.

[Beylah_obscurus]

Typically, I write with music.

 

I especially like musical scores, classical, or piano. It helps get me into the mood of writing. I don't necessarily pair the mood of the music with the tone of the chapter though. I feel like that may help me get into writing, but I think I just like the background noise when I write. I will listen to lyrical music as well on occasion.

 

There is also specific music that just reminds me of Harry Potter (when I write fanfic anyway) that I will revert to when I begin writing.

[Lostmyheart]

I find it very hard to write WITHOUT music playing in my ears. Many of my stories are inspired by songlyrics or what feeling the song has. If I'm writing a dark story, I tend to listen to song that are slow and/or has a singer with a 'dark' voice. If I'm writing a romantic story, I tend to listen to really happy and upbeat songs, it really affects my mood and my writing

[Jo Raskoph]

I typically write with music. Only sometimes without if it's been a busy day and I need to calm down some before I can concentrate on writing.

I usually listen to pop and I write best to an endless repeat of the same song (until I'm getting sick of it, which can take a while) – the repetition of lyrics and beat over and over works like white noise but with a mood

[PinsandKneazles]

I struggle to concentrate on writing if I have music on (I randomly burst into song and forget my words), but if I want inspiration for a particular chapter or scene, I'll listen to appropriate pieces - pop/classical/whales/whatever - before I start to write to get me in the mood

[lovegood27]

I don't write with music because it distracts me too easily, whether it's pop or classical. For me it's not that necessary to listen to music when writing. When I write, it's like when I'm reading, I just get so absorbed into the writing I drown out all the other sounds around me

[LooneyLizzie]

I write with instrumental music -- preferably jazz. Then I'll go to a site that just plays the sound of a rainstorm... then I'll add a crackling fireplace. For some reason I find that combo really relaxing.

 

But if whatever I'm writing is inspired by a specific song, then I'll listen to it on repeat as I write.

 

Which has the downside of making that song kind of annoying after a while.

 

Guess there's a reason why songs only inspire short one-shots for me.

[hedwig1751]

Sometimes music that I listen to (Les Mis on repeat ) distracts me from the fic I'm writing since I tend to burst into song unexpectedly and have deep thoughts about the lyrics...unhealthy obsession, much? but other times, it doesn't. Songs from movies or muscials  distract me more than classical pieces when I'm writing, but I tend to write and play more classical music than listening to it while writing

[nott theodore]

I don't have to write with music - if I get really into a story, I can write just as well without it - but I find that music in the background tends to help me focus better on the story.  If I just want some background noise, then I'll put on classical or instrumental playlists and write to those.  Music can be really helpful for getting me into the right mindset to work on a particular story, though - there are certain songs that I'll listen to and they'll remind me of a character or story, so I listen to those when I write.  At other times I just have albums or playlists that I'll put on if I want to get into the mood to write a particularly genre (usually angst :P).  Lyrics don't usually bother me - in fact, I think they can be helpful sometimes, especially if the lyrics themselves are related to the mood/character you're writing.

[lostinthelightss]

I think it really depends on the song and the story. If the vibe of the song doesn't correlate with the story, I can't have it on. Songs really affect my state of mind, so if I'm writing a sad story, I really need sad music and vice versa. Lyrics don't really matter because all my songs have to have lyrics in them unless they're on my study playlist.

I also write a lot of song-fics, so when I'm writing those I will listen to the song on repeat until I'm done the fic. It sometimes gets a bit monotonous so I'll pause the song, but during the writing of those song-fics I have to have either silence or that specific song. Really helps to get into the mindset by using those specific songs!

[shadowycorner]

This works so well when I find the right song! But it's also tricky, because sometimes that right song just doesn't exist or I can't find it or something and I try to play all sorts of music, but it doesn't match the mood or the story, and it ends up bothering me quite a bit :D

But once I find the right artist or music, it magically fits, even the lyrics suddenly and as if by coincidence fit the story sometimes, which is neat, and makes me write more. The thing is, I tend to overplay the same songs a lot during the writing process, because me squeezing a paragraph out of me sometimes takes longer than the duration of a whole album, and there's a danger of just over-exposure. Like, most recently I've listened to Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac SO MUCH during writing one chapter, i kinda had to take an absolute break from that song. I still <3 it though.

But, there are occasions when I write in complete silence, too. At least there's no crying :D

[queenonyx]

I listen to a variety of songs when I need to focus on writing. Mostly to drown out the noises going on around me or I give up because the other person in the room is making too much noise and when I ask him not to make so much noise I get an attitude. It just depends on the mood I am in and whether I have the patience to fight for what I need or not.

[GotNoJamsss]

I have to have some sort of noise going when I write otherwise I get stuck in my head about things. Usually it's music, but sometimes it's a musical [read: Hadestown] or even a tv show/movie if it's on brand with the mood of what I'm writing. 
I also have a habit of making playlists for characters or ships/pairings. They're both a way to procrastinate writing  and a helpful investigation into who my characters are before and while I write. 
I also just remembered what it was like before the pandemic and that coffee shops exist. That used to be my jam. I had to have some kind of music on if I was writing at a coffee shop because otherwise people watching is so appealing and so distracting.