Music for Coding
I get distracted very easily. Sometimes while I’m coding, precious focus drifts away from the problem I’m trying to solve and the tenuous connection between my hands and brain gets severed. It can be as difficult to quiet the mind as it is to silence the outside world. Filling your ears with music or even ambient noise can be a really effective way to drown out the chaos of the outside world and allow you to focus more fully on your work. What you fill your ears with can have the inverse effect as well, the sword cuts both ways. I have trouble focusing on my code if I listen to anything with lyrics. I find my mind trying to follow them and make connections with lyrics, maybe searching for the rhyme scheme or analyzing for double entendres; instead of focusing on what I’m writing. I figured since I struggle with this maybe some other people do too, so I’m going to give you my personal recommendations (aren’t you lucky).
Zen Mode
There are a lot of nature and ambient noise options to help you drown out the hustle and bustle of life and let you focus on your code. Most of them incorporate subtle instrumentation and the sounds of nature, which a lot of the time mean water. This can be nice because waterfalls and rain are constant sources of white noise where your mind can’t really grab onto a single part. The only down side, if you’re like me, is that all the water sounds will have you visiting the bathroom more frequently. Then again you could be reading this in the bathroom right now, in which case you’re one step ahead.
Movie Soundtracks
A lot of movies have really amazing and moving soundtracks with no lyrics, perfect for focusing. You can go old school western with Ennio Morricone. ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ will make you feel like the hero of your own story. If westerns aren’t your style you could go for something more nostalgic to your youth like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and of course John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra’s Star Wars soundtrack. A personal favorite of mine is a collection of music from some Studio Ghibli movies. They’re relaxing and whimsical and best of all no lyrics. I recommend steering clear of the classic Disney animated movie soundtracks. As much as I love to sing ‘I’ll Make A Man Out Of You,’ it can easily turn into a sing along when we should be focused on coding.
Video Game Soundtracks
Much like the soundtracks to your favorite movies a lot of games have great atmospheric music with no lyrics. The Zelda games have some great soundtracks packed with nostalgia. Whether you prefer Pokemon , Halo, Final Fantasy, Persona 5 or Shovel Knight there’s a soundtrack for you. There are some piano covers to the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker that I really like. My absolute favorite is the Undertale 5th Anniversary Concert. It’s the Undertale soundtrack, which by itself is amazing, Arranged and performed by MUSIC Engine, a Japanese performance group. ‘YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE’ can be a little jarring with the laughs but everything else is amazing. Know that I may one day listen to ‘ASGORE’ again fills me with determination.
Lo Fi
When Lofi first first popped onto the scene I rolled my eyes. I thought it was boring and sparse. The new trend followed only by the vapid youth. Then I realized that I was thinking about it like a total boring grouch. I revisited it and added it to my life as a valuable coding partner. It’s very mellow, has a good rhythm, and it’s perfect for getting in the zone while still being able to vibe out and be productive. Spotify has a really great playlist that I love called Focus Flow. Another bonus that goes with the previous suggestion is lofi video game remixes.
I don’t feel comfortable recommending any classical music simply because of my lack of knowledge on the subject, not that I don’t think it can be great for coding. There’s also some different styles of jazz that would also probably be very effective. Again my lack of experience with that genre is the only thing keeping me from recommending it. If you have any recommendations feel free to leave a comment, I’m always looking for new music to code to.
