Writing to Music

[Tessar]

I can only assume I'm not the only one who does it, but who else likes to listen to music while writing?

I know that for 'The Good Spirit's Music' I found one song and listened to it over and over and over as I wrote.

I'm also writing a Star Wars story and I'm listening to music while I do that.

So just how common is it? And do you like to listen to several bits (i.e. maybe a certain favorite cd) or just one song?

[frodosgirlfriend]

I have a playlist on my computer that a listen too when ever I'm writing. When I write the story of Serj I listen to a gorilaz song called sound check, Sytem of a down's spiders, perfect circle's thinking of you and sleeping beauty, and staind's Raw. When i write fantasy, I listen to smoother things, like cold play or I listen to classicle.

[Tanoliel]

I listen to music a lot while I'm writing...usually because I write in my room, which is the basement, which is quiet and cold and lonely, so music cheers it up.
Mostly I go for...well, actually, everything. Beatles, CSNY, Musicals, oh, and the soundtrack to Chocolat. Anyone else heard that? Very good writing music. :)

tano

[IronParrot]

I listen to whatever's appropriate to what I'm writing. In the case of my (currently on hold) detective story, for example, I put on a lot of '40s swing... it will be especially helpful when I get to the jazz club scene, if I ever make it that far. :)

[galadriel]

Oh, goodie... I'm not the only psycho who listens to "mood music" while writing! Sarah McLachlan and Tori Amos when writing angst... Nirvana for "loud", fast-paced scenes.... Music does become a bit distracting when I'm trying to write poetry, though. The rhythm of what I'm writing ends up mimicking the song! :p

[Tanoliel]

I'm in a playwriting class, and I'm working on a short play in Shakespearian-like verse. Only I was writing while listening to music with words and I had to turn it off because I kept getting mixed up....eeegh.

tano

[Dreran the Green]

When I'm revising my story (Argh! I hate revising! And I still have so much to do! I'm changing the title to Dreran's Bane!) I play a bunch of music, nothing in particular, I just put something on and what I write tends to flow with the mood of the song. I can only write when listening to music or having a strong emotion about something.

[Ulfethenar]

I haven't written very much as of late I am sad to say. But when i do write i tend to listen to metal, that being the main form of music i listen to MOST of the time anyway. I do vary the type of metal i listen to though, generally i find the epic sound and often fantasy based lyrics of power or progressive metal to be great when writting fantasy. I also listen to alot of doom metal when i'm writting poetry which tends often to have a dark slant to it anyway since I mainly seem to engauge in that when I feel depressed.

[Valaróma]

I listen to music while writing my really bad poems!
I don't usually listen to music that I really like, just music thats in the right mood and giving my insperation like well, FotR soundtrack I guess!
:D

[Willow Oran]

I listen to music a lot when I'm writing. I usually either listen to classical or soundtracks both to movies and old musicals, or whatever else I'm in the mood for. Sometimes it has some odd effects... especially lately when I've been writing fantasy and listening to Irish drinking songs, some rather odd characters popped into the story during that...

[Tanoliel]

What, like Ignatius Bob? :D

Waaa...mood music. The soundtrack to Chocolat (the one with Johnny Depp, not the other movie) is a beautiful set of music....loverly.

[Willow Oran]

Worse, his grandmother. Ignatius popped up while designing a drawing of the random non prongish bat character requested by eruviel.

[M. Brandsdal]

I'm guessing by the previous post about music and writing, that some of you have a list of favourite tracks, of what ever gener, playing while you write..

I'm looking for some music, titles.. anyone got any tips?

[Arat-Falathion]

Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard, Enya, general power orchestral music, film-music, some game-music, etc etc etc...

Just try and look around Martin ;)

[Tessar]

Oh wow... I got Enya's 'The Celts' for my birthday... and I am in awe...

That CD is now my #1 cd for drawing to, writing poems to, and doing schoolwork to. Plus I listen to it when I'm trying to fall asleep.

I love that cd... It already has a discolored line around it from all the playing.

[Earniel]

Oh that's a great CD! I often put it on when drawing.

[Tanoliel]

Enya has good CDs for writing, etc. Loreena McKennitt's music is similarly good for that...

[galadriel]

Mellow music is good. I listen to Enya, Loreena McKennitt, Tori Amos... Coldplay... U2... and a lot of classical.

[hectorberlioz]

my best writing skills are brought out while listening to music.
I'll listen to mozart especcially. anything classical.

[Arat-Falathion]

May I add this incredible peace of music. Created by Matthias Günthert, using the Vienna Symphonic Library (http://www.vsl.co.at) (VSL), for a musical called Lord of Ireland (http://www.lord-of-ireland.com./)

Here is the song (It is a free demo from the VSL page)
Ready to Fight (http://vsl.co.at/downloader.pl/sounds/MG_Ready_to_fight.mp3)

It is perfect to write music to.