music to think analytically, creatively, and not as much?

[Caneel]

I find that working in a cafe can be great for me when i need to
concentrate on editing a paper, doing busy work, doing linear-thinking,
brainstorming, etc. I think blocking out the noise helps me to turn
off my inner "noise" as well and makes me less distractable. However
it doesn't work as well for long-form thinking like writing a first
draft.

Has anyone got a good recommendation for music and/or noise tracks that
help you
1. think analytically (math, stats, science)
2. creatively - short thought strings, brainstorms, associative
flexibility
3. deeply - writing, problem solving, masterplanning
4. not as much - relaxing, turning off your analytical brain, etc?

I'd expect that different kinds of sounds/music are conducive to each
of these kinds of thought. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[birgit....@gmail.com]

I use Atmosphere Lite from www.relaxingsoftware.com which offers
natural sounds - for free.

When I realize that music distracts me and the noise / voices in my
head get too annoying, this is a great tool for me.

However, their service is absolutely poor! I paid 10 bucks to get
access to the additional sounds via paypal and it took them several
weeks to send me a password and login - which don't work. Since then, I
got no reactions on my e-mails. Anyway, the program is fine!

[Kirk McElhearn]

On Jun 29, 2005, at 6:27 PM, birgit....@gmail.com wrote:

> I use Atmosphere Lite from www.relaxingsoftware.com which offers
> natural sounds - for free.

I open my window to get natural sounds... :-)


Kirk

Read my blog: Kirkville -- http://www.mcelhearn.com
Musings, Opinion and Miscellanea, on Macs, iPods and more
Kirk McElhearn | Chemin de la Lauze | 05600 Guillestre | France

[Justin Lilly]

I personally find that foreign music works well. If you can't
understand the lyrics, it makes it hard to catch yourself listening, I
find. I also have a problem with music being too quiet. When its quiet
I find myself actively trying to hear, whereas if its really loud, it
fades into the background.

-justin

--
Justin Lilly
University of South Carolina

[michell...@gmail.com]

I've always heard that classical (e.g., Bach, Beethoven) were excellent
for studying. The rythm helped you to remember better.

Personally, I find that when I'm doing something less intense I prefer
pop/classic rock/eighties but when I really need to focus, it has to be
classical. And not just any classical (e.g., internet radio classical
is nice, but too much variation), I head for my old favourite - Bach's
Brandenburg Concerto.

[Mike Brown]

There was a nice Naxos CD called "Largo" that had nice
heartbeat-rhythm baroque music.

I tend to prefer baroque and early music that's non-verbal as there
tend to be fewer dynamic changes, so that the volume stays pretty
constant. When I did the National Novel Writing challenge last year, I
created a playlist in Rhapsody (www.listen.com) that was all baroque
(Bach, Vivaldi, Corelli, Telemann, etc) and it became good
wallpaper/background/contemplative music.

YMMV...meb

[Jeffrey Windsor]

I have an iPod playlist specifically for this task. It's music which
occupies my distractable mind (so it will not be distracted by outher
stimuli) but leaves the rest of my mind free to concentrate on the
task at hand. I also like something which provides some sense of
rhythm and motion (musically speaking), so random sounds, like nature
sounds, are out. Finally, I want it to be pleasing aesthetically, so I
can, when I choose to, actively listen as well. So I want it to be
either background or foreground depending on my mood.

My most frequent is minimalist music. Arvo Part is perfect for this;
his Tabula Rasa has helped me produce my finest work. Gorecki is also
excellent. I'm not crazy about Phillip Glass, because he seems to
confuse minimal with repetitious and boring-- but that's just me.

--jw

[Harvey Simmons]

I recently started listening to Ottmar Liebert as a result of subscribing to his podcast, and I find it's excellent music for either background or active listening. Like Jeffrey Windsor, I created a playlist of Ottmar's music and I can use it for multiple purposes depending on the volume.

harvey

[lucas.emery]

Justin Lilly wrote:
> I personally find that foreign music works well. If you can't
> understand the lyrics, it makes it hard to catch yourself listening, I
> find.

I concur. I like to listen to Einsturzende Neubauten while I do my
math homework :)

[birgit....@gmail.com]

@Kirk, lucky you - I live nearby a pretty busy street and have
neighbours playing their music.

[Merlin Mann]

Caneel wrote:
> Has anyone got a good recommendation for music and/or noise tracks that

> help you...

My catchall _focus_ music is a bit cliche, but it works for me: Brian
Eno's "Music for Airports" record requires the exact amount of
engagement I need to get in the zone. Also great for falling asleep and
relaxing on a long flight (my fave is the first track, "1-1".)

Sometimes I have a big "Godspeed You Black Emperor Day"--long droney
guitar and melancholy violins. It's energizing, apocalyptic, and, while
requiring more effort than the Eno record, can be a good band to put on
and leave on when you need to get focused.

I also have a weird thing I do when I need to go "heads down" on a
crunch project. I put on one track or one cd and just let it repeat.
_Completely_ subjectively, these work great for me:

* "Born Slippy" by Underworld
* "Most People are DJs" by the Hold Steady
* "Rest Your Head" by the Wrens
* "Parallel or Together?" by Ted Leo
* "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest

(I like this thread.)

[ehd]

For relaxing I try SonicMood which is a shareware program. At
http://homepage.mac.com/johnrhall/SonicMoodPage.htm. Developer is very
responsive and is constantly improving it.

[LikeSoy]

Have to echo Merlin on the ambient stuff, but here at my day job I have
to block out the repetative bargain-basement classic rock that is piped
overhead.

I've found hardcore dance music (usually the stuff labeled "trance") to
be pretty effective. It really can sometimes get me into a groove that
would be harder to achieve with music I actually enjoy for it's own
sake.

The only non-instrumental music I can get away with are Desert Island
Records that I'm so familiar with that they don't distract.

[ajt]

> My most frequent is minimalist music. Arvo Part is perfect for this;
> his Tabula Rasa has helped me produce my finest work. Gorecki is also
> excellent. I'm not crazy about Phillip Glass, because he seems to
> confuse minimal with repetitious and boring-- but that's just me.

Blimey - I knew that people on this list were people of taste, but I
wasn't expecting to find people discussing Bach and Pårt on here!

Personally, I recommend almost all *instrumental* Bach for
concentration purposes, particularly keyboard collections like the
Goldbergs, or the collection of recorder sonatas (see Michala
Petri/Keith Jarrett's recording that's available on iTunes). Bach's
choral works can be too engaging - I've recently been listening to
Eliot Gardiner's Cantatas Pilgramage CD's, which are stunning, but too
much ; my mind goes to the music, not the task at hand.

Pårt and the like, particularly the choral stuff (e.g. Te Deum), are
very good for relaxing to - something to engage the mind enough to take
it away from the mundane. Try Rubbra's Missa in Honorem Sancti
Dominici, or some Howells, too. Not minimalist, but worth a listen.

You might also try early choral music, e.g. Tallis or Byrd...

[Matt Sweeney]

For mind numbing work, I've got a playlist on my iPod of various
really upbeat J-Pop (Japanese Pop) tunes that I've come across. It
keeps me upbeat and my mind from turning into sludge.

When I find myself working in noisey cube farms and needing to focus,
noise bands are the best for me, early Boredoms, Melt Banana, etc.
Loud enough to drown out outside noise, but chaotic enough to keep me
from getting sucked in.

When I was in college, I found it much easier to write papers
listening to Jazz, esspecially Thelonious Monk.

matt

--
Matt Sweeney
mattws...@gmail.com
http://www.tsuibhne.net/

[Chris Lott]

Good thread-- I didn't know there was anyone else on the planet that
listens to Godspeed You Black Emperor and Brian Eno's Airport Music :)

For concentrating/working I like to listen to classic jazz (30s, 40s)
and I can second the recommendation for instrumental Bach. While
writing I like *real* ambient sounds, which is why I always work at a
busy coffee shop or café...

c
--
Chris Lott

[Anthony Baker]

On Jun 30, 2005, at 4:21 PM, Chris Lott wrote:

>
> Good thread-- I didn't know there was anyone else on the planet that
> listens to Godspeed You Black Emperor and Brian Eno's Airport Music :)

Ah, Brian Eno... brilliant.

Actually, this had me go online to look up some of his music on
iTunes and see what other albums I want to get. He's got a new one
out that was released on the 14th which sounds wonderful: Another Day
on Earth. That'll be the next buy.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?
playlistId=65024420


Also recommend:

* "Heavy Mellow" by Chris Coco

* "Pi" the Motion Picture Soundtrack

* Listen to the Blue Room (Saturday and Sunday) on the BBC.
Go online to BBC Radio One to Listen Again to it anytime
on Real Audio. Great stuff for the late night/early morn.

* "Everything, Everything" by Underworld. Their live album.

* "Morning Becomes Eclectic" on KCRW. Go to their website
for the latest shows. Wonderful music to geek to. Never
heard the show until I read the NY Times magazine article
on the show. Now listen every day.


Cheers,

Anthony

[Stephen Pitts]

> I've found hardcore dance music (usually the stuff labeled "trance") to
> be pretty effective. It really can sometimes get me into a groove that
> would be harder to achieve with music I actually enjoy for it's own
> sake.

I like that stuff too, especially for math/programming projects and when
you have to pull long stretches. See http://www.digitallyimported.com/
for some cool Internet radio stations. I think there's a subscription
service, but I've been happy with the free streams, e.g. "chillout",
"eurodance", or "psy/trance" under the Listen Now button.

Stephen

[LikeSoy]

As a side note, if I'm a bit frustrated with my boss/client, and using
that frustration as fuel (not very sustainable, but that's another
post) I invariably load up a heaping plate of Nine Inch Nails.

- Mike

[pattyf68]

For music to help focus and concentrate with, I use the CD's &
cassettes from Brain Sync. It really helps with the concentration when
there is a project I need to buckle down and focus on and sometimes I
use it first thing in the morning to get going. They also have
relaxation and meditation, along with other different music. For
someone listening to it at the ver beginning, it sounds kind of weird,
but it really does help.

[John Kelly]

> 1. think analytically (math, stats, science)
> 2. creatively - short thought strings, brainstorms, associative
> flexibility
> 3. deeply - writing, problem solving, masterplanning
> 4. not as much - relaxing, turning off your analytical brain, etc?
>
> I'd expect that different kinds of sounds/music are conducive to each
> of these kinds of thought. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I've been a huge fan of minimalism since my teens, but have only
recently discovered how much better my focus is when I have some on in
the background. A broad description of minimalism would say that it's
uncomplicated, generally electronic music based around repeating
patterns. Personally speaking, the 'conscious' side of my brain works a
whole lot better when my subconscious is dedicating itself to
unravelling these patterns.

Good places to start include:
* Philip Glass - anything, but especially Koyaanisqatsi (also one of the
most amazing movies ever made, and well worth checking out in its own right)
* Steve Reich - Different Trains
* Terry Riley - Rainbow in Curved Air (1968 electronica album, sounds a
little like Boards of Canada)

jk

[Jonathan]

Interesting how similar the musics chosen have been. Some other
possibilities:
For the masking background: I like classical and minimalist stuff and
am particularly partial to a CD of gregorian chant that I got from a
classical music club - since it was designed as meditational music, it
works well. Another possibility is 9 beat stretch - Bethoven's 9th
time-stretched to 24 hours.
http://www.notam02.no/9/

On the creative front I listen to a lot of downtempo and acid jazz -
good streaming mp3 stations with each can be found at
http://shoutcast.com/. Kraftwerk and Gipsy Kings as well.

I tend towards pop-industial when I need to go head first into
something - the first 9 inch nails CD, ministry. The Neubaten is too
dischordic and is distracting.

[ell...@gmail.com]

If you guys are into godspeed you! black emperor, you might also dig
Fly Pan Am and Do Make Say Think, also on CST records. Other good ones
include A Silver Mt Zion, Below the Sea, and my favourite boys from
Austin, Explosions in the Sky (I love my 'post rock' yes I do) Oh, and
The Arcade Fire. Along with episodes of WeFunk
(http://wefunkradio.com), a couple of James Brown and Otis Redding
greatest hits albums, and a small selection of screaming thrashing
punk, that pretty much encompasses most work situations for me.

[Rob]

I'm with Merlin on the repeating track/CD - I've used Paul Simon's
'Rhythm of the Saints' album on repeat for years as my
drop-into-work-mode cue. I'm much more focussed with it playing.

The only problem is that I'm less happy listening to it outside of the
work environment, as I can't un-associate it with repeating background
music.

Rob.

[Ethan Kaplan]

My music:

1) brian eno - ambient 1 (airports), 4 (land) and Apollo atmospheres
2) kraftwerk - autobahn
3) Japancakes - great instrumental bliss-out band from Athens, GA
4) Sigur Ros - ( ) and Von
5) Godspeed You Black Emperor - Good for the trip-to-Australia coding/
writing binges

On the opposite end are my "work like a monkey" mixes. These are
meant for me to NOT relax

1) New Pornographers/A.C. Newman - bouncy enough to keep me moving
2) Oingo Boingo

Those two are working well at the moment :)

[brian pink]

> 1. think analytically (math, stats, science)

where's the IDM crew on this thing? I like aphex/autechre for this
stuff. fast. intellectually stimulating. the rapid erratic beats help
trigger odd pattern matches in my head.

> 2. creatively - short thought strings, brainstorms, associative
> flexibility

phish, the dead, or... coltrane. something with some space and
exploration.

> 3. deeply - writing, problem solving, masterplanning

doesn't matter what, just something i know by heart. acts as a sound
barrier.

> 4. not as much - relaxing, turning off your analytical brain, etc?

someone mentioned keith jarrett, i love his stuff. or old electric
blues, or dub reggae from the 70's. and a brew in hand of course.

hope i'm not too late on this thread, i love this stuff, but i'm
definitely behind on my email... =)

- brian

[Stephen Pitts]

> Good places to start include:
> * Philip Glass - anything, but especially Koyaanisqatsi (also one of the
> most amazing movies ever made, and well worth checking out in its own
> right)

Kudos for spelling Koyaanisqatsi correctly. I looked at it and was
reminded of the K-Pax soundtrack, which also has good ambient music.
Movie soundtracks in general work well for me as long as there are no
voices: for example Gladiator or Peter Gabriel's Passion.

Stephen

[Chris Lott]

And don't discount the power of association. There are certain CDs
which-- for reasons of often complete serendipity-- have become
associated in my mind with really getting some kinds of work done. If
I have a programming task that I'm behind on or putting off, I can
always whip out the old Wallflowers CD "Bringing Down the Horse" which
was played incessantly (not by me) during perhaps the worst and
longest coding binge I've ever had to take part in. Now it's like a
secret weapon that I don't bring out too often. Once created, these
associations can be very powerful in the same way manipulating other
aspects of our physical environment can be, from smells and
arrangement of furniture to the hot mug of new coffee...

c

[Jay Goodman Tamboli]

On 2005.07.01, at 03:21, Stephen Pitts wrote:
> I like that stuff too, especially for math/programming projects and
> when you have to pull long stretches. See http://
> www.digitallyimported.com/ for some cool Internet radio stations. I
> think there's a subscription service, but I've been happy with the
> free streams, e.g. "chillout", "eurodance", or "psy/trance" under
> the Listen Now button.

I also listen to DI when working, though personally I get annoyed by
the lower-bitrate versions, so I pay.

Though I really like the music itself, I think one of the factors
that makes it great for working is that I can't control it. Whenever
I'm listening to music I have on my hard drive or similar, I'm
constantly skipping tracks or fiddling with the selections. With
radio, be it online or otherwise, I have no control, so I don't worry
about it.

/jgt

[Steve Lawson]

Ditto on Merlin's penchant for hitting the "repeat" button. Mine has
been The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, sometimes
switched out for the Kleptones' mash-up version, Yoshimi Battles the
Hip-Hop Robots (torrent online at
http://www.kleptones.com/pages/yhh.html )

[Matt Sweeney]

Regarding the references to Godspeed You Black Emporer and A Silver Mount Zion.

The Internet Archive's live section has a collection of shows from
both bands, amoung others.

http://www.archive.org/audio/

Matt

[Simon]

For large writing assignments on short deadlines., I heartily
recommend and use baroque & chamber music, including Bach. I find
there is something about this music's inherently "ordered" quality &
elegance is perfect for both focussing concentration and suppressing
distractive urges. Haydn, handel, Bach, especaily played by Early
Orchetras

I find Eno's music more meditative and contemplative, that it is,
useful for slow brainstorming than for demolishing large tasks.

[Sarah]

I love the amount of consensus in this thread!

For my part, I find that physically bobbing or tapping along to music
helps me focus. (Similar to people who like to work standing up? I like
to work while rocking out.)

For analytical and deep focus, I get a lot of use out of my "work beep
beep" IDM playlist and some bossa nova. I think it's the combination of
relaxed mood and fairly energetic beats that keeps my monkeybrain
clear.

In emergencies, I pull out Led Zeppelin II. Mostly out of habit now,
riffs get me in the mood to save the day in stupid situations.
(Zeppelin as a superhero soundtrack makes me laugh, which is probably
half the reason it helps.)

I listen to classical either when things are going well and I want to
celebrate with high art (Bring on the Part! What a funny convergence!),
or when I have an uninspiring project and need to feel connected to
something more inspiring (in which case I go gentle, Bach cello suites
or something).

[Thibaut]

Musork !

It's been like that since highschool, used to upset my parents, and is
still strange to me but my thinking flow is like a highway when I
listen to some heavy/noisy music like Deftones White Pony, Shellac's
Terraform or System of a Down's eponym album. It all started with My
Bloody Valentine's Loveless... beauuudaful. I never met anybody who had
the same habits when need to focus : anybody else here ?
But I also very much enjoy Eno's Apollo Atmospheres, some bleep music
like Sogar or Vladislav Delay (this is more like avant garde
electronica, quite abstract, does the job but less accessible), Tone
Rec and Autechre. In another hand, early music is fantastic too :
Monteverdi, Perotin or Hildegard von Bingen.

To get the perfect effect, I use a pair of very nice headphones
(Sennheiser semi opened). Really good to be immersed into the music,
and to avoid annoyance towards colleagues or friends around.

t

[tuqqer]

Good question. I've tried all sorts of music, and I rarely am able to
find any musical tune that I can truly concentrate with. In the end, I
always listen to nature sounds. I picked up the 30-minute long "3D
Thunderstorm Environment" from iTunes a few months ago, and it's still
the piece I return to over and over when doing DreamWeaver work, book
writing, etc.

[Kendall Sutton]

Personally, I live off of pop music (FischerSpooner's Odyssey is my
current favourite) as well as 'ambient' music such as Boards of Canada.
Stuff like that, especially when I feel it moving through me, gives me
a huge boost.

[Eddie]

Caneel wrote:
> I'd expect that different kinds of sounds/music are conducive to each
> of these kinds of thought. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

You will read my thoughts :-)

I've read many interesting replies, and mine is quite different.
A long time ago a friend invited me over to his place to listen to
music. After he explained some of the equipment he was using, he
proceeded to put on some music. After that he did not say a word for
the next 40 minutes! He was actually listening to the music. I was
actually getting bored.

Another friend gave me 10 or 12 CDs, mostly Jazz. I told him I would
give them back, and he said that it was not necessary, since he had
already listened to them. I guess for him it was like reading a book or
watching a movie, and he was already familiar with the "story." He put
on some music, and proceeded to explain what was going on, and pointed
out different things each instrument was doing. He was familiar with
each of the instruments and everything they did within a song! He
actively listened to the music.

As I'm typing this I'm "listening" to The Blind Boys of Alabama (Get
the Blues 2). So I'm guilty of not really listening to the music. I'm
trying to incorporate more mindfulness into my life, and one of the
things I'm doing includes removing my habit of having background music
and/or doing many things at once (e.g., writing and listening to music,
watching TV and practicing guitar, etc.). If I'm going to work on
something (currently it's mainly my dissertation), I'll focus on that.
If I want to listen to music, I'll focus on listening. It's been very
difficult, and highly rewarding. It's like I'm listening for the first
time, with a more enhanced level of awareness. I'm also more productive
and my focus on whatever I'm doing is stronger.

I have to mention my bias, since I'm also a "musician" (or at least
I've been in the process of becoming one for the past 20 years or so)
:-)

For anyone interested, here's a fascinating article on listening to
music these days:
http://industryclick.com/magazinearticle.asp?magazinearticleid=222139&magazineid=141&siteID=15&releaseid=13220&mode=print

[awh...@gmail.com]

I'm way too late on this one, but I just bought the soundtracks for the
Myst games from AllOfMP3.com. While I don't think I'd ever sit there
and listen to them, I found them fantastic to work too.

If I need to be in a kicky mood, I like to listen to bassdrive.com, but
that may not appeal to all types.

The music on Soma.FM is excellent for working, too, and I like
listening to deep house or vocals-free UK garage whenever I can find
it. I find that mixed and beat-matched music is far less distracting
than most anything else.

When I'm very stressed out, I like to listen to the lovely classical
selections on Magnatune.com.

a.

[Edward Vielmetti]

I'm too late too.

There's a reading of a Malcolm Gladwell piece on Assistive Media
called "The Social Life of Paper" - it's been a really good piece
to listen to while doing paperwork. Originally from the New Yorker.

http://vielmetti.typepad.com/assistivemedia/2005/07/malcolm_gladwel.html

Ed

--
Edward Vielmetti in Ann Arbor, MI 48104
+1 734 276 5910
skype, AIM: edwardvielmetti

edward.v...@gmail.com
http://vielmetti.typepad.com

[Chris Lott]

Incidentally, if you enjoy that article you should check out "the
Social Life of Information" by John Seely Brown-- the connections are
obvious :)

c

--
Chris Lott