Coding with Music

Stuart Dootson

VectorX wrote:

How many people listen to music while they program?

Yes

VectorX wrote:

Does it make you more productive?

Yes - probably because it blocks the outside world. When I'm listening to music, I tend to be listening to the music, not the lyrics. The music doesn't appear to impair my cognitive processes, whereas other people talking around me certainly does that.

Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p

Shog9 0

Music tends to make me too focused. It's good when i have a complete understanding of the problem and just need to buckle down and write the code to handle it... But when i'm researching a problem, i need a few distractions to keep me from spending too much time going down dead ends.

Dan Neely

Yes and yes. Mostly as background noise to block out office chatter/traffic/etc. I'm rarely conscious of what I'm listening to though.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains. -- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Jerry Hammond

Yes. Not sure, but it sure does make coding more pleasant.

The world is a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. —Sean O’Casey, Playwright

Jim Crafton

Ah well, it was just an outside chance! :)

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Douglas Troy

Christopher Duncan wrote:

NEDZ NEW OWNER! PLZ! SOMEBODY GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!

Well, that would explain some of the posts I've seen at that Rent-A-Coder website.

:..::. Douglas H. Troy ::..
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Miszou

Wags wrote:

I find that familiar music with a fast beat (e.g. techno) is best when I'm in the zone.

QFT. When I really want to get something done, I'll tune in to the Eurodance channel on di.fm[^] and almost instantly fall into the 'zone'. The music is about as cheesy as it gets and people just can't understand why I listen to it at all! However, it's so fast, high energy, happy, air-headed, shallow and feel-good that it just seems to drive me to type faster, without actually being distracting. I once worked in an office where headphones were banned, and it was probably the least productive year of my life.

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Miszou

Yes and Yes. Working without music is about the least productive thing I can do. But switch on some ridiculously cheesy high-energy Eurodance from di.fm[^] and I'll just fall right into the 'zone' and productivity will soar. The music is so hypnotic, happy, and full of energy that you just can't help but do *something*! :cool:

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Christian Graus

I have a pile of new CDs by my PC that I am working through. I don't think it makes me MORE productive, but it doesn't make me LESS productive, and it makes me happy.

Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Please read this[^] if you don't like the answer I gave to your question. "! i don't exactly like or do programming and it only gives me a headache." - spotted in VB forums.

daniilzol

Depends. If I'm doing serious coding, then I absolutely cannot use music because it is too distracting. However, listening to some light tracks really helps with boredom when doing some mundane stuff.

Mustafa Ismail Mustafa

CP is my ultimate concentration breaker, not music :)

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Lutoslaw

I do listen to music while coding and I don't care if it makes me more or less productive. :rolleyes: Good radios: Radio Jazz - a polish radio with an excellent music. Open Fm Jazz - a polish radio with a very good music. Dinner Jazz Excursion - a radio with an acceptable, not distracting music. Last FM was good as long as it was free (now it costs 3€ per month[^] :(().

Greetings - Jacek Gajek

ian dennis 0

Why did you provide a link to rain? Surely we all know it's that wet stuff outside! :)

ian dennis 0

I listen to noise, like the Swingle Singers. Drowns out the office gossip. But for doing the housework, there's nothing quite like Bach's Toccata and Fugue. And Chopin's nocturne in E flat major for studying.

Lost User

Wet stuff outside? Then what is that wet stuff coming out of that tap? :confused: Oh I remember, that's beer :)

Todd Smith

I can listen to music without actually focusing on the music. Isn't classical music supposed to stimulate the brain more? Not all programming requires concentration. A lot of it is grunt work which is made less boring with some good music.

Todd Smith

John M Drescher

Since I have started buying mp3s early this year I have been coding most of the time with a constant stream of music. I have also ripped a few cds I had bought in the 90s. Before this at work I had a radio connected to my line in of my desktop so that I could click off the volume when the commercials started but that became too much of a hassle. I have no idea why most radio adds are very annoying and also at a louder volume than any song that is played on the station. I guess they assume that most will not mute them or switch station... Anyways the music relaxes me and makes me more productive. Although if I need to think about a design I sometimes turn it off for a few minutes.

John

Michael Dunn

I've tried having music or podcasts or talk radio going while coding, and it doesn't help me code at all. The background noise in the office isn't distracting so I don't need to have something playing.

--Mike--

Xmen Real

I can't code until I got headphones in my ears...as fast as music increases the finger speed get speed up. In Maths, music directly proportional to finger speed.

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dazfuller

All the time, but the type of music depends on what I'm doing. Ambient/Soft Rock if I'm thinking about a problem and faster Metal/Rock if I'm coding. Not listening to music drives me nuts and I can't get a good days work done without it, the noises of the office are just to dull and uninspiring!