Best Type of Music to Write To

I am more of an indie alternative and alternative rock kinda girl.

Instrumental so I don't sing along instead of writing buuuuuuuuuuut it also can't be a piece I'm tooooo attached to or I'll stop writing to listen.

i usually don't listen to any music when writing, i get distracted, but when i do it's Americana. The sound and the lyrics are oftentimes so compelling and intricate i feel inspired to write.

Where's the heavy metal option?!
Heavy metal, or fun pop music, but classic rock too.

I love to listen to classical piano music as I write. My favorite piece has got to be Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2. Sometimes I try to to match the notes and rhythm to the amount of letters I type. I have a lot of fun at the end when it starts to speed up a bit.

I tend to listen to either classical or rock music when I write, depending on what mood I want the scene to be.

Why is there no folk or bluegrass option. There should be a folk or bluegrass option. Y'all dun goofed.

@Kyllorac gave me the weirdest advice a few years ago.

He said that when listening to something lyrical is should be something that contradicts the mood of scene you're writing. Because sometimes you might feel like the scene is conveying the right emotions but it's probably because of the feels you're getting from the music, but if you listen to something that contradicts the mood then you can avoid tricking yourself.

I tried it and it had some awesome effects on my writing. I found, oddly enough, it helped to make my characters and their emotions more realistic, I guess because I had to find reasons for them to occur and to focus on them.

So now sometimes I revert to stuff that has strong lyrics just for that.

I listen to classical music or music without lyrics. I think it's better to not be distracted by what you're listening to and to focus on what you are writing.

I have the game music from dragon age playing in the background most of the time.

I selected 'Other'. I personally enjoy listening to metal, rock, or rock-ish folk but with the clause that it be in a language I dont speak. For example two of my favorites to write to are Oomph!(Deutsch) and Valravn(Dansk). This way I have the music and even the vocals to help keep the creative juices flowing but dont get distracted by lyrics.

Tenyo wrote:@Kyllorac gave me the weirdest advice a few years ago.

He said that when listening to something lyrical is should be something that contradicts the mood of scene you're writing. Because sometimes you might feel like the scene is conveying the right emotions but it's probably because of the feels you're getting from the music, but if you listen to something that contradicts the mood then you can avoid tricking yourself.

I tried it and it had some awesome effects on my writing. I found, oddly enough, it helped to make my characters and their emotions more realistic, I guess because I had to find reasons for them to occur and to focus on them.

So now sometimes I revert to stuff that has strong lyrics just for that.

The irony of this advice is that I don't even listen to music while writing.

I do listen to it while revising for the above-mentioned reason, though.

I tried listening to essentially every genre of music to see what style brought out my best writing. In the end, the only genre I could write to without being distracted was instrumental, and I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has this experience. With lyrical music, I end up listening to the lyrics (because I'm a writer! - words are everything). There's a powerful story inside the music, and lyrics are like poetry encompassed by music.

Even then, I am still distracted. I think if I was in a round room empty of everything but a laptop computer, without WiFi or a wireless signal of any kind, I would still find some way of distracting myself. Lol

Personally, I prefer Drum n Bass or some form of Metal for focus. I don't know why, but I suppose trying to avoid interpreting the soft themes of other genres is a little easier on my conscience.

May I just point out something that is horribly ironic? Pop is short for popular music and is meant to cater to the general masses, but it is one of the lowest rated genres on YWS XD XD