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Miguel
Miguel

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Music vs Podcasts while coding? Any recommendations?

I understand that developers listen to different things while coding. I want to expand my audio palette for my code sessions, and would like to get your opinions!

So, do you listen to music or podcasts when you code?

What specific genres / playlists / artists / shows do you recommend?

Top comments (11)

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chustedde profile image
chustedde

I like Rainwave - it's all video game music, mostly instrumental. I started listening to it just because I enjoy game soundtracks, but I've also read that this type of music can help improve focus since it's often composed to help the player engage with and focus on the task at hand in a game.

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desi profile image
Desi

I really love brain.fm for ethereal background music, chillhop, and sometimes podcasts about coding like CodeNewbie.

I also listen to a lot of audiobooks - right now I'm listening to Everything is Horrible and Wonderful by Stephanie Wittels Wachs, and it's great.

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steelwolf180 profile image
Max Ong Zong Bao • Edited

I like to listen to smooth jazz music like Jazz Vibes or Deep Focus. I do agree with vocals or podcasts that can be a bit distracting while I'm coding.

I tried that previously and I feel horrible after each day as I'm splitting my focus to listen to the podcast and coding which can be frustrating when your coding.

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Lucas Olivera

I'm usually on Spotify when I'm coding. I prefer podcasts when I travel (I have a 4 hour trip everyday to get to the office) so in that time I'm on CodeNewbie or if I feel tired developer tea makes it.

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stedevine profile image
Stephen Devine • Edited

Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
open.spotify.com/album/4ROfp3chvmH...
(mainly) Instrumental (not distracting the 'words' part of my brain). Very loud (drowns out noisy co-workers).

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ianknighton profile image
Ian Knighton

It depends on the day.

I always need to have something in my ears, but sometimes I can't handle people talking or certain kinds of music.

I can always get down with lo-fi music though. I keep this YouTube channel on a tab as a just in case.

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tvanantwerp profile image
Tom VanAntwerp

Podcasts divide my attention too much--I save them for my commute on the train when I want to pay no attention to the rest of the world. For coding, I often listen to heavy metal. Banging away at my keyboard to the rhythm of the music feels pretty good.

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david_j_eddy profile image
David J Eddy

Anything Nightcore or 'TechStep'. Like any other genre they have spectrum of terrible to excellent examples.

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abhijitparida profile image
Abhijit Parida

Here's a cool crowd sourced list of the best music to program to: github.com/Burnett2k/Programming-M...

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laurieontech profile image
Laurie

If I'm really trying to focus I need something without words. I've found the Interstellar soundtrack to be a great option. Slightly epic score, so it makes you feel badass :)

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