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Vincenzo
Vincenzo

Posted on

what is the best music genre to program with?

...And why it is dubstep/drum&bass?

Jokes apart, I am not a mdma type of guy, that goes dancing in clubs and stuff like that, but when I am writing code, for some weird reason I can concentrate better with this kind of music.

Probably because is simple and upbeat, and does not make you think.

what about you?

Just if someone is interested, I do have a small "coding playlist" in here.

Top comments (31)

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mfurmaniuk profile image
Michael

Depends on what I am doing, a lot of the time I am listening to podcasts (history and politics which suit my outside interests) but when really working on problems it can be upbeat things or hard rock/industrial/metal which can get my blood pumping. Part of my issue is I can get easily distracted so I tend to listen to things a lot as they allow me to keep focus, which always makes people think I am on a call.

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Andrew Cato • Edited

I'm really bad at passively listening to things, so podcasts are out.

Most of the time, it's old hardcore (recently a lot of Bad Brains and Rollins-era Black Flag), Periphery or this low-fi hip-hop playlist.

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sleepyfran profile image
Fran González • Edited

As tuX0r mentioned Post-Rock is wonderful for this, specially some Godspeed You! Black Emperor, This Will Destroy You and the like, but lately I’ve been enjoying a lot some Jon Hopkins while programming, it’s electronic music with a lot of ambient influences that it’s just amazing to be focused and aroused at the same time!

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Ferdinando Santacroce

I don't always listen to the music while coding, but when I need to focus or avoid distractions I listen to Brain.fm.

From the FAQ:


Brain.fm makes music to help you do what you need to do, better. The company uses a patented A.I. engine to create music backed by scientific research to help listeners focus, relax, and sleep. While other music is primarily made to sound good and evoke feelings, Brain.fm works with teams of scientists and composers to engineer music specifically designed to help you enter particular mental states within minutes of use.

I'm not related to it, just a fan: it works very well, at least on my brain :)

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vikkio88 profile image
Vincenzo • Edited

if I'm working on something difficult or I'm struggling with a bug

that is my point in the other comment, when I work on something hard and I need to focus I need something upbeat, probably listening to classical music will kill my mojo

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Casey Brooks

I don't usually listen to music while coding, but when I do I generally prefer music without lyrics. My favorite stations on Google Play Music are Instrumental Hard Rock, and Romance By Guitar.

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vasilenka profile image
.h

For me, it's something upbeat and rushing my heart, with no lyrics or something with lyrics that I don't know or I can't sing along with. for example korean music (I recommend BTS) or japan anime soundtrack like Attack on Titan and whatnot.

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jeremy profile image
Jeremy Schuurmans

Don't judge, but Lorde. Pure Heroine. I don't know why, but something about the beats and melodies of those songs helps me focus really well, so that album is usually on my Spotify. I also sometimes like epic movie soundtrack music (Audiomachine). Classical music, too. Anything that either gets me energy when coffee fails me, or fades into the background and helps me focus, depending on the day.

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Tim Smith

I listen to a lot of different kinds of music. Typically not hip-hop or anything with a heavy beat. I also try to avoid lyrics if at all possible. I basically want something which can function as a sort of "white noise" and just be there. The goal of my music is to remove me from the world around me so I can focus on the code. In my opinion, music should be in the background, not the foreground. I have a few playlists here.

I also like to listen to things like jazz, classical, soundtracks, Hammock, or even search out music I've never listened to before just so it's something different. I also like to listen to music in languages I don't understand. Just a few suggestions ;)

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Frank Carr

I listen to a wide variety of music but most of it is guitar centric.

This morning's playlist was Nonpoint and Cage The Elephant but I may switch to something calmer like classical guitar or country blues this afternoon.