I’ve talked a few times over the years about how I can’t write while listening to music with lyrics. I can only listen to one set of words at a time, and the ones I need to hear are quiet, and in my brain. So I’ve collected a few different options in terms of music to write or read to, and I thought, in case you need to create your own quiet, soothing oasis, these recommendations might help you, too.
Some are paid subscriptions that you can try out, and some are part of music services like Google:Play (which I use instead of Spotify, for example).
I’m not sure from whom I learned about Brain.fm, but wowser do I like it. There are three main channels: Focus, Relax, and Sleep.
The music arrangements at Brain.fm are, according to the site, calibrated scientifically to help your brain focus or relax, and they have a FAQ about the science behind the music, and a whitepaper about their process, too.
While the default for each channel is fine, there are also sub-channels within each. My favorites are “Grooves Focus,” “Electronic Music Focus,” and “Study Focus.” I haven’t used the “Relax” channel too often, but at one point I was desperate for a bit more sleep and tried the “Sleep” channel with my earbuds. It totally worked: it blocked out the sound of everyone who was home, and it was soothing enough that I dozed off. I consider that a minor miracle, as I am not very good at napping.
Stardew Valley Piano Collections
Stardew Valley Piano Collections by Matthew Bridgham & Augustine Mayuga Gonzales is a new addition to my working music library. It was released in October from Materia Collective on Bandcamp, and has since appeared elsewhere, including Amazon and iTunes.
This is the Stardew Valley video game soundtrack with music originally composed by ConcernedApe (Eric Barone), then arranged for piano by Matthew Bridgham, and performed by Augustine Mayuga Gonzales. It’s incredibly soothing and peaceful, and I love listening to it on repeat while I work. This is one of my absolute favorites.
I’m going to try to embed a sample here:
Lo-Fi Hip Hop – Chilled Cow and ChillHop
I use RescueTime to track my productivity on my laptop, desktop, and phone, and at one point recently I had a terribly low productivity score for the week. I was confused because I’d gotten a crap ton accomplished, and had to go digging into the report to figure out what had happened. Turns out, I’d been listening to Lo-Fi Hip Hop channels on YouTube while I worked, while I cooked, and while I helped my son with his homework, and all those hours had been logged as “unproductive.” I admit, it was kind of fun to adjust RescueTime and tell it that in fact, YouTube is very productive time.
Lo-Fi Hop Hop is a remix of music I think I learned about on Reddit. It’s got very mellow sounds and melodies layered on top of one another, often with a bit of distortion, and some channels mix dialogue clips from movies, tv shows, and online content. (I have a lot of fun trying to figure out the sources).
The two stations I listen to most when they are live streaming are ChillHop (aka Lounging Raccoon Channel):
and ChilledCow:
ChilledCow, in my experience, has a more prominent drum beat and base line, and more verbal audio samples. ChillHop is more melodic and often seems more mellow. I listen to both a ton.
Google:Play Music Stations
I use Google:Play music subscriptions for all my music (we’re all Android phone users over here). A few of my favorite channels:
- Ambient Bass
- Music for a Small Room (aka Chamber Music)
- Intro to Bach (I love Bach ridiculous amounts)
What about you? What music, channels, playlists, or services do you recommend when you need to focus or relax?
As a writer, I tend to listen to mostly instrumental music–classical, ambient, film soundtracks, and that sort. Since I have a massive personal library of music (not a youngster, here), I have no need to pay for any music service. I tend to curate my own playlists. One thing I have done for some time is listen to -world- music. As an English speaker, people with good voices singing in other languages are quite nice–Celtic languages, Sanskrit, Chinese, and lately Nordic languages: Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic. I don’t have a clue what they are saying, therefore those voices just become another instrument and are no distraction.
That said, I might check out Brain.fm. That might be tempting. 🙂
I usually just listen to one of the Amazon classical options, but if I need real inspiration I play the original Lord of the Rings ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ soundtrack. Amazing, familiar and good for slaying orcs.
If I really need to focus, I turn to Brian Eno. My favorite is , but he’s got a lot thinking music.
Thanks for sharing this. I use the default playlist of ambient music for reading on Spotify. It’s been good enough so far. Excited to try all these new playlists!
I used to write to Dave Matthews Band back in the day. The music was familiar and not jarring to me.
Now I use brown noise or instrumental music. Lyrics distract me. I need music I don’t have to break to skip.
Yes! I love both the effects and the name of Brown Noise.
And then there’s “watery brown noise,” which I cannot search for without snort laughing.
For reading or writing – thunder and rainstorm or campfire are my two favorite white noise. Not sure what color they actually are, but I call them white noise. I have several Nox Arcana cds and they are just repetitive enough that it gets me in a groove. I recently found Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star on amazon prime and I made my own playlist of songs. The ones I listen to the most are the two Phish albums when writing. I don’t know any of their lyrics, but I like the music.
I’m going to check out some of your suggestions.
You have made my 6 year old’s day by your mention of the Stardew Valley album. She LOVES the music so much and we had no idea that it was available in album form. I put both the original and the piano versions (which I strongly prefer) on her playlist and she is beaming.
@LT: I’m so pleased! I adore the piano album and I am so happy she likes it, too!
I can’t seem to have any silence at all anymore. At work, I listen to NPR all day, it can be white noise when I need it to be, or I can tune in and hear what’s going on. At home, cleaning and general moving about the house is (and in the car) its podcasts. But when I want to work at home (aspiring author and several home organization projects going on) its what I call generic music. Right now that’s my classic Christmas station on Pandora, I’ve head them a thousand times and can tune them out. Non-holiday time its things like Celtic Woman station or instrumental jazz (though sometimes that’s more distracting depending on what I’m doing). When reading, it’s usually Celtic Woman station. Even to sleep, I listen to a podcast I’m pretty sure has been mentioned before (likely by me) Sleep With Me. Anymore silence is too loud for me, if that makes any kind of sense!
I think I’m going to check out brain.fm for sure!