Just so every one knows, the guy that made this started learning to code from nothing about a month ago. Great job, man. I'm impressed that you conceived of, built, and then launched something in your first month.
... Seriously? Link to bio? I'm really impressed. This is why I love coding. Someone can dive in, create something out of nothing, in virtually no time.
I personally can't work with that kind of noise. I prefer classical music or something like that. But, I know people do thrive in this kind of environment. Really neat idea. Surely the creator had a background in UI/UX design??
Nice track. I do enjoy some jazz/chillout stuff while working. I really like Ryo Fukui's Early Summer [1]. But, one can never go wrong with Miles Davis' In Silent Way [2]. I am also a big fan of electronic ambient stuff like Liumin [3].
Have to say I was skeptical, but after about 20 minutes of this, I think I'm sold. I do think this would be nice as a downloadable soundtrack/app though but the concept works very very well in an open plan office.
Not sure where this urge for cake is coming from and I swear if you listen closely enough, once in a while, you can hear a sheep bleating just briefly.
Very interesting, but I find I get much the same effect with the right types of music (which are also more aesthetically pleasing, to me).
Also, recorded environmental sounds always have a certain degree of annoyance for me. There's nothing on earth I love more than the sound of rain or a crackling fire, but recorded versions just don't cut it (for me). This seems to fall into the same category.
Extremely anecdotal, but my silver bullets are jazz (modern soft jazz is great for this, but Kind of Blue [www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB669XXjnUg] has the advantage of being a landmark work AND incredibly relaxing) and really soft indie/folk (Blind Pilot, Iron and Wine, Noah & The Whale, that kind of thing.)
I love coding to jazz. "It can be played as background music, yet it amply rewards close listening" [0]. I collect records too, and jazz is one of my favorite genres to listen to on vinyl (although the distraction of the record flip can be a problem... sometimes I'll forget that it needs to be flipped at all, and I'll listen to the inner/lock groove for like 15 minutes before turning it off).
I find myself going between Digitally Imported's "Epic Trance", "Vocal Trance", and "Hands up" stations [1], but as soon as I can find my Tron Legacy soundtrack I'll be listening to the "Sea of Simulation" track on infinite loop.
I find a lot of ambient music without vocals is good (Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Nettless, etc...). Not too repetitive, but the sounds give a nice "mask" to the external world and lets you focus.
I also found an online radio station called "Moving Through Space" which provides some nice background ambiance when reading (esp. science fiction):
http://www.live365.com/stations/atombob
It depends on my mood. I find productive music to almost always lack vocals. I will list some artists and their respective albums, of the top of my head. (subgenres) Many of these artists have great discographies.
Electronic
1. Glenn Underground - Atmosfear (house)
2. Aphex Twin - Ambient Works 85-92
3. Moby - 18
4. Space Dimension Controller - The Pathway To Tiraquon6 (soul-house)
5. Boards of Canada - Music has the right to Children
6. Ulrich Schnauss - Far Away Trains Passing By
Post-Classical
1. Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians
2. Ólafur Arnalds - ...And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness
I'll echo this sentiment. Been listening to a lot of music from Mali and being really productive with it on. Highly recommend Khaira Arby, Ali Farka Touré and Amadou & Mariam.
Thanks! I will use it myself. Spotify is lacking some great music, that includes BoC. But, in general, I find myself using it more than I thought.
Shameless plug. I released an EP recently. I will be honest only two tracks are, what I consider, finished work. Track 2 and 5. But, still learning... fantasmafigueroa.bandcamp.com
> I find productive music to almost always lack vocals.
This agrees with generally accepted psychological models. The mind is totally single-threaded in language processing/parsing (compared to incredible parallelism in spatial processing).
This is why I don't understand you can hear voices in the coffitivity vocals, you need music not to catch some (parts of) sentences here and there. I do like it so far though, on the note of music that is nice to code to try out Pretty Lights.
Got some of those in your list myself. More to include:
1) Eno - Music for Airports <br>
2) Kaen - Interworlds
3) Shulman - Random Thoughts. It's too engrossing the first few times. After that, pretty good for background music.
We enforce this in the rules on our communal listening site, http://codingsoundtrack.org -- we like to think it's something to do with that part of our brains already being dedicated to understanding computer language.
I usually put 2 or 3 quiet electronic/trip-hop songs in my playlist and then I use the last.fm similar tracks to fill up the playlist, works quite well:
The best music for me when trying to be productive is music that I least pay attention to and concentrate on enjoying. If the music is too interesting then I get distracted. So for me: techno.
I can't recommend CAN highly enough. I've written code to their music since 2006 (with pauses when I couldn't stand it anymore). Their music ranges from kinda rock to kinda ambient but they usually have a solid beat which helps me concentrate and somehow makes me type faster since I try to align to it subconciously I guess. They also have minimal vocals, and if there're vocals, there're hard to understand since it is a gibberish of english, japanese, german, and made-up words.
I recently created a light playlist of CAN tracks that work well for getting into the music:
http://open.spotify.com/user/1218377486/playlist/5I4ZecZgYo9...
Apart from that, these two albums are also good for getting into it:
CAN - Tago Mago
CAN - Future Days
(Also, their music is from 1968 - 1973 but sounds very contemporary)
Edit: Lines
I'm surprised this hasn't been listed yet since it's usually a HN fav: http://musicforprogramming.net/ It's my go to at work whenever things get too noisy.
Lifeformed - Fastfall. I made this! It's my first album, I made it for the indie game Dustforce. It's electronic, chill, fakebit (8-bit chiptune sounds with a modern sheen), with some beats. Full album: http://lifeformed.bandcamp.com/
Well, I really doubt this will work for you, but as a metalhead I find abstract and atmospheric death or black metal works quite well for me (Lately I've been on an Agalloch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4ih3JVrRPE) kick).
Also I find that medium-intensity electronica will put me in the zone - Deadmau5, Justice, etc.
My brain must be wired differently. I listened to that for about three minutes before I wanted to pull my hair out. The only ambient sound I've ever been productive listening to is rain.
I've tried to work in coffee shops before. Every few minutes I realize I've been listening to my neighbor's conversation and not doing work. I really dislike working in noisy places.
Not just you, this made me want to scream and throw something after a few minutes too. I program best listening to music I've heard a million times before, preferably something a little bit technical, like progressive rock or metal. It has to be familiar enough that my brain can anticipate every sound that's coming and not be surprised by anything, yet complex enough to give the idle parts of my brain that are prone to distraction something to 'chew' on, so I'm not off to HN every time the actual problem solving part of my brain gets stuck for 30 seconds. I tend to listen to the same album or two on repeat for a few weeks until I get sick of it, then switch to a different album or two.
Music is even worse for me than chatter. I think it's because I'm a musician, I can't help but concentrate on it.
One other thing I've noticed about myself in this regard is that annoying noise irrationally enrages me when I'm trying to concentrate. For example when I'm working in my cube and a manager or maintenance guy walks by whistling, I really want to scream at them. Even if it's only for a few seconds. I ignore the feeling because I know it's totally irrational, it goes away and I don't actually feel any ill will towards people.
I've heard others talking about this kind of thing before so I'm pretty sure it's not just me. It's annoying because I'd like to be able to work around noise better, and I don't like being angry.
I listen to "binaural beats for a more creative mind" or "binaural beats for concentration and alertness" on spotify while working sometimes. I'm not convinced on the actual science behind binaural beats' affect on the brain, but it very much helps my productivity. At the least it drowns out ambient sound and doesn't distract me with familiar music or lyrics.
(edit: I was confused, it's not restricted. Sorry for the noise)
"not yet available outside the US" .. fair enough, and kudos for saying up front. How about adding a way of telling me when it is available?
Specifically, that is. I'm not going to subscribe to your normal feed because enthusiastic messages about a service which I can't get yet are just irritating. Indeed, the better they sound, the more likely I am to search for alternatives! This goes for anyone else who is rolling a service out slowly..
I use ambiance (http://ambianceapp.com/iphone) a lot when working, you can record your own sounds or download lots of free ones. I find airplane noise quite good, or low frequency humming.
I think half the effect comes from people thinking twice about bothering you if you have earphones in.
"Research shows it's pretty hard to be creative in a quiet space."
I'm sure that research is accurate for some people, but it's definitely not accurate for me. Quiet, aside from any noise I make myself, is the only way I can be truly productive.
Ditto, although it depends entirely on my mood, environment and what I'm trying to do.
But for working in an open office that fluctuates from high activity to periods where you can hear a pin drop, I'm finding this type of thing to be incredibly focussing when trying to code. For actually planning that code (the creative part), I tend to find as quiet an environment as possible - people are disruptive to intense thought.
I didn't read the whole research, but a quick glance at it told me that moderate ambient noise boosts creativity. The research doesn't mention productivity, though.
EDIT: And neither does your website, I see now. Why did you use it in the HN title?
212 comments
[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 192 ms ] threadI personally can't work with that kind of noise. I prefer classical music or something like that. But, I know people do thrive in this kind of environment. Really neat idea. Surely the creator had a background in UI/UX design??
i think they'll be ok with me posting their twitters..
@nicoleehorton - design @jkauszler - Coding
[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaVVdkVbYfA [2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUOGehr-4CA [3] https://soundcloud.com/modernlove/sets/deepchord-presents-ec...
Lifehacker did a related post abiut choosing music for focus: http://lifehacker.com/5987019/choose-unfamiliar-work-music-f...
(The founder's a friend)
Not sure where this urge for cake is coming from and I swear if you listen closely enough, once in a while, you can hear a sheep bleating just briefly.
Also, recorded environmental sounds always have a certain degree of annoyance for me. There's nothing on earth I love more than the sound of rain or a crackling fire, but recorded versions just don't cut it (for me). This seems to fall into the same category.
[0] http://www.allmusic.com/album/kind-of-blue-mw0000191710
Stephan Micus
John Surman
Kraftwerk
[EDIT: tried to put artist names in different lines ]
1: http://di.fm/
http://www.last.fm/listen/group/Atmospheric%2520Drum%2527n%2... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzoY_eEnnac http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ziP7iMCAok
I also found an online radio station called "Moving Through Space" which provides some nice background ambiance when reading (esp. science fiction): http://www.live365.com/stations/atombob
Electronic
1. Glenn Underground - Atmosfear (house)
2. Aphex Twin - Ambient Works 85-92
3. Moby - 18
4. Space Dimension Controller - The Pathway To Tiraquon6 (soul-house)
5. Boards of Canada - Music has the right to Children
6. Ulrich Schnauss - Far Away Trains Passing By
Post-Classical
1. Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians
2. Ólafur Arnalds - ...And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness
3. Max Richter - Memoryhouse
4. Nico Muhly - Speaks Volumes
Pop/Indie/Jazz
1. Royksopp - Melody AM
2. The Album Leaf - In a Safe Place
3. Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
4. Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
5. Benoit Pioulard - Lasted
Languages you don't speak also work.
http://open.spotify.com/user/ryan.aidan/playlist/5ot3B9EqCZF...
Shameless plug. I released an EP recently. I will be honest only two tracks are, what I consider, finished work. Track 2 and 5. But, still learning... fantasmafigueroa.bandcamp.com
Along the the same lines as fumar's suggestions, I recommend:
1. Music from Braid (yes, the video game)
2. Black Swan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
3. The Social Network Soundtrack
This agrees with generally accepted psychological models. The mind is totally single-threaded in language processing/parsing (compared to incredible parallelism in spatial processing).
Instrumental/lack of vocals also helps me. I mostly listen to post rock - godspeed you!black emperor, pelican, mogwai.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/177896/WP_Shot.PNG
Brian Eno, any of the Ambient series
Either of the Fripp and Eno albums
Oval
Windy and Carl
Apart from that, these two albums are also good for getting into it:
CAN - Tago Mago
CAN - Future Days
(Also, their music is from 1968 - 1973 but sounds very contemporary) Edit: Lines
Kind of feels like I'm listening to music in a cafe! Working pretty well so far :)
I'm also very fond of Steve Roach.
I've been adding much more quickly than curating, so probably lots of stuff that's not a good fit; at any rate, a few of my favorites so far:
1. Apparat - The Devil's Walk 2. Washed Out - Within and Without 3. Little People - Mickey Mouse Operation 4. Phutureprimitive - Kinetik
Here's a mix of most of his previous works. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qycqF1CWcXg
Found in this reddit thread http://www.reddit.com/comments/6l9t9/best_background_music_f...
An hour long of unchanging audio sort of fades into the background so you are unaware of it.
Lifeformed - Fastfall. I made this! It's my first album, I made it for the indie game Dustforce. It's electronic, chill, fakebit (8-bit chiptune sounds with a modern sheen), with some beats. Full album: http://lifeformed.bandcamp.com/
Also I find that medium-intensity electronica will put me in the zone - Deadmau5, Justice, etc.
http://open.spotify.com/user/notmarkus/playlist/6pehPUR4xsO5...
Note that Port St. Willow's album "Holiday" should come right after Tim Hecker's "Ravedeath, 1972".
Holiday isn't on Spotify currently, but it'll be back on in April. If you can find it, give it a listen. On its own, it's great as work music.
For working parents, maybe a recording of your kids playing/fighting in the background. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfKcu_ze-60
This is getting quite annoying.
I've tried to work in coffee shops before. Every few minutes I realize I've been listening to my neighbor's conversation and not doing work. I really dislike working in noisy places.
One other thing I've noticed about myself in this regard is that annoying noise irrationally enrages me when I'm trying to concentrate. For example when I'm working in my cube and a manager or maintenance guy walks by whistling, I really want to scream at them. Even if it's only for a few seconds. I ignore the feeling because I know it's totally irrational, it goes away and I don't actually feel any ill will towards people.
I've heard others talking about this kind of thing before so I'm pretty sure it's not just me. It's annoying because I'd like to be able to work around noise better, and I don't like being angry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats
http://cantonbecker.com/music/white-noise-sleep-sounds/mp3s....
A bit crazy they want to charge nine quid for it, but can just play it in the web player
"not yet available outside the US" .. fair enough, and kudos for saying up front. How about adding a way of telling me when it is available?
Specifically, that is. I'm not going to subscribe to your normal feed because enthusiastic messages about a service which I can't get yet are just irritating. Indeed, the better they sound, the more likely I am to search for alternatives! This goes for anyone else who is rolling a service out slowly..
Along the same lines, I'm a fan of this https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/people-sound-effects-2/id5... Track 21.
It works for me.
EDIT: started working after like a minute of sitting. Maybe it had to wait to download the audio file?
I think half the effect comes from people thinking twice about bothering you if you have earphones in.
I'm sure that research is accurate for some people, but it's definitely not accurate for me. Quiet, aside from any noise I make myself, is the only way I can be truly productive.
But for working in an open office that fluctuates from high activity to periods where you can hear a pin drop, I'm finding this type of thing to be incredibly focussing when trying to code. For actually planning that code (the creative part), I tend to find as quiet an environment as possible - people are disruptive to intense thought.
EDIT: And neither does your website, I see now. Why did you use it in the HN title?