Ask Lemmy

Surprised nobody posted this yet.

Depends on how much brain capacity I need. When I need to actually think, it has to be instrumental. So game soundtracks, classical music etc. Stellaris is one soundtrack I quite like for thinking. When it's something I have to think really hard about, it's music off though.

Otherwise, when I'm working on a repetitive, brainless task, it's whatever I'm in the mood for. Metal, country, j-pop, post-punk... could be anything really.

Video game and movie soundtracks. Ambient electronic and IDM. Trance and Psychedelic Trance. All without vocals. It helps me focus on work.

I have a playlist set up to listen to full albums at random. Today was

• Motorpsycho: Timothy's Monster
• Samsara Blues Experiment: Waiting for the Flood
• Math the Band: Don't Worry
• Cymande: Cymande
• Minsk: With Echoes in the Movement of Stone
• Common: Be

Anything goes, I just hate having to stop the tunes when I have to jump on a call

I have an instrumental playlist for this because lyrics distract me.

I put on any number of those 10 hours of Halo Theme/Terminator theme/Interstellar theme that are on YouTube.

Generally movie scores and things that can be background music.

An eclectic mix:

I'd paste the entire list if the android app had an export function.

My favorite:
https://ambientsleepingpill.com/

Supports, rather than distracts, my thoughts.

Slightly more varied:
https://ambientmodern.com/

Peppier still:
https://amambient.com/

Streaming links are provided in menu. Spotify links are there as well.

I need it to not be distracting, so no vocals in a language I comprehend, or I need to have listened to the song a dozen times already.

And then I need something upbeat to keep me motivated, so 8-bit music is high up the list, overly epic orchestral music also always works, but at like 3 o'clock in the morning, nothing hits like instrumental classical music.

Instrumentals.

White noise

All Day - Girl Talk

Here’s a link!

https://youtu.be/uWzkK7tUjaU

Dub techno is great for coding stuff, especially in the winter.

I like autonomic DnB

Usually death metal, but sometimes I mix it up with something random

I like putting on DJ sets at work. Book Club Radio has some absolute bangers. Pretty much any one from Tinzo or Jojo are good.

Hor has some good DJs on. I love Tigerhead. Some of the Bogota ones were great.

Boiler room also has some good ones. The one from Rebecca Black was actually really good.

Anywhere from AC/DC to pipe organ music.

Depends on what my ADHD brain wants at any given moment.

For studying, instrumental music or at least music with lyrics I don't understand. My go-to is my own curated playlist of film/movie soundtracks.

For working, anything goes. I have a variety of playlists like metal, prog rock, fusion, acid jazz, kpop, j pop/rock, etc.

studying: classical is best, instrumental good, something in a language I don't know acceptable

working, my actual job: something I can dance to: classic country, bluegrass, pop, hip hop, swing, salsa, cha-cha, big band

working, chores at home: something I can sing along with: folk ballads, power ballads, sea shanties, 90's hits, aughts hits, emo, any flavor of punk, singer-songwriter anthems, protest music, hyperpop, hip hop

working, on a computer: deathmetal, speed metal, power metal, alt-pop, doo-wop, hip hop, and while not technically music also standup comedy bits

Among other things, instrumental psychodelic rock like God is an Astronaut, or most recently TFNRSH.

Depends on my mood: majority of the time it's drum and bass. Some days, I will throw on some metalcore or deathcore.

I have a playlist of the allegro movements from a bunch of baroque violin and harpsichord corcertos that is really nice to do intense head-down work to. Mostly Bach.
Baroque for the structure - feels mathematical and easy to predict and follow, making it easy to listen to while focusing on something else. The allegro movements for the pace - upbeat and invigorating. And a concerto has a great balance between large-scale blended orchestral sound and the melody of a lead instrument which also lends itself to supporting your focus on something else from the background.

I usually don’t have music on when I really need to focus, but I do like ambient instrumental music (soft electronic or piano) while reading leisurely :)

Usually a big playlist of Emancipator songs.

Like many others have mentioned, video game soundtracks when studying. [https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/what-is-the-science-of-video-game-music/](Video game music has also been shown to help with studying.)

Can video game music help you study? And according to a plethora of research, having such music to accompany a task–especially if it’s repetitive—can drive up dopamine levels in the brain, allowing you to engage in work or study more productively and with less stress. It can also drive inspiration and add a touch of whimsy to otherwise boring tasks.

Silence for studying.

Ambient is pretty good for work

Doom

Any of mayv's mixes https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz7MQ6y9w-K456AwrcUa_geIewSGOqF- or a four hour playlist I made of the same sort of genre

Any / all Gran Turismo soundtracks 👌

Chillout ambient. Basically, the Mass Effect 1 soundtrack affected my whole musical library. I ask myself -- would this music sound cool in a bar in Mass Effect? If the answer is yes, it's probably on theme.

Carbon Based Lifeforms - Hydroponic Gardens

Solar Fields - Leaving Home

2814 - Rain Temple

Cell - Hanging Masses

etc.

To the point were I created !spacemusic@lemmy.ca

musicforprogramming.net

Game soundtracks, mainly World of Warcraft because of the sheer amount of different music ambience and also because of the nostalgia hit.

I recommend https://youtube.com/@meisio for very very well crafted videos of pretty much every zone the game has or is offering.

Age of Empires II soundtrack

Polyphia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29YFe1jWFNs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2m_Jx_rksc

Or something else with those vibes