Music for Writing

It’s been a while since my last post.  I’ve been pushing to get my first draft finished by the end of February (hint: it’s on schedule), and recently I’ve been losing all kinds of sleep watching the Olympics.  How can a guy sleep when there are awesome winter sports happening on the other side of the world?

My topic today is going to be Music.  I, like most people, have a deep connection to the music I choose to listen to in different situations.   I still remember the playlists I used to listen to before a soccer game, when I was angry, when I was sad, or when I was going to sleep.  My most important playlist right now is what I call my relaxation playlist.  I listen to it when I want to chill, when I want to sleep and, yes, when I want to write.

When I’m writing I prefer instrumental music, because I find lyrics to be far too much of a distraction. That’s not to say there can’t be vocals, there is a lot of great choral music that isn’t distracting.  Like Rosa Mystica by Camerata Nova, or the beautiful choral rendition of Adagio for Strings by the Choir of Trinity.  But in spite of that, I tend to lean on pure instrumental music.

My favourite composer is undoubtedly Ludovico Einaudi.  In fact, over half of what I listen to is composed by  him.  If my novel were to have a “Powered By” label, it would say “Powered by the music of Ludovico Einaudi”.  I really can’t say enough how amazing his music is.  Go find his stuff and give it a listen, you won’t regret it.  In fact, as I write this blog I’m listening to the Einaudi album Eden Roc.  

A recent discovery of mine is Kashiwa Daisuke.  He makes a lot of really interesting and different music, check out Stella or Write Once, Run Melos for examples.  But he also released a quite lovely album titled 88 of all piano work.  Nearly the entire thing made it into my playlist.

I have a smattering of other music as well, including some selections from the Cloud Atlas soundtrack, some Coulter, Cinematic Orchestra, and a few others.

So, dear readers, what do you like to listen to when you’re writing or relaxing?  Do you like to focus on instrumental music like I do?  Or do you prefer something else?  Let me know in the comments and I’ll be sure to check it out.

February 18, 2014 | Categories: Life, Music, Writing | Tags: adagio for strings, camerata nova, cloud atlas, eden roc, instrumental, kashiwa daisuke, ludovico einaudi, music, piano, playlist, relaxation, Writing | 1 Comment