Thread: Code with music or without?

  1. 02-27-2010 #1
    VirtualAce
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    Code with music or without?

    Many of my co-workers and friends program while listening to music on their headphones. I'm curious as to how many of you do the same. As for me I've tried it and I cannot concentrate with all that racket in my head. When I program I'm oblivious to the environment around me, the time, people, etc. In other words I could be programming in the middle of a tornado...it could rip the corner of the building off and as long as the power stayed on I probably wouldn't even know what happened. An exaggeration to be sure but you get the idea. I get into the 'zone' and once I'm there it's lights out for the world around me.
  2. 02-27-2010 #2
    stevesmithx
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    I prefer to program with my headphone. But once I start to code, I slowly tend to ignore the music, and concentrate on the problem at hand. For me, music merely serves as a good distraction in the empty silent environment that I usually code as I am not that good at multitasking.
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  3. 02-27-2010 #3
    Mario F.
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    I suffer from mild noise intolerance. At night, I prefer to enjoy the silence and don't listen to music at all. My biggest concentration factor is silence. Always was. Music however comes second and I usually use my headphones during the day which allows me to concentrate on the screen and do not get distracted by any outside sounds.
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  4. 02-27-2010 #4
    Shakti
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    I prefer to code to music. I just find it relaxing and it helps me focus by taking away all other distractions around. But then again i enjoy going to sleep with the TV on aswell...
  5. 02-27-2010 #5
    laserlight
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    It depends on my mood.
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  6. 02-27-2010 #6
    MK27
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    Always. Usually very loud marching bands, the more brass the better.

    Sometimes I will play a record my uncle gave me called "The magnificent sound of the B-52" over and over and over. It's not the new age band from the eighties, it's 45 minutes of gigantic WWII era bombers taking off, at close range. Awesome. Nothing can get to me when that is on, and I feel I am somehow commanding a truly feersome enjinn.

    Except when I am working on one of my "overthrow a national goverment" side projects. Then I just listen to Carcass:

    YouTube - CARCASS - Edge of Darkness/This Mortal Coil [LIVE AT SP]

    I hate headphones tho. I need to feel the floor vibrate slightly.
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  7. 02-27-2010 #7
    whiteflags
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    Usually I'm listening to something, but only opt to listen in while programming if I'm doing something easy. What something easy means could be anything. I'm not as experienced as I pretend to be.
  8. 02-27-2010 #8
    Dae
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    I listen on low/medium volume. On high volume it can get disorienting. However new songs can be distracting. I listen to a favorite playlist with ~150 songs I know by heart. It serves to drown out any other noise, keep me pumped (I often move my legs and bob my head), while remaining focused. It's just you, the program, and the music that is pretty easy to process seeing that you're used to it. It serves as good entertainment while compiling, however if I'm doing a lot of debugging/compiling I usually just have a movie up on pause.
    Last edited by Dae; 02-27-2010 at 06:14 PM.
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  9. 02-27-2010 #9
    sean
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    Everyone who works in the same room as me thinks I listen to music, because I always wear headphones while I code. But really I just wear them because they're more subtle than earplugs and work almost as well
  10. 02-28-2010 #10
    UltraKing227
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    i prefer silence for programming.
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  11. 02-28-2010 #11
    glo
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    I enjoy music when I'm out clubbing. Not when I code.
  12. 03-01-2010 #12
    Sebastiani
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    I'll listen to a bit of classical or jazz now and then, but I really prefer the buzz of human interaction. Sometimes, though, I just like to sit out on the deck as I work, listening to the sounds of birds, the trickle of the creek nearby, or the soft footfall of deer past the treeline. It's relaxing. Anyway, otherwise, I'd rather pay attention to the people around me. The human element, and all.
  13. 03-01-2010 #13
    maxorator
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    I prefer silence.
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  14. 03-01-2010 #14
    Epy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shakti View Post
    I prefer to code to music. I just find it relaxing and it helps me focus by taking away all other distractions around. But then again i enjoy going to sleep with the TV on aswell...
    Same.
  15. 03-01-2010 #15
    MK27
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    There was an amazing german or french minimalist electronic band from the nineties called "oval" that I had on cassette and would leave on "autoreverse" all night.

    I swear the most refreshing sleep I ever had was while that oval tape was playing, over and over and over.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge
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