I started my first programming job back in 2000 and was reading Cryptonomicon at the time and came across this little gem in the book:
"When Randy gets back to his cell, he sits crosslegged on his bed with the Walkman and begins dealing out the CDs like cards in a solitaire game. The selection is pretty reasonable: a two-disc set of the Brandenburg Concertos, a collection of Bach organ fugues (nerds have a thing about Bach)"
So I thought 'why not' and got a two-disc set of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. And sixteen years later I still listen to it when I'm working and have never tired of it. Great music for focus.
I'm not mad, but I just got spoiled that Randy apparently goes to prison. I'm at about chapter 40, finally listening to Cryptonomicon on Audible (thanks Amazon Prime).
On the bright side, I'm now listening to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and grateful for the explicit choice in music for my afternoon. I'm EDM-d out lately.
Re:Music for Programming
by mind_heist on Tuesday November 01, 2016 @08:13PM
(#12851293)
spotify link to the Japanese Drums Track above : https://open.spotify.com/track/3nrOApaAfsD61XYZ2T4zX6
EDM) Menno de Jong
https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-live-at-luc... https://soundcloud.com/mennodejong/menno-de-jong-cloudcast-0...
Like other continuously mixed, mostly-ambient EDM but favors minor mode and affected arps that keep my brain occupied in it just enough to avoid distraction.
Japanese Drums) The Ondekoza, or any competent group
https://www.amazon.com/Haru-Ichiban/dp/B003P5RMBM
Pure rhythmic impulse, monotonic yet with remarkable complexity.
Classical) Glenn Gould's Bach, Mozart
https://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-plays-Bach-Chromatic/dp/B...
Julian Bream, Bach, Lute http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/julian-bream-plays-j-s-bach-...
Jonas Nordberg, de Visee et al, Theorbo https://itunes.apple.com/es/album/jonas-nordberg-visee-weiss...
Perhaps too much for deep flow sessions but extremely stimulating for more inspirational, breaking-down-the-problem "aha" moments.
When it comes to `classical` music, keep in mind that the term encompasses hundreds of years of evolution and dozens of genres or utilities that the music was composed to serve. For our purposes, we may want to stick to "salon" style solo or small ensemble compositions which were made by the masters with the express purpose of stimulating the logical and emotional mind. Church music and large symphonies for example are a completely different animal, but get unfortunately rolled in under this catch-all term.