Music makes most people happy. It also increases intelligence (when learned early), lowers stress, shortens recovery time, and improves memory. A writing plylist strengthens that bond.
The power behind music comes down to the tempo. Measured in beats per minute (BPM), tempo determines more than the genre of music; it also affects human perception and response. Faster beats (Think Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite 1: "The Hall of the Mountain King" or Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing") are tremendous pieces for running and working out.
However, if you're writing -- or doing anything that requires the use of your frontal and parietal lobes (language and interpretation, respectively) -- a slower 60 BPM can be more suitable to the task.
The slower tempo induces relaxation while helping to filter stressors by stabilizing rhythms. Baroque music, with its 50-80 beats per minute and lack of lyrics, is one of the best genres of music to play when learning, studying and, of course, writing.
Check it out by listening to Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik."
What's on Your Writing Playlist
That brings us back to the office, where clients sometimes ask, "What's on your playlist?"
It depends. Every project's focus -- and our mood -- determines listening choice. At any time, you might find our writers listening to an eclectic playlist consisting of artists representing a variety of eras and genres:
- Movie scores by Hans Zimmer
- The LOTR soundtrack by Enya
- Anything by Lynyrd Skynard
- Covers and original songs by Walk Off the Earth
- All of Led Zeppelin
- A lot of Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones
- Some of the Beatles (how could we leave out "Paperback Writer"?)
- Christmas music, any time of the year
- "Sandman," by Metallica
- Vivaldi's Four Seasons, especially "Spring"
- Green Day's "Time of Your Life"
- and occasionally, Big Band music.
Many writers, however, prefer neutral music. Could you turn on a metronome? Sure.
But we think it wouldn't be as inspirational.
Ready to talk about your writing inspiration and productivity levels?
Let's connect!