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Mr. Unity Buddy
Mr. Unity Buddy

Posted on • Originally published at blog.unitybuddy.com

I love listening to music when coding, and you should too!

Hello, buddies! Most of us (developers) love to listen to music. But why? You may have many answers. So, I'm not going to tell you Why you love music. I'm going to show you Why You Should Listen To Music While Coding.

1. Music reduces stress and anxiety

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When you listen to music, you can lower down your stress hormones. The brain also stimulates the formation of dopamine; a molecule that makes you happy. When you listen to your favourite song, you will produce extra dopamine. This way the music helps in reducing stress.

The mind also becomes clear when you listen to music. A clear mind will help to clear your anxiety away. You forget about all the ‘what if’ scenarios.

Your mind will clear because music helps your blood flow. This way more oxygen will come to your brain. With extra oxygen, you have fewer distracting thoughts.

2. Music helps you to focus

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When you listen to music, you will get in the zone. The focus will only be on the code you are writing. Nothing else around you will matter. Most of songs without lyrics helps you to keep in focus.

When you have headphones on, people also are less likely to talk to you. The headphones are like a barrier. People will only pass this barrier if they need to talk to you. That's a great trick too! Coding at night can help you to focus too. Now imagine 🎵Coding at night with Music. 🎵

3. Music Can Motivate You

Music will make you happy. When you are happy, you will work more effectively. Also, the ending of tracks and changes in rhythms can urge your brain in making decisions. That's why I love Dance Monkey when coding in afternoons.

4. Music can help to keep the brain alert and prevent it from switching off

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With the different sounds in the background, Your brain will notice the rhythms changing and tracks ending. With this difference in background sound, your brain will be alert.

5. Music increases the ability to collect thoughts

When you hear a specific piece of music, your brain will connect it to a memory that is stored in your brain & helps you relax. This way you can put your thoughts together. And also, you may get many creative ideas while listening to music. For me, I get many ideas about cool things to do with Python or Stories to add in a Game and sometimes, An idea for tomorrow's blog post!

But what kind of music should you listen to?

How much you will get in the zone depends on the kind of music. Here are some tips for finding good coding music.

1. Limit the vocals

Our brain tends to focus on the words that are being sung. When there are no vocals, the music will fade away in the background. This way you will get yourself in the zone and it will be easier to solve a difficult coding problem.

2. Listen to familiar music

If you listen to new music, you tend to focus on the music. Unknowingly your mind will wander off for a bit. When you listen to familiar music, your brain will recognize the music. The focus will be on the music then, not on the coding.

3. Listen to music with a good beat and pace

If you listen to slow music, your brain will also move slowly. The same applies to fast music. When the music is fast, your brain will feel rushed. The middle way is perfect. Your brain will still be active enough to solve coding problems, but it won’t be rushed.

So, what about you? Do you listen to music while coding too? If yes, make sure to add your favorite music tracks in the comments!

Happy Coding!

Top comments (26)

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c6313099a30c4c3 profile image
Harry SYGH

I totaly agree with you, coding without music is so boring and sad

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attkinsonjakob profile image
Jakob Attkinson

These statements are a bit harsh. If a developer that is neither used to, or didn't enjoy it reads your comment might feel like there's something wrong with him.

It depends a lot on the environment, the kind of task, etc. It's also a huge difference between working from an office with lots of people talking and working from home where there's nobody to bother you. Opening the window and hearings the birds would achieve a similar goal.

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cicirello profile image
Vincent A. Cicirello

If you just open the window to listen to the birds, etc, you are listening to music, much like the point of John Cage's 4'33".

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attkinsonjakob profile image
Jakob Attkinson

I'm glad you didn't make a point about "listening to your own thoughts is like music to the ears"....

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jonasbn profile image
Jonas Brømsø

I find vocals very disturbing while programming, so I listen to instrumental music, preferable electronica, I can recommend SomaFM and the streams:

I am also building up my own playlist: "/Music/Hacking" on Spotify, same theme

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juanfrank77 profile image
Juan F Gonzalez

I also love to listen to music while working 'cause it helps me drown out the external noise. And even when I'm alone or there's no noise outside, it feels weird to do it in complete silence. For whatever reason I start to get tired faster or my mood lowers a lot, like I start getting depressed. Using music helps me keep going until it's time to take a break.

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dibondi profile image
Dima

Personally, I find myself less focused on code when listening to music but more focused on music itself :D it kinda distracts myself. I like to hear my inner voice when coding, this way I'm more productive. However I can accept some ambient lofi beats where I still can talk to myself in mind :D.

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shshank profile image
Shshank

While developing I love silence, it helps me focus more and build logics. Tough everyone has their own taste and way of work.

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attkinsonjakob profile image
Jakob Attkinson • Edited

Mind sharing a couple of playlists you are listening to, while coding?

This is what currently works for me: youtube.com/watch?v=5qzKTbnhyhc

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gpeto91 profile image
Gabriel Azevedo

I met this site here at dev.to and since then I'm sharing with everyone: musicforprogramming.net/latest/

a masterpiece

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cmgustin profile image
Chris Gustin

Fully agree, I listen to a ton of music during the week while I’m working. I’m a big fan of movie soundtracks especially, they tend to be less distracting than songs with vocals, and it kind of feels like you’re going on a little journey since they’re structured to tell a story.

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mcanam profile image
mcanam

Me too, coding without music makes me bored quickly 😅. Thanks for sharing nice article 🤩

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heatherw profile image
Heather Williams

I personally find music with vocals great for working although I have occasionally found myself typing some of the lyrics instead of what I meant to type, or annoying anybody in the vicinity with my humming and singing. Anything with a good beat also works since I can move along to the music (I cannot sit still and am constantly in motion).

If I want to go into intense focus time I find a site like mynoise.net/ to be great since you can choose what white noise you want to hear.

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Pontakorn Paesaeng

My favorite musics for dev.

  • Never gonna give you up + Racing into the night mashup
  • Kirby music including Kirby Live Radio
  • YOASOBI music
  • Undertale music