Does music help you write?

[Cupcakeoreo]

Music helps me write poetry, but only if it's soft and matches the mood I'm writing in so if I'm writing something sad, the music has to be sad. If I'm writing something happy, the music has to be upbeat. I think for me it just helps me stay on track.

[Abdullah Kinan]

Yes! Yes! And yes!

Music inspires most of my writing. I listen to a lot of drum and bass genres and the vocals often inspire my new writing.

[Thea Frederick]

I enjoy listening to music and it certainly inspires me, but I find that if I try to write while it's playing I get sort of distracted :-/
especially if it is vocal, I can focus better if it is only instrumental (although I love music with lyrics!)

[Baya Osborn]

To me it does a lot.

[victoriasimons]

I love writing to strong, classical music that makes me feel triumphant and productive. Of course, varying the style to suit whatever you're writing would also be a helpful approach.

[anaplasticCerebrum]

Music helps me write essays where I already have my ideas and phrases planned out, but it doesn't help with brainstorming or creative writing. There's an anecdote in Richard Williams's The Animator's Survival Kit where he asks a veteran Disney cartoonist if he listens to music while he writes, and the veteran explodes and says he can't focus on two things at once!

[yapashley]

It does! But it has to be music that isn't load. I like my music to be soft and melodic so I can concentrate better. I listen to music not only when I write but when I study as well.

[Imperio]

As many other people have said, classical music is really the only music that does the trick. I listen to other genres of music when I'm writing (in fact I'm listening to other music right now). But when it comes down to it, I will turn on classical music, or no music at all, when writing. Specifically, violin focused music helps me focus. I wonder why that is?

[Divergent fire]

Yes...music helps in creating ideas and keeps my mind calm .

[keiyoshi]

It does not! As a musically-inclined person, playing or listening to music while writing just diverts my attention to breaking down the musicality of the song instead of writing. It's a curse! I guess enjoying two things at the same time is just so powerful for a human mind.

[Mariesg]

Music does sometimes help me write especially in trying to get in the mood for a scene or just focusing on the task at hand. However, when it comes to writing, I have a rule with myself: don't listen to songs with lyrics. I realized that I'll get distracted or start paying attention to the words of the song more than the words I'm writing. So, I have a playlist on my phone called "Writing" filled with film scores, classical music, instrumental songs, and other lyric less music to help me focus and get in the mood. I like it a lot and its helped me branch out to a new style of music I'm not sure I would've found enjoyment in had I not been writing.

[LuciusM]

I can't concentrate when music is on. I am unable to serve two Masters.

[sanelekhumalox]

I can concentrate when I play music because I feel in my own world

[AgentJay007]

Definitely. I like to change my music based on the emotion I want to write about. For example, if I'm writing about love, I like to listen to love songs to really feel that emotion then write and describe how I'm feeling. It really helps me a lot.

[Nana2_]

Yeah! Some songs may creat a kind of inspiration to me believe me. But that is not any kind of song....if you know what I mean