Music Best music to listen to while doing Physics?

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The discussion centers around preferences for music while studying or working, particularly in physics and mathematics. Many participants express a fondness for classical and classic rock music, citing composers like Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Bach, as well as bands such as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Some find that classical music, especially pieces without lyrics, helps maintain focus, while others prefer silence or soft background music to avoid distractions. There is a notable emphasis on the impact of different genres on productivity, with some individuals reporting that heavier music, like metal, energizes them during intense study sessions, while others find it too distracting. The Third Brandenburg Concerto by Bach emerges as a favorite among several contributors for its upbeat tempo, which aids concentration. Overall, the thread highlights the diverse ways individuals integrate music into their study routines, with varying opinions on its effectiveness.
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Anybody have any favorites?

I like to listen to some classical or classic rock.

Vivaldi - Four Seasons, Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique, Beethoven - 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, Bach - Well Tempered Clavier

Led, Who, Kansas, CCR, Bob Seger, Eagles
 
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I like most of the pieces/artists you listed, but if I was listening to them, I wouldn't get any physics done...that's as far as theoretical stuff goes.

However, I play classic rock in the lab all day, except when there's measurements happening or if I'm doing some tricky soldering, or some such.
 
thecolor11 said:
Anybody have any favorites?

I like to listen to some classical or classic rock.

Vivaldi - Four Seasons, Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique, Beethoven - 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, Bach - Well Tempered Clavier

Led, Who, Kansas, CCR, Bob Seger, Eagles
Why isn't there 6th before 7th...[/size] disc of Beethoven ?
I don't do phy6s exercises when listening to mu6. :redface:
 
I can't think when listening to music i enjoy, i tend to start singing along and imagining I'm slash or axl or mick or keith. Oops there i go again.
 
"The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas" by They Might Be Giants.
 
Well, I have 1,600 albums, so it's practically a monumental task for me to pick music for any ocassion. So I often just hit the random button and hope.

- Warren
 
Learning Physics, I prefer silence or soft classical music playing in the background.

Working on homework is a different story and it depends on the subject.

Modern Physics - Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Stone Temple Pilots, Nine Inch Nails

Electromagnetism - Wille Dixon, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Doors,

Quantum Mechanics - Tool, A Perfect Circle, James Brown, Led Zeppelin

Evidently it turns out I'm way more angry working on Modern Physics than I am working on E-Mag or Q. Mech.
 
Pretty much all of my music collection are love songs. I listen to them whenever, not just while doing physics or math. I've found myself listening to Frank Sinatra a lot, however.
 
  • #10
I think that Kraftwerk is a good choice
 
  • #11
thecolor11 said:
Anybody have any favorites?

I like to listen to some classical or classic rock.

Vivaldi - Four Seasons, Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique, Beethoven - 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, Bach - Well Tempered Clavier

Led, Who, Kansas, CCR, Bob Seger, Eagles

There is nothing as good as your own compositions. I am currently experimenting with the fusion of Classical Music, Jazz and Pop music. The compositions are raw and meaty. I just think of space while at it!
 
  • #12
Motifs said:
Why isn't there 6th before 7th...[/size] disc of Beethoven ?
I don't do phy6s exercises when listening to mu6. :redface:

I just prefer Beethoven's other stuff to the sixth.
 
  • #13
chroot said:
Well, I have 1,600 albums, so it's practically a monumental task for me to pick music for any ocassion. So I often just hit the random button and hope.

- Warren

That really made me laugh out loud! ("LOL" just doesn't do it justice). I only have between 150 to 200 CDs and can't even decide from those. I've been slowly loading some onto iTunes, and then I hit random. But, if I'm really lost in thought, I won't even notice if the same song has been repeating for hours. But, my best thinking happens with Ozzy, Dio, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, The Eurythmics and Clint Black...those seem to wind up on the usual rotation and I think it's mostly a conditioned response. Recently, I've added Godsmack to the list...there's something hypnotizing about their music. Oh, and can't forget Trace Adkins ("This ain't no thinkin' thing.")

But, then, I wouldn't want to be too predictable, so once in a while, I get inspired by something different...Eric Clapton, Smashmouth, Harry Connick, Jr., R.E.M., Billy Joel, or Paula Abdul. Or, I might go with B-52s, Indigo Girls, and The Cars.

Oh, see, I started out telling you I can never decide. Once I went through all my CDs alphabetically just to listen to all of them.
 
  • #14
Roxy Music - The Thrill of it All (Box Set)
Pink Floyd - Welcome to the Machine
Hildegard von Bingen - Canticles of Ecstacy
Rush - 2112
Kantner, Slick & Frieberg - Across the Board
John Coltrane - Equinox
Laurie Anderson - O Superman
Nick Drake - River Man
John Abercrombie - Timeless
The Who - Eminence Front, 5.15, Love Reign O'er Me, Going Mobile
DEVO - Girl U Want
Jimmy Hendrix - Angel
ZZ Top - Tube Snake Boogie
Paul Simon - Negotiations and Love Songs 1971-1986
Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper, Astronomy
Calchakis - Flutes des Terres Incas
Derek And The Dominoes - Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad
Eric Clapton - Layla (unplugged)
 
  • #15
Personally I can't get any work done while listening to any music that has lyrics. Light classical music works well for me, but really I prefer as little noise as possible. Even the clock's ticking can annoy me at times.

Still, for anyone interested, try Coldplay - The Scientist
 
  • #16
I envy those that have the focus to do their work and research while listening to music and watching television.

I just can't do it. I don't even listen to music when I type replies. I have to be able to hear my thoughts, and I can't with noise in the background.

I wish I could tough. And if I could, 90's Rap would be what I'd listen to.
 
  • #17
For Maths: Baroque
For Science: Classical
For other work: Romantic

But I also listen to a varity of artists that I have music for (e.g. Muse and Aerosmith).

The only song I can't work to is Aerosmith - I don't want to miss a thing because it has too much meaning to me to work to and I just have to listen to it and sing alone with it. There are a few more songs but I can't work to them because there are rubbish.

The Bob (2004 ©)
 
  • #18
I work on physics and engineering to Classical or New Age music.

I can work to some songs with words but they have to be songs that I am very used to, such as Pink Floyd's "Us and Them," or Richard Mark's "Hold On To The Night." Nothing too obtrusive. If I am trying to write something, I can't have words in the music, only instrumentals.
 
  • #19
Bach for anything that requires thought, insight, or a deeper focus (basically nothing I've done in school yet, for example: Fourier Analysis, Tensor Calculus, Quatnum Mechanics, General Relativity), almost always the 3rd Brandenburg Concerto, though i do listen to Saint Matthew's Passion, and the other Brandenburg Concerto's occasionally, i just like the third concerto the best, its the most upbeat and lively, keeps my mind moving, and thinking in a similar pattern, its the only one with only allegro movements.

When doing actual assigned work from my physics, math, or whatever classes its Barenaked Ladies all the way (with the tv on in the background, most likely tuned either to HBO or FX (NIp/Tuck Season Finale of course)).
 
  • #20
Thanks for the tips! :D
 
  • #21
franznietzsche said:
I just like the third concerto the best
My favourite of the Brandenburg Concerti. :biggrin:

The Bob (2004 ©)
 
  • #22
The Bob said:
My favourite of the Brandenburg Concerti. :biggrin:

The Bob (2004 ©)

Its great, isn't it?
 
  • #23
  • #24
franznietzsche said:
Its great, isn't it?
It is the best. I do like the fifth as well but the Harpischord bit in the middle is slightly too long for my liking so I prefer the Third.

The Bob (2004 ©)
 
  • #25
When I was an undergraduate in astrophysics, I used to think I could listen to music while I studied. I remember Joy Division was a favorite at the time. I realize now why I never went into graduate school. My grades were not as good as they could have been if my thoughts weren't so continuously interupted by such emotional music.


If you are studying, turn it off.
 
  • #26
Chi Meson said:
When I was an undergraduate in astrophysics, I used to think I could listen to music while I studied. I remember Joy Division was a favorite at the time. I realize now why I never went into graduate school. My grades were not as good as they could have been if my thoughts weren't so continuously interupted by such emotional music.


If you are studying, turn it off.
That's just you. I get more easily distracted in complete silence, since my thoughts have room to wander. If my ears are being filled with noise I can study better.

I just listen to whatever, since I "tune out" the music. Without music, I have nothing to tune out so to speak.
 
  • #27
deltabourne said:
That's just you. I get more easily distracted in complete silence, since my thoughts have room to wander. If my ears are being filled with noise I can study better.

I just listen to whatever, since I "tune out" the music. Without music, I have nothing to tune out so to speak.

If you listen to catchy tunes, its pretty hard to concentrate.

I've listened to music a day before a test or something, and the beat just gets stuck in my head.

Especially Michael Jackson songs. They're just so damn catchy!

The beat and lyrics from "Billie Jean" are still stuck in my head:


She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said don't mind, but what do you mean I am the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
She said I am the one, who will dance on the floor in the round



:mad:
 
  • #28
franznietzsche said:
3rd Brandenburg Concerto ... i just like the third concerto the best, its the most upbeat and lively, keeps my mind moving, and thinking in a similar pattern, its the only one with only allegro movements.

Agreed. Seems that the 3rd concerto is a favorite among PFers. That song is in constant motion and has some of the best countermelodies and melodic sequencing.
 
  • #29
deltabourne said:
That's just you. I get more easily distracted in complete silence, since my thoughts have room to wander. If my ears are being filled with noise I can study better.

I just listen to whatever, since I "tune out" the music. Without music, I have nothing to tune out so to speak.

Actually, you are right. Complete silence is maddening. It's amazing the noises a house can make when everything is quiet. I never didi try some of that "background music" stuff (waste of money). I have had since 1992 a favorite fan that produces just the right level of white noise (It's a Bionair air purifier actually).

For a while I leved close enough to the freeway so that there was plenty of background noise, absolutely free. I suppose ocean waves would be better, but, the little detail there is somhow buying a house by the ocean. I'm working on that.
 
  • #30
motai said:
Agreed. Seems that the 3rd concerto is a favorite among PFers. That song is in constant motion and has some of the best countermelodies and melodic sequencing.

The biggie is that both the movements are allegro, as i said earlier it keeps my mind moving in a similar fashion, that is to say quickly. I also like the first movement of the fourth, similar tempo and feel to it, i don't even usually notice when it switches from the third to the fourth.

To Chi: I've never had any problem with it. I even have the tv on too sometimes (its behind me). I think the problem is the kind of music you listen to. When i really need to focus i listen to bach, it has no lyrics, its fairly easy to tune out when necessary, and keeps my mind from wondering too far. If i lsiten to rock or anything more "popular" i can get distracted, but i usually just wind up tuning it out anyway. Years of practice from having 3 younger siblings i guess.
 
  • #31
but, the little detail there is somhow buying a house by the ocean. I'm working on that.

Come on over to UCSB; I'm currently hearing the waves crash on my beach, the sound intermingling with the seagulls and the cool breeze blowing through my hair. :approve:
 
  • #32
Chi Meson said:
The little detail there is somhow buying a house by the ocean. I'm working on that.

Not too close to the ocean, I hope. I mean, like, right on the beach. That's a big no-no.
 
  • #33
Gza said:
Come on over to UCSB; I'm currently hearing the waves crash on my beach, the sound intermingling with the seagulls and the cool breeze blowing through my hair. :approve:

At CalPoly all i hear is that stupid train...
 
  • #34
Chrono said:
Not too close to the ocean, I hope. I mean, like, right on the beach. That's a big no-no.

Yeah, you know it's funny you should say that. I once built, like, this castle on the beach, and you know, the next day it was, like, gone!
 
  • #35
White noise (for some reason). Although I suppose that can't be classed as music.
 
  • #36
Chi Meson said:
Yeah, you know it's funny you should say that. I once built, like, this castle on the beach, and you know, the next day it was, like, gone!

Good thing you weren't in the castle when it went away.
 
  • #37
Chrono said:
Good thing you weren't in the castle when it went away.
But the weird thing is, like, I was. Still got sand in my refrigerator.
 
  • #38
Chi Meson said:
But the weird thing is, like, I was. Still got sand in my refrigerator.

I feel for you, dude.
 
  • #39
Chi Meson said:
But the weird thing is, like, I was. Still got sand in my refrigerator.


So much for those sandwhiches i left in there last weekend...
 
  • #40
My music teacher said that a study showed that listening to Mozart of any kind before a science/math test raised the average score. Seems like it could work during studying.
 
  • #41
Off the top of my head:
Brandenburg Concertos (played by Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields or Il Giardino Armonico)
Vivaldi's 4 Seasons (same artists as above)
Goldberg Variations
Beethoven's Eroica Variations
Tangerine Dream - 220 Volt Live
Beethoven's suites for cello & piano (Sviatoslav Richter & Mstislav Rostropovich)
Beethoven's suites for violin & piano (Yehudi Menuhin & the other guy)
Bach Sonatas & Partitas for solo violin (Jean-Jacques Kantorow) <-- some of that is a bit heavy for doing homework though

anything played by Glenn Gould is usually the best there is, except maybe his Well-Tempered Clavier.

& I can't say it enough: Mozart is by far the most overrated composer of them all. The stuff that's in the Truman show is really the only decent stuff by him. The rest is just so boring & simple, kind of the opposite of Bach, really.


motai said:
Agreed. Seems that the 3rd concerto is a favorite among PFers
Not for me; I like the 5th & 6th. The 5th has one of the best piano solos I've heard, and somehow the strings in the 6th concerto sound like horns. Has anyone noticed that there are only strings in that one, and no other kinds of instruments? The 1st one is good too; the audience must have gone nuts at the first performance of the concertos (which was after Bach died), with the loud hunting horns, etc.
 
Last edited:
  • #42
fourier jr said:
Not for me; I like the 5th & 6th. The 5th has one of the best piano solos I've heard


Hate to break it to you, there are no pianos in baroque music--it wasn't invented yet. They're supposed to be harpsichords.
 
  • #43
franznietzsche said:
Hate to break it to you, there are no pianos in baroque music--it wasn't invented yet. They're supposed to be harpsichords.
Agree and also the Harpsichord goes on for too long.

The Bob (2004 ©)
 
  • #44
Studies have shown Mozart is great music to listen to when conducting studies. Correct me if i am wrong?
 
  • #45
Rammstein results in novel theories.
 
  • #46
dekoi said:
Studies have shown Mozart is great music to listen to when conducting studies. Correct me if i am wrong?

I have a Mozart chamber music CD in my car. I find it's too deep to treat as background music and too shallow to really focus on. I'm going back to jazz.
 
  • #47
If I am deep in thought then its the bog-standard C-D:Whale songs and some Dolphin Chorals!

If Iam deeling with abstract thinking then its:Tonto's Expanding Head-band, the track 'Time-whys'.

Relativistic thoughts are accompanied with either Pink Floyd : wish you..or Dark side, or maybe its Mike oldfields:OMMADAWN.

If I am reading up on string theories, then its more than likely some grunge accompianments.
 
  • #48
franznietzsche said:
Hate to break it to you, there are no pianos in baroque music--it wasn't invented yet. They're supposed to be harpsichords.

ok whatever, you know what i meant
 
  • #49
Heavy/Death metal or classical. The last two musical events I went to where; Ozzfest and The Pearl Fishers (an opera). I have always wonder what would happen if I mixed the two's wardrobe up (went to an opera with spike blue hair and and concert in a suit.)?
 
  • #50
I like pop-rock
and country rock
to rock me up,
to rock me down,
and also blues
to soothe me boo
boo boo boo...
when I am feeling moved.

~~AlexContourPlus~~​
 

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