Whistle While You Work? 5 Music Suggestions for Artists and Crafters

Many artists, crafters, writers, and other creative people like to listen to music while they are working. For some, the music ignites the creative process. Other creative people like to have the music just playing in the background for noise or to block out other noises that might bother them.

Often, the music you like to listen to when you’re not working isn’t necessarily the music you should listen to when you are working. If you play familiar songs that you like, you might start focusing on the music instead of on your art.

If you are looking for music to listen to while you’re working, the following are 5 places to look that you might not considered yet.

1. Movie Soundtracks: The great thing about music from movies is that there are many different songs to choose from and you can choose the song based on the mood you want the art of convey. Want your art to convey suspense or fear? Listen to the music or score from famous suspense films. The same goes with romance, anger, and any other emotion you want people who see your art to feel.

2. Classical Music: Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and almost all the other early composers were creative people themselves, so drawing inspiration from their work is almost expected. The other benefit is that most of the time there aren’t any words in the songs that will distract you or get stuck in your head.

3. Rock Music: It sounds crazy, but many creative people listen to hard rock while they are creating their art. The author Stephen King, in his book On Writing, notes that he listens to ACDC, Guns N’ Roses, and Metallica while he is working on his books.

4. Audiobooks: Yes, this isn’t music, but if you love books, it is a great way for you to work and “read” a great book at the same time. You can listen to that 900 page fiction book you’ve been trying to find the time to read or you can listen to a non-fiction book and learn something new about a topic you’re interested in.

5. Podcasts: Again, not music, but, like audiobooks, a great way to learn more about topics you’re interested in. There are numerous podcasts about art and crafting, as well as other subjects you may be interested in.

Do you agree with our list? Have other things you like to listen to while you’re working? Please comment below.