Life In 19x19

Quiet background music that I know well helps.

A few example songs:

Broken Social Scene - Anthem for a 17-year-old girl
Most things by Dispatch
Built to Spill- Time Trap
Most things by Stars
The Mountain Goats
Band of Horses
et cetera

While I like bands like Airborne Toxic Event, most of their stuff is too high-energy to listen to unless I'm winning, which makes it kick in the grinning.

I prefer silence. However, some time back the local club had a CD set up on repeat(for maybe 2 months). It was ambient music of someone playing a wooden flute - or similar instrument. Once every five minutes or so, a hawk or eagle would caw/screech.

Maybe the way I am describing it, it sounds obnoxious, but really it got in your head and was very relaxing. Even describing it here is enough to get the music stuck in my head again - probobly for the entire day.

At the club in York, which met in a very cool restaurant called El Piano, they used to have the Putumayo "Turkish Groove" album almost every week on loop. One of our Chinese players absolutely loved it, and would wordlessly sing along (particularly with track 3). It was actually quite sweet. When he left for China, we clubbed together and bought him the CD to take back with him.

Dark and melodic ambient music, e.g. Múm or ISAN

Also alt.country, e.g. Bonnie Prince Billy, 16 Horsepower or Woven Hand

I find music adds to stress if I want to concentrate.

But if I needed something for go, it could be e.g. Miserere by Allegri. The Tallis scholars have made a nice CD with the aforementioned piece that I got a couple of weeks ago.

kex wrote:I find music adds to stress if I want to concentrate.

But if I needed something for go, it could be e.g. Miserere by Allegri. The Tallis scholars have made a nice CD with the aforementioned piece that I got a couple of weeks ago.

Palestrina, Josquin and Allegri are all favourites of mine, and I've got some amazing recordings by the Tallis Scholars. If you're not familiar with Carlo Gesualdo, you might like him as well.

tealeaf wrote:
Palestrina, Josquin and Allegri are all favourites of mine, and I've got some amazing recordings by the Tallis Scholars. If you're not familiar with Carlo Gesualdo, you might like him as well.

Ah. Cool! Thanks for the hint. Have to check that.

Gesualdo as go music? Half of his songs are about dying, for chrissakes. (that said, La Venexiana's recording of his fifth book of madrigals is one of my favorite albums)

I've never even tried having music on while playing—I can't imagine it doing anything but distracting.

A way to make yourself feel classy while playing Go:

In your browser:

1. Tab 1
2. Tab 2
3. Tab 3

I don't listen to music during go. In fact, I almost never have background music on; either I make music, listen actively, or enjoy the silence.

Anyhow. Lately my brain has apparently revolted against this silence. Now I regularly have short music fragments repeating in my head throughout long tournament games. Such as Tetris A. Or the Pippi Longstockings theme. Or Black Hole Sun. On repeat. For hours.

Funnily enough, my go doesn't suffer from it. In fact, it even brings me into a good mood for some deep calculation

I used to use Kylie Minogue & Britney Spears to cope with Go-stress Hard to worry too much about dying with those two singers.

Araban wrote:A way to make yourself feel classy while playing Go:

In your browser:

1. Tab 1
2. Tab 2
3. Tab 3

Someone saw the reddit front page today.

gaius wrote:I don't listen to music during go. In fact, I almost never have background music on; either I make music, listen actively, or enjoy the silence.

Anyhow. Lately my brain has apparently revolted against this silence. Now I regularly have short music fragments repeating in my head throughout long tournament games. Such as Tetris A. Or the Pippi Longstockings theme. Or Black Hole Sun. On repeat. For hours.

Funnily enough, my go doesn't suffer from it. In fact, it even brings me into a good mood for some deep calculation

It's funny you mention this, cause I've had a similar experience. I never listen to music when I play, as I find it distracting. Sometimes I'll still have music playing when I start a game, but as soon as I have to focus for serious reading the music has to go off. I guess my brain has similarly revolted, because often when I'm playing, especially in person, I'll have a 10 second music fragment that will just keep repeating in my head. As soon as I finish the game I'm playing, I have to immediately listen to the song to exorcise the demons. One day my head will just explode

i often find that the specifically the song Iron Man by black sabbath finds its way into my head when i am playing.

Anything around 120bpm works for me. No lyrics though, those are distracting.