Finding music to write to is a tricky business. You want something that stirs the creative juices, but doesn't intrude; something relaxing but not sleep-inducing; calming but not depressing. Personally, I tend to favour lyric-less music. Words distract me and i'm likely to try and sing-along, which isn't good news for anyone in the surrounding area!
So, here are my top ten albums to listen to while you write. You'll notice that most of them are soundtracks, but there are also two piano-based albums. In addition to those, there is a fantastic playlist on Spotify called Music for Concentration, which you should absolutely check out. And in case you don't want to listen to each of the albums in full, i've curated the best tracks into one playlist for you – plus a few bonus tracks. Enjoy!
Gladiator (Hanz Zimmer)
Romeo and Juliet (Abel Korzeniowski)
Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King (Howard Shore)
The Music of James Horner (The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra)
Shawshank Redemption (Thomas Newman)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Craig Armstrong)
The Revenant (Ryuichi Sakamoto)
Wonders (The Piano Guys)
I Giorni (Ludovico Einaudi)
Water for Elephants - various
Listen to the Music To Write To playlist on Spotify: