Some writers demand absolute silence while they write. The only sound allowed is the gentle tapping of fingers on the keyboard and the voice they hear in their heads.

Others can write with traffic sounds rolling through the windows, the blair of sirens, dogs barking, and so on.

Some of us like listening to music while we write. Some can listen to most anything. Lyrics don’t bother them. They turn the music up loud and happily keep going.

I reckon I’m someplace in the middle there. I love listening to music, but I’m more a symphony kind of guy. That said, even some of that gets out there.

Here’s what I listen to.

First, I’m into music that can only be called “Epic.” This music tends to be dramatic, driving, and loud. Almost all of it is symphonic in nature. I’ll set up my playlist, and just go for it. Oh, there’s the usual, Bach, Beethoven, all the biggies. But there’s stuff coming out today that almost everyone has heard but haven’t thought about it.

One such outfit is Two Step from Hell. Their music forms the background of a lot of TV shows and music. When I say Epic Music, they are the definition I use. Pieces like Protectors of Earth and Star Sky form the soundtrack of a lot of Will Diaz’s adventures.

And I’ve recently gotten into Antti Martikaninen who does Epic Music. A lot of what he does I’d call Symphonic Metal. It’s music in a classical format but with a heavy metal twist. I think it’s what Bach or Beethoven might have done if they were around today. His Lords of Iron is one my personal favs.

Something odd that I’ve gotten into recently is Celtic music, especially a group called Celtica. I’d never thought of the bagpipe as able to do much more than play older stuff. They proved me wrong with songs like Megawatt and Beyond Avalon. The band looks like something that rushed out of the highlands, went a little punk, and their sound just blew me away.

Now an instrument that is the backbone of my writing playlist is the violin. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the single instrument that captures the human soul perfectly. It catches the fun, the thrilling, and the heartbreak we go through.

The ones who form that playlist are violinists like Lindsey Stirling, Simply Three and Taylor Davis. I’m including a link here to one of Davis’s best, and it convinced me that if Will Diaz ever stars in a movie, and if I had a choice, she’d be my first choice to do the music (here’s hoping). There’s a whole host of others to toss in there as well.

Well, that’s who I listen to when I’m writing my epic adventure stories.

Who do you listen to?