One of the most powerful tools in my writing toolkit is music.
When writing, music can immerse you in a scene, place you in the mind of a character, draw out emotions that you can transform into words. No matter what’s going on, listening to the right playlist rarely fails to transport me into the world of my story. It can even give me motivation to write, or spark new ideas.
I almost always listen to instrumental music when I write, mostly film and TV soundtracks. I’ve spent a lot of time over the years finding the best music for writing. Of course, tastes vary, but I’d like to share my favorite music for writing everything from sad scenes to action sequences to sci-fi stories.
I’ve created playlists on Spotify for each genre or mood, with the music I’ve recommended here and a lot more. You can find links below.
If you have music recommendations of your own, let me know in the comments, and I might just add it to one of the playlists.
I. Sad Scenes
Here’s the best music I’ve found for writing sad scenes.
The soundtrack of The Leftovers by Max Richter. Sparse, tragic, a lot of piano.
The soundtrack of The King by Nicholas Britell. Hauntingly beautiful, meditative, luscious strings. “Lament” includes a choral section, too.
The soundtrack of Tales from the Loop by Philip Glass and Paul Leonard-Morgan. Minimalist, sometimes mysterious or hopeful, mainly piano and strings.
Music by Slow Meadow, for more of an ambient sound. I’d recommend “Lachrymosia” and “We’re Losing the Moon” in particular.
Music by Sebastian Plano. This falls into the new classical genre; a combination of orchestral instruments and modern ambiences and effects. My favorites are “Soul I (Avow)” and “Éxta.”
II. Action
Here’s the best music for writing pulse-pounding action.
The soundtrack of Mission: Impossible - Fallout by Lorne Balfe. Thrilling, sometimes with dark undertones, with a percussive through line. All of the Mission: Impossible soundtracks are great in their own way, but this might just be my favorite.
The soundtrack of The Dark Knight by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. Like the film itself, it’s epic at times and darkly suspenseful at others. For some of the Joker’s musical cues, razor blades were used on strings to create a raw, twisted sound.
The soundtrack of Mad Max: Fury Road by Tom Holkenborg. Its booming percussion and relentless intensity create a feeling of barely controlled chaos.
The soundtrack of Dunkirk by Hans Zimmer. Again, reflecting the film itself, time is an ever-present, driving entity in the score. The incessant ticking of a watch weaves through layers of strings and synth. Fun fact: some of those ticking noises are from a recording of director Christopher Nolan’s own watch. The use of Shepard tones, an auditory illusion that sounds like an endlessly rising pitch, adds to the score’s suspense.
And here are some honorable mentions worth checking out:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dark Phoenix
The Batman
Black Widow
Pacific Rim
John Wick
III. Sci-Fi
This is my favorite music to listen to when writing sci-fi.
The soundtrack of Blade Runner 2049 by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch. Atmospheric, eerie, sometimes meditatively beautiful. Great for cyberpunk or dystopian stories.
The soundtrack of Westworld by Ramin Djawadi. A mix of electronic and classic orchestral instrumentation.
The soundtrack of Interstellar by Hans Zimmer. Very cosmic, of course, often conveying sweeping vastness.
The soundtrack of Tenet by Ludwig Göransson. Its use of synth and the occasional inverted music or effect creates a unique sound.
Also, fun fact: I composed the score for my own sci-fi film.
IV. Mystery
Here are my top music recommendations for writing mystery.
The soundtrack of Knives Out by Nathan Johnson. A fun, dramatic score—perfect for a classic murder mystery. And if you’re wondering if he’s related to director Rian Johnson, yes, he’s his cousin. He also happens to be a pretty good composer.
The soundtrack of Person of Interest by Ramin Djawadi. A more modern sound, great for writing espionage. And if your story has some action in it, it’s got you covered.
The soundtrack of Murder on the Orient Express by Patrick Doyle. It’s got a classic orchestral sound with emotional range—whether the scene you’re writing is exciting, frightening, or tragic, there’s a track for it.
The soundtrack of The Alienist by Rupert Gregson-Williams. Darker and grittier, more for a thriller than a light-hearted murder mystery.
And here are a few honorable mentions:
Only Murders in the Building
The Afterparty
The Game
Severance
Skyfall
Motherless Brooklyn
V. Fantasy
Here’s some of the best music to listen to when writing fantasy.
The soundtrack of Game of Thrones by Ramin Djawadi. Great for writing fantasy action, or something with a darker tone.
The soundtracks of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, better for a more upbeat, fun adventure.
The soundtracks of the Lord of the Rings films by Howard Shore and The Rings of Power by Bear McCreary. A classic fantasy sound, often using voices to great effect.
The soundtracks of the Harry Potter films, especially The Sorcerer’s Stone by John Williams. It’s got great musical range, from mysterious to playful to beautiful.
And here are a few honorable mentions:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
House of the Dragon
Avatar
Macbeth
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Green Knight
VI. Horror
Here’s my favorite music for writing horror.
The soundtrack of Stranger Things by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein. Its heavy use of synth makes it great for writing sci-fi horror, or something, like the show, set around the 80s. There’s a whole album of supplemental music from the second season that’s pure horror vibes.
The soundtrack of Werewolf by Night by Michael Giacchino. More exciting and fun to listen to than a lot of horror soundtracks. Fun fact about this one: Giacchino was both the composer and the director of the film.
The soundtrack of Chernobyl by Hildur Guðnadóttir. Haunting and atmospheric, it takes its time to build a dark, somber feeling of suspense.
The soundtrack of A Quiet Place by Marco Beltrami. Pulse-pounding at times, emotional at others.
And here are a few honorable mentions:
Joker
Hereditary
Sleepy Hollow
Get Out
Finding the right music to listen to when writing is an essential part of my process. I hope something I’ve shared here, or the playlists themselves, can help with whatever you’re writing.
If there are any other genres or kinds of scenes you want music recommendations for, ask me in the comments. And of course, feel free to add your own suggestions.
If you want to watch the video versions of these blog posts, head over to my YouTube channel here, and subscribe for more videos on writing.
– Grayson Taylor
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