Have you ever heard of “Mozart Makes You Smarter?” 
An album released in the mid 1990′s, it followed the theory that Mozart’s compositions allow your brain to more efficiently store and recall information.
I feel as though the same is true for compositions by J.S. Bach and the creative centers of the brain. For me, whenever I listen to Bach’s music, the writing not only comes easier but is of a better quality. However, for me, any music is an aid to writing. Although if it has lyrics, it has to be of a calm mood or I get distracted.
A friend of mine creates soundtracks for her characters and those songs help her to get into the mood. I find it interesting how the brain works and sometimes find myself wondering whether all music does somehow unlock capacity in our brains, like Mozart’s, or if it just becomes Pavlovian. Then I remind myself to stop wondering about it and get back to the writing. 
Weigh in–what type of music do you like to listen to while writing, or do you prefer complete silence? I’m always curious to know where others stand on this as myself and a friend or two are hardly a reasonable sample size. Feel free to suggest tracks too–my favorites of Bach’s are his Unaccompanied Cello Suites–any of them, all of them…played by Yo Yo Ma.
