Listen to Mozart
When I was in university, I had a professor who advised us to listen to Mozart's music while doing our math homework, or writing an exam. He was a believer in the Mozart Effect. I tried it out, and fell into the habit of listening to Mozart and other classical music while solving math, logic or programming problems.
I don't know much about the so-called Mozart effect, and as a skeptic I don't really care about the marketing claims, but I do know this: listening to music can cause your brain to operate differently. Pleasing, complex forms of music like classical music (*and others) can alter your mood, bring about a sense of calm, and cause you to access areas of your brain in different combinations. This is useful for idea generation and problem solving. As testers, we're relied on to generate test ideas, so try listening to Mozart to help provoke your brain to generate new ideas, or when you are analyzing a difficult problem space. You might be surprised at how your brain responds.
* Keith Jarrett's Köln Concert is another good album for me, particularly on a rainy day.
July 22nd, 2009 - 01:03
Good tip! For me, Ravel’s “Piano Concerto in G Major”, Chopin Nocturnes, and Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” tend to put in ‘a place’. Or nothing at all, if its a significant environmental change. Sometimes, its fun just to listen to the metronome.
July 22nd, 2009 - 02:48
Nice blog. I tried Classical music but just couldn’t find my rhythm. I flipped through a few genre and ended up on Jazz.
Miles Davis, Jimmy Smith or Chet Baker and I’m generating test ideas left, right and centre.
Music does indeed change the way I think and the mood I’m in, with both positive and negative effects.
I also find that hip-hop is awesome when exploratory testing an app. The rhythm, creative lyrics and hard edged feel often drives me on to areas and ideas and experiments I’d never have thought off before.
However, I know a few testers who simply cannot work to music at all. Seem alien to me as I can’t test without music, but just goes to show how complex and different each testing mind is.
Rob..