[Tumor]

Do you listen to any music while reading fantasy? And if so, what kind of music do you listen to? Do you know any pieces that represent a certain scene from a fantasy series really well?

I don't usually listen to music while I'm reading, though I could if I wanted to (I can study for exams while listening to loud rap or heavy metal - it doesn't affect my concentration at all!). It doesn't seem to change anything for me.

I do know some songs which really fit certain series and are quite nice to listen to.. I'll post more later.

[FitzChivalry]

I listen to the sub-genre of metal called fantasy metal or symphonic metal, bands like Blind Guardian, Rhapsody and Virgin Steele that tell fantasy stories through lyrics and melodies.

[Metosblat]

There's nothing like listening to Marilyn Manson or NIN while reading, it puts a dark mood on everything you read. Try it sometime.

[Rob B]

I have a hard time reading in absolute quiet--I usually have to have something in the background, usually my wife will have the TV on.

But music-wise--Metal (Iron Maiden, Metallica, Black Sabbath, etc), Hard Rock (Stone Temple Pilots, Creed, Live) or Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin

[Bardos]

I don't listen to music while I read, but I listen to music when I write. Anad I like Metal. I think its the closest to fantasy you're going to get in music.

[azaz]

I don't usually listen to music while I'm reading, but what I do is eat. I like to have something that is easy to eat while reading a book, its the same for a movie.

[Lani]

I can listen to music while reading, but I rarely do that because the music would be taking part of my attention and it would affect my speed of reading and when the book is interesting I prefer to read fast http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif
But I like to listen to music based on fantasy. For example, Blind Guardian. These music is pretty interesting by itself.

[Thoughtcriminal84]

recent Information society is pretty good for reading pretty much anything. Pink floyd is for the slow parts, Metallica for the battle sequences or really tense moments (nearly shat myself while listening to "Jump in the Fire" while reading the last chapter of Game of Thrones, it fit so well, and I remember the savage elation even now), Depeche mode for the rest. Sprinkle in some random gothic music, such as Zohr, and You've Got Mood.

[Drewids]

I haven't heard of these new "fantasy metal" bands, the sound very intriguing. The last metal band I listened to with a fantasy theme was Manowar. I'm going to have to find more about Blind Guardian, etc...

[Cadfael]

I actually have a CD by a guy called Bo Hanson, the CD is called 'Music Inspired by The Lord of the Rings', it is all done with Moog synths, very good. I also like to listen to Celtic Folk or Celtic Rock.

The Bo hanson CD is available from Amazon