Music and Trading

[Henry]

Idle curiosity strikes again....serious(ish) question - I was wondering if other traders listen to music whilst trading, and if so, what sort? Does Britney help you buy, do you sell to the Stones, does Mahler put you in the mood?

Music can be incredibly motivating, and I've found it to be one of the best things to help me through bad trading days, as well as keep me 'on the level' when things are going my way.

Do most people prefer complete silence to aid concentration, or do others have a pile of selected Trading CDs?

H.

 

[orchard]

I don't know about trading but for vacuuming I can highly recommend Kenny Ball!!!.

 

[julesrules]

Oasis and the Beatles makes me a winner

 

[Skimbleshanks]

Does Kenny Ball also do dusting and polishing, as well as vacuuming? If so, please send him round.

 

[FTSE Beater]

Hi Henry

I listen to different music depending on how my tradings going. If the adrenaline is pumping, then I have woodland sounds to calm me down.

On the flip side, if I need a kick / pick me up, then it's either Phantom of the Opera, Country or up beat pop.

 

[Mr. Charts]

Silence.
I concentrate.

 

[orchard]

Sorry Skim - I should be so lucky!!

 

[DaveJB]

Lucky lucky lucky....

I'll get my coat

 

[ozzy]

you can't beat a bit of Beethoven!

 

[stock trader]

Sushhhhhh!... Silence is golden (its my best way to trade)

 

[bally35]

...no music...i jog on the spot..

 

[options]

Total Silence to aid concentration. Othrewise part of the brain is listening to the music instead of listening to the move of the market.

It means I can only concentrate for 2 hours at a time before the mind wanders and I have to take a break. But in most cases I'm done for the day by then anyway.

Options

 

[JJL3142]

.

A spot of Berlin "Take My breath away" and Bon Jovi to get you into the zone !

 

[riophil]

Henry, if you haven't already, you should try
The Education of a speculator by Victor Niederhoffer .
It has a whole chapter on music and the markets.
Phil

 

[X-Ray Specs]

I remember reading a study performed on school children. Half were asked to perform work to the sound of their favourite music whilst the other half had to work in silence.
The results were that for the first 30 minutes, the children working whilst listening to music performed better but after about 30 minutes the silence outperformed as the children concentartion went.

I guess the moral is to listen to music for 30 minutes then silence Can't elabotate further on what you should do next as it was not in the remit of the experiment.