Do you make music in the dark or with the lights on?

[danssnico]

something inbetween, an abajour with red light

[30ipsisit]

I come from the traditional studio world. Studer 24 tracks etc - always well lit but not oppressively so. Some people wanted to record in dim lighting but I couldn't see the board or effects or patch bay, so the control room was always lit enough. Guess I guy stuck that way - I need consistent but not overbearing lights.

[guitarplayr82]

Lights dimmed for vibe all the way!

[mrtechnoid]

Dark

[enroe]

Only in the dark with stroboscopic flashlight. Then the right
rhythmically choppy staccato mood comes up.

[CrystalWizard]

Either way as long as i have enough light to see what i'm doing. As i used to do a lot of gigs litsd i could see better in the dark (with my eyes dilated), crazy days.

[vurt]

Either way as long as i have enough light to see what i'm doing. As i used to do a lot of gigs litsd i could see better in the dark (with my eyes dilated), crazy days.

im still "dilated" when making music these days

[CrystalWizard]

Yeah me too but not like i used to. i used to eat up 10 strips like the cosmic candy they are. now, it's mostly weed goop (with the at this point a yearly cosmic clean up and retune). coincidentally on topic, i actually am finding it makes me desire soft lighting but not too low, it makes it harder for me to see, dark or light.

added: Actually my eyesight is not that good, never was but it's a good bit worse, like, i don't like to drive at dusk or dawn at all. so never mind the funny stuff, i do need More light then i used to when playing. Another big point is -what i play- that now being controllers and laptops (mostly mousing about which i would like to eliminate soon). Looking at the screen sometimes is just irritating to my eyes. Way back it was a bass guitar, a rack or two of effects, many pedals, eventually some synthesizers, (no screens).

[DaveClark]

Might seem like a crazy question but when I see peoples studios with natural lighting I think wtf. I gotta turn all the lights off to get creative, curious about others situation.

yes, it's crazy question.

It's not a crazy question at all. Just look up posts, articles, etc. about the psychology of lighting. If anything, the question is not detailed enough. The color or "temperature" of the lighting matters as well as does the number of lights and their placement. Individual's past experiences influence their mood for various lighting conditions. And so on.

Dim lighting generally makes people perform tasks more poorly, but I would suspect that people who have dim lighting surrounding them but good monitors may find that the have less distractions and are able to focus better on the task at hand. For those who can focus easily, this would be of less benefit. For others, it may be critical to success.

[CrystalWizard]

Might seem like a crazy question but when I see peoples studios with natural lighting I think wtf. I gotta turn all the lights off to get creative, curious about others situation.

yes, it's crazy question.

It's not a crazy question at all. Just look up posts, articles, etc. about the psychology of lighting. If anything, the question is not detailed enough. The color or "temperature" of the lighting matters as well as does the number of lights and their placement. Individual's past experiences influence their mood for various lighting conditions. And so on.

Dim lighting generally makes people perform tasks more poorly, but I would suspect that people who have dim lighting surrounding them but good monitors may find that the have less distractions and are able to focus better on the task at hand. For those who can focus easily, this would be of less benefit. For others, it may be critical to success.

Yes indeed, great post. I did think this when i last commented but for some reason didn't get into the details and said both. What i meant was
a. sometimes natural lighting (not direct sun) works depending on my mood and what kinds of noise i'm making (this is huge).
b. subdued lighting can be perfect (same criteria).
c. really bright (sun or stage lighting) generally sux but i've played in those conditions plenty of times. i'm sure i'm not the only one who has had to have the lights lowered during a gig?!
d. too much sunlight and i'm out. Besides not being able to see i don't like it most times.
e. too dark and i need some supplemental lighting of my own (like holiday lights or something). (this is the usual situation back when i played out in "chill rooms" and such).
f. blinky lights and strobes suck big time.
g. colours and colour temperature are huge imo. Green yes def, red, orange, yellow not too much, puple yes, blue...as long as i'm not trippping it's ok.
It's interesting to me how little most people i know are indifferent to colour temp. i just ordered four different LED lights for the space i live in (12v) 3.7k-4.3k-4.5k and 6k. Glad i did, i used some 3.7 "very warm, yellowish, for recessed fixtures, 4.5k almost everywhere, and some 6k overhead.
Don't let me start on my beloved (but hot and inefficient) halogens.
When tungsten filaments were phased out in the US and they tried to push to (horrifying to my eyes and my mind) CFLs i mostly went with small halogens until finally LED came along.

i once did a gig (we rented a small hall and presented the party ourselves) on Halloween that was lit entirely with jack o lanterns. One on every table, some on the bar, lots on our amps and speakers and a semi circle around the front of the stage. The bartender had lighting below the bar. There were some in the loo even.

[thecontrolcentre]

I usually make music at night with the lights down as low as possible (usb lamps).

[ralphsc]

I love late night production sessions with almost no light on. With software it's not an issue, but with some hardware it gets hard to see the knobs

[AsPeeXXXVIII]

In the summer, I keep my lights off and let the natural outdoor light in.

In the winter, it's dark enough outside that I have the lights on.

Got a Philips Hue some months back that I use for lighting in my bedroom/"studio" these days. Sometimes, I dial a custom color into it depending on the mood of the day.

[MVRCK]

I'm in a dark atmosphere with lamps. Natural lighting ruins the vibe.

[juanpablo]

soft, low warm light. working with the light off on the computer makes me tired