Just write what they are listening to: A popular song plays on the radio; A classic; An upbeat rap song; a 90s gangsta rap hit; Christmas music plays...; A god-awful tune from 2014 - you get the point.

Montages and series of shits...SHOTS... agree with the above. I would just write them in scene. But everyone is different. Depends on what you want to project and how. All up to you

If you really wanted a particular song, scene should suggest a fitting tune. If not, put it in! Why not? It's your script. But you could always disguise it, mention the artist or title in dialogue. But to be honest, I don't think it matters that much unless it's absolutely necessary. If you really need it in, put it in. If in doubt, take it out.

Write whatever you want. If you want to write that LED ZEPPELIN's Whole Lotta Love is playing, that's fine. It will give the reader/filmmaker an idea of the tone/mood you're going for. If the script is made into a film, they will go with whatever music their budget allows.  Seriously. Write what you feel is important for your story.

Pia (Bear) and Sean (Blonde) have it right on the money. The reader has to be one terrible reader if they dismiss a script for stating which song is playing over the scene or montage. And in the end, it's your script -- and you can do whatever you want with it. There shouldn't be a stigma against writing specific song titles -- if the reader doesn't recognize the song, they'll just glaze over the detail instead of having a seizure.

You can use whatever music or songs you like in a spec script.

Whether the producer, or whoever, wants to use that song or not is a different matter entirely... but if it makes your story better to use it, then use it. Doesn't have to be important to the plot, it just has to fit the story.

Nobody is going to put your script down because you've mentioned a popular song in your script, well... maybe some from here would.

Quoted from Grandma Bear It will give the reader/filmmaker an idea of the tone/mood you're going for.

I'd be cautious on that one - it's fine with songs that everybody knows, if you over-use it and the poor reader's got no idea of what the song it, then it looses its purpose.

Quoted from Forgive I'd be cautious on that one - it's fine with songs that everybody knows, if you over-use it and the poor reader's got no idea of what the song it, then it looses its purpose.

The poor reader can Google it.

They're not going to Google it. That's the whole reason why I said that I do it when the scene warrants it. It's probably a bad idea to put a full soundtrack into your script, but you are free to do whatever you want with it. But, never assume that the reader is going to put the script down, look the song up THEN pick your script back up.

I'd Google it.

Depending on how many instances I'm being bombarded with songs I don't know, don't want to know, and don't give a shit about, at some point, I may put the script down...but, it's highly unlikely I'd google them.

I used to use songs in my own scripts but veered away from them.  I always have a specific song in mind for a script or moment, so I'd likely say this to a producer/director if/when I sell the script.

There was one a while back called Maverick where I thought of Evanescence's "My Immortal" to play during the ending scene, but I didn't write it in because spec scripts don't often use copyrighted music.  Though I'd mention this to producers.

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Parenthicals:

I don't use them much, commonly used as "beats" (breaks) between dialogue (if you didn't know what that meant, which you probably did anyway).  Or if there's a certain emotion to the words a character says or how they're feeling when they say it.

As for what Dreamscale said on languages, not really a fan of using parenthicals for different lingos.  I just put a "NOTE - This chick/dude speaks in Spanish all the time" or something, saves lines.

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Montages:

Either use letters (A, B, C) or numbers (1, 2, 3) and you don't need to explain where it takes place, for example, INT/EXT. is not required.  Just mention where it is in the action line.  Inside or outside, somewhere new, the same place, if it's the same place as the last scene then no need to describe where it is.

As an example:

LAST SCENE - INT. DUNGEON, TRAINING ROOM - NIGHT

Orion duels Brisburn in ferocious combat.

BEGIN MONTAGE:

A) Brisburn swings his sword. Orion parries, knocks him on his butt.
B) DEMONS march across a barren wasteland.
C) Orion sweeps out Brisburn's legs. Plunges the sword. Brisburn deflects.
D) Prometheus leads the demons on dragon-back across the expanse.

Kinda like that.

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Hope this helps.

Quoted from Dreamscale but, it's highly unlikely I'd google them.

You're not looking to produce a film. If I were reading a script with a mind to production and I didn't know the song the writer had used, I would Google it to help better understand the tone the writer is going for.

If I didn't give a shit about it, then I wouldn't bother to Google either...

If you write well, then you can use whatever music or song you like. If you don't write well, Jeff, then you might as well give up now.

Quoted from DustinBowcot   If you write well, then you can use whatever music or song you like. If you don't write well, Jeff, then you might as well give up now.

Agreed on the "if you write well, then you can use whatever music or song you like" part, but completely disagree with the giving up now part.

Many writers on SS and anywhere are new writers.  They're writers who don't know what they're doing.  They're here to learn, ask questions, see examples of good and bad writing, and finally, they're able to take everything they get and make decisions for themselves.

If all the writers who didn't write well gave up now, there wouldn't be too many writers left, Dustin.  You for one should know that.

Quoted from Leegion   BEGIN MONTAGE: A) Brisburn swings his sword. Orion parries, knocks him on his butt. B) DEMONS march across a barren wasteland. C) Orion sweeps out Brisburn's legs. Plunges the sword. Brisburn deflects. D) Prometheus leads the demons on dragon-back across the expanse.

This is a Series of Shots, not a montage.

Dustin: Google a song in a script? Okay, just don't complain about interrupting a read anymore (and I've been sidelined by hours of dodgy YT vids following a 'quick check'). There's possible and there's probable, and this falls into the latter - in that it's probably not what the reader's going to do. What you're talking about is a likely later stage and I think it's important to know your audience - if this is a complete spec, then veer away -- if you're writing for a limited audience (you know the people who's likely to read it) then you've a little more leeway.

Honestly I can't remember the last time I read a spec where someone specifically added a song to a scene.  

Quoted from Dreamscale Agreed on the "if you write well, then you can use whatever music or song you like" part, but completely disagree with the giving up now part. Many writers on SS and anywhere are new writers.  They're writers who don't know what they're doing.  They're here to learn, ask questions, see examples of good and bad writing, and finally, they're able to take everything they get and make decisions for themselves. If all the writers who didn't write well gave up now, there wouldn't be too many writers left, Dustin.  You for one should know that.

99% of writers will never get anywhere, so they should give up. It would certainly help the more mediocre writers get noticed, eh Jeff.

Writers are born that way. They're good from the moment they can write, relatively speaking. Just as Mozart wrote his first symphony aged eight.

Sure one can improve but if one doesn't write well to begin with, then one will never be able to do so. Unfortunately mate, writing well is a natural talent.

Quoted from Forgive Dustin: Google a song in a script? Okay, just don't complain about interrupting a read anymore (and I've been sidelined by hours of dodgy YT vids following a 'quick check').

Hours of youtube vid's? OK, let's change the subject for a while. If a script prompted me into watching hours of youtube vid's, I'd celebrate it. I enjoy learning new things, and none moreso than learning them through easy-to-digest fiction. I would never complain for being led away from a script for education purposes.

If Googling (takes around 30 seconds in total) an unknown song will give me a better feel for what the writer is trying to achieve then I'll do it. Again, it's an education.

These things have to be done right though, only a good writer can get away with it... the reason for that is because it will simply add to a bad writer's litany of mistakes. In that sense, it's bad... I suppose.

Quoted from Forgive There's possible and there's probable, and this falls into the latter - in that it's probably not what the reader's going to do. What you're talking about is a likely later stage and I think it's important to know your audience - if this is a complete spec, then veer away -- if you're writing for a limited audience (you know the people who's likely to read it) then you've a little more leeway

We're always writing for a limited audience... that being, producers that make our type of script. On an initial read-through they may simply skip over the songs. On the second they will look into obscure songs. Obscure means cheap or even free.

If you write well, then you can do whatever you want. It's always about that.

Quoted from Guest Honestly I can't remember the last time I read a spec where someone specifically added a song to a scene.

That's them... and you are you. At least, you should be.