So my husband and I have music playing in our house almost constantly and I don't feel the need to give it up, even though I've been in tech-reduction mode for years. I wonder if the reason is a couple differences...
We don't listen to modern pop or top 50. We listen to literally everything else and have curated good go-to libraries. It's so rare for me to listen to anything that just came out.
We also don't listen on headphones. We listen on our home audio system. I keep every door and window in the house open all the time and the music blends with the sounds of life in a beautiful way. Music actually makes me more in tune with real life as it quotes more overactive brain.
I only listen on headphones for audiobooks or podcasts, because I need to focus and shut out more.
I'm super interested in hearing other people's relationships with music. The topic came up recently in a homemaker group I'm in as well.
I have a habit of turning on a show every morning when I get ready and lately I have felt a draw to experimenting with making myself listen to nothing while getting ready. This article was the gentle nudge I needed to do this experiment and see what it is like to enjoy more silence
Great article. I'm in my early fifties and for the last ten years or so I've stopped listening to music, for the most part. I have a 35 minute commute to work each way and about half of the time I listen to a podcast episode and half the time I'll just drive in complete silence. I'm not sure if it's an age thing, a generational thing, or whatever but with the bombardment of social media,YouTube, and the 24-hour news cycle I feel like I need to unplug. I walk my dogs or go on hikes and just listen to the world, so to speak. Hearing the wind through the trees,the sound of waves softly lapping on the shore, or the distant mournful sigh of a train somewhere far away is a calming and reflective experience.
Oh man… are you inside my brain?? I’ve just been saying how I feel totally saturated on noise… music, podcasts, audio books… too much! Going to give this a whirl, thanks for the inspiration 🤍
Same here. I spend hours on my sunbed next to the sea in summer. If I go early enough I simply listen to the waves but as more and more people arrive and start chatting the only solution is AirPods with a calming jazzy background.
I felt that music was becoming less valuable to me, it just melted into the background and I didnt even notice it, let alone listen when it was playing. The words never provoked meaning to me in the same way soundtracks, classical, and dance do. In a world were I get overwhelmed talking to people all day, listening to music in brief periods of alone time doesnt feel as appealing as it origionaly did. Instead i'm learning to savour the silence, and not overwhelm myself with even more media as I, like most, am subject to doom scrolling. However now while I work i much prefer listening to my surroundings, its soothing as I become more comfortable in my environment. I feel real. I dont feel like im watching the world go by in silence anymore because i'm preoccupied with whatever is in my ears (which im not really paying attention to anyway) but instead im hearing amusing quips and conversations more which brighten my day, or im smiling at strangers more, or even sometimes im learning to be in uncomfortable silence, which quickly finds its way to making me feel more at ease.
So my husband and I have music playing in our house almost constantly and I don't feel the need to give it up, even though I've been in tech-reduction mode for years. I wonder if the reason is a couple differences...
We don't listen to modern pop or top 50. We listen to literally everything else and have curated good go-to libraries. It's so rare for me to listen to anything that just came out.
We also don't listen on headphones. We listen on our home audio system. I keep every door and window in the house open all the time and the music blends with the sounds of life in a beautiful way. Music actually makes me more in tune with real life as it quotes more overactive brain.
I only listen on headphones for audiobooks or podcasts, because I need to focus and shut out more.
I'm super interested in hearing other people's relationships with music. The topic came up recently in a homemaker group I'm in as well.
I have a habit of turning on a show every morning when I get ready and lately I have felt a draw to experimenting with making myself listen to nothing while getting ready. This article was the gentle nudge I needed to do this experiment and see what it is like to enjoy more silence
Great article. I'm in my early fifties and for the last ten years or so I've stopped listening to music, for the most part. I have a 35 minute commute to work each way and about half of the time I listen to a podcast episode and half the time I'll just drive in complete silence. I'm not sure if it's an age thing, a generational thing, or whatever but with the bombardment of social media,YouTube, and the 24-hour news cycle I feel like I need to unplug. I walk my dogs or go on hikes and just listen to the world, so to speak. Hearing the wind through the trees,the sound of waves softly lapping on the shore, or the distant mournful sigh of a train somewhere far away is a calming and reflective experience.
Wow, this is really impressive (I couldn't do it), but I would never have the need to give music up.
Oh man… are you inside my brain?? I’ve just been saying how I feel totally saturated on noise… music, podcasts, audio books… too much! Going to give this a whirl, thanks for the inspiration 🤍
Same here. I spend hours on my sunbed next to the sea in summer. If I go early enough I simply listen to the waves but as more and more people arrive and start chatting the only solution is AirPods with a calming jazzy background.
I felt that music was becoming less valuable to me, it just melted into the background and I didnt even notice it, let alone listen when it was playing. The words never provoked meaning to me in the same way soundtracks, classical, and dance do. In a world were I get overwhelmed talking to people all day, listening to music in brief periods of alone time doesnt feel as appealing as it origionaly did. Instead i'm learning to savour the silence, and not overwhelm myself with even more media as I, like most, am subject to doom scrolling. However now while I work i much prefer listening to my surroundings, its soothing as I become more comfortable in my environment. I feel real. I dont feel like im watching the world go by in silence anymore because i'm preoccupied with whatever is in my ears (which im not really paying attention to anyway) but instead im hearing amusing quips and conversations more which brighten my day, or im smiling at strangers more, or even sometimes im learning to be in uncomfortable silence, which quickly finds its way to making me feel more at ease.