Who else prefers silence to background music?

A J

A J

Silver Member
As a "musician" I should be the first guy to turn on some tunes, but actually the opposite is true. I find background music, (especially radio), to be annoying and distracting. Even if there's an occasional song I really like, I have to sit through a lot of songs I don't, commercials and DJ talk.

Examples:

Yesterday, my wife and I attended an outdoor grand opening at a local nature preserve. They hired a guitar player / singer to entertain. Even outdoors, he was way too loud and in order to speak, you had to shout. The whole goal of the event was for folks to get a chance to see the new preserve and socialize with other folks.

We got home from the event and the first thing my wife does is turn on the radio. Go figure. :)
 
Same here. I don't have any background music running, except when driving (which happens maybe once a week). And even in that situation it's just around maybe 50%. I sometimes put on my headphones while coding, listening to Drone Zone on Soma FM to trigger my brain, but most of the time I prefer silence. Moving from the city to the country side was pure relief.
 
I don't mind a little quiet, mellow music during dinner sometimes. Low enough for conversation, but JUST loud enough to cover up the sounds of everybody's chewing, drinking, and swallowing. Outside of a musical context though, I GREATLY value silence. Everyone needs some.
Kind of surprising just how noise-filled our world actually is today. Nature is my favourite respite from all man-made racket
🌲🌳🦅🐝🦭🐬🍁🍄🌷🏕️⛰️🏔️
 
I don't find background music necessary. Brain Radio usually keeps me occupied when doing mundane tasks if I'm not sorting my mental laundry.
 
When working I prefer background noise, I have my headphones on regulary working from home, so it helps with the silence when our daughter isn’t here.

Driving, I only listen to music when I’m trying to memorise music. Much prefer the sound of the road.
 
I downloaded "Brain Radio".....it was insightful......but they played the same song too many times in a row....in a row..in a row...in a row......in a row...in a row....in a row...in a row
"Background Music"....has ruined a few of our restaurant experiences.
 
Strangely enough the only time I have background music is while I'm driving or when I have to learn parts for a gig . My wife leaves the TV on and I shut it off whenever she's gone , though I get a kick out of Weather Network's latest theme . In the car I prefer easy listening jazz like Miles Davis or Paul Desmond .
 
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Depends on the context. For example, the golf tournaments on TV now have music playing during the action. It's obviously just for the the TV audience, the players would never tolerate it. But it's very incongruous with an activity that requires silence, and sticks out as being annoying.
 
often I think (...) TV commercials would be more effective if just spoken; without music (sorry studio cats) -
the old 'saw' 'that music will grab their attention' half not all the time it's annoying 😁
Silence is golden sometimes; can draw you in more,
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If I need to concentrate on something, then I don't like having anything playing in the background. I will even turn off the car radio if the weather is bad and I really need to focus. At a restaurant, I don't mind it unless it's to the point where it interferes with conversation. Of course, there are certain types of music I prefer over others, and that can make a difference.
 
I prefer silence also though will turn on music in the car if I am in a great mood. I think my tinnitus has a lot to do with that. It's pretty severe and drowns out most soft sounds.

I do enjoy listening to music though, and have a killer audio system and record collection. My teen spins records all weekend long when he is with me, and I enjoy that very much.
 
I only prefer "background" music while driving, and I don't mind the radio, even with ads. I find I can tune them out easily enough. It's music I can't normally tune out - my brain listens very actively. That's the main reason I don't do background music.

Silence, on the other hand, is a total myth in my world. There is never a moment when I don't hear the intrusive sounds of traffic, sirens, train whistles from three different crossings around me, the neighbors thumping around, talking, playing video games, or yelling, traffic, trains, sirens, neighbors, police, sirens, traffic, neighbors, trains, other people playing music, motorcycles and kid cars (tricked out Hondas and Subarus) racing, the freeway, trains, another neighbor idling his diesel truck while he gets ready in the morning, airplanes, sirens, helicopters, train whistles, traffic, doors slamming, the noisy young guy upstairs wheeling in with his stereo so loud you can hear it over conversation, then running upstairs heavily enough to rattle pictures on the wall, train whistles, traffic. 24/7.

God, I would love silence.

Can you tell I hate where I live? Takes a real toll on my mental health. I've been trying to find a viable alternative for nearly three years.
 
I must have loud music or loud TV at all times. Without it my tinnitus would drive me crazy. I wear headphones 90% of the time.
I think background music in a social setting needs to be low enough for people to easily talk to each other.
But most of the time I hate background music because I can't hear it well enough to enjoy the music.

.
 
Outside the home in a non musical setting I prefer silence or very low enjoyable ( to me lol) background music . That’s rare though since you don’t control the selection .
At home while doing projects or things around the house I prefer some tunes but I am in complete control of that .
A strange story about noise or really the lack there of that I experienced a few years back .
While hunting northern Maine near the Canadian border , I experienced something that has NEVER happened until that day or since .
I started out my morning heading into the woods early about half hour before sunrise to get settled in for the day . Weather report was for overcast skies and periods of brief clouded sun , 35 degrees or so and a 3 mph wind with no gusts . I DID notice it was as quiet as I’d ever remembered it being in any woods anywhere of hundreds of days spent afield except for some crunching under foot .
In my stand and settled , night turned to day , a few birds were chirping and a couple of rustlings in the leaves the first hour . I remember thinking , this is amazing , I’ve never heard it so quiet in all my life .
One more hour goes by ( about 8 am ) and I notice NO sound whatsoever, and I mean NONE ! Again , pretty cool and I was enjoying the calm, still, and silence of the morning as it’s relaxing and you may possibly hear game approaching . Not a chirping bird , rustling leaves , no wind no hum of logging machinery off in the distance and as it’s a wilderness area no people, houses, roads or the like , none of the associated sounds as you might hear ( however distant) in many other forested areas , no matter how quiet you may THINK it is . There’s relative quiet , which is pretty damned quiet and mostly what I and most of us experience as it relates to “virtually “ no noise ,….. and then there was this day …..
COMPLETE QUIET and stillness.
By 10 am I was rubbing two fingers next to each ear because I literally thought something had happened to my hearing . It became so maddening by 11 am I wanted to stand up and yell lol and at times my ears would ring for a few seconds . I love when it’s quiet and still while afield but I came to realize on that day that it’s relative quietness that is enjoyable and this was something different and a kind of like you had to be there and experience it to truly get it . Don’t get me wrong , it was an amazing experience and pretty cool to have had that happen , but it’s not the kind of quiet I would want all the time and I remember thinking feeling terrible for those who had lost all hearing after having it their whole life . I learned the true meaning of two sayings that day ………
Be careful what you wish for , you might just get it ! And …
Silence ( pure silence) is deafening !
Never realized the difference between quiet and QUIET 😳.
Not as profound as the silence thing but ( in Maine) also , was the first time I experienced what REAL darkness was while still having my eyes open . Literally COULD not se my hand an inch from my face or the person standing next to me in the dark of the forest one night after sundown with no moon or stars out under complete cloud cover .
I’ve come to really appreciate and take care of my hearing and eyesight .
But yeah , mostly, …..depending on environment and or circumstance, I prefer quiet. Or is peace a better description 🤷🏻‍♂️🤔.
 
bermuda said:
Depends on the context. For example, the golf tournaments on TV now have music playing during the action. It's obviously just for the the TV audience, the players would never tolerate it. But it's very incongruous with an activity that requires silence, and sticks out as being annoying.
Click to expand...
My golfing buddy I’ve been playing with 40 years has lately been bringing his little bluetooth speaker into the golf cart…..and I hate it lol. Some endeavors require just the background noise of mother nature and that’s it
 
I have 100's of CDs, some vinyl, some iTunes, and a Spotify playlist. I prefer silence most of the time.

I do listen in the car on occasion, but not often. My wife and kids don't get it.

My wife has to have a radio on in the background 24/7.
 
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