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Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: Rob Goes Walking on 19:21:43, 02/08/19

Title: Music while walking
Post by: Rob Goes Walking on 19:21:43, 02/08/19
Do you ladies, gentlemen or otherwise ever listen to music while you're out walking? If so, what?

I was convinced this would spoil it in the past but I've been listening to music walking around town lately and it's an improvement. I still think it might spoil a walk in the hills but I'm not as convinced of this as before.

Should I be hung, drawn and quartered for even considering it or is there a place for it out of the town?

Thoughts?
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: BuzyG on 19:27:29, 02/08/19
Hang him from the yard arm. ;D
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Owen on 19:30:45, 02/08/19
Burn him, he's a witch.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: ninthace on 19:31:38, 02/08/19
I rarely listen to music at any time apart from Classic FM or Radio 3 in the car, usually when Woman's Hour is on.


Solo walking, I do enjoy Radio 4 or a podcast such as The Infinite Monkey Cage.  It gives my brain something to do while the rest of me is on autopilot.  I can still multi task sufficiently to navigate and appreciate my surroundings.  My kids have music on constantly but they never listen to it - I know because if you ask them what has just been on, they have no idea.  I switched it off once and it took them ages to realise.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Hillhiker1 on 19:32:21, 02/08/19
Only the music of the fells.. The wind in the grass, the babbling of brooks and streams. The baa-ing of sheep and the patter of rain in the tree canopy... It beats me why anyone would listen to owt else in the hills. And I love music!
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Dovegirl on 20:23:22, 02/08/19
I don't listen to music when I'm walking as I like to hear the sounds of the natural world, such as birdsong or waves on the shore.   Walking on the downs, for instance, it's lovely hearing the trilling of skylarks.  Also I like to be aware of what's going on around me  -  eg  cyclists or farm machinery coming along behind.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Rob Goes Walking on 20:32:19, 02/08/19
Yeah I usually like the sounds of nature too but I've really got back into music these past few days and have had it on almost constantly the idea of switching it off for a long time feels weird. I'm sure once I get out there tomorrow I'll feel differently.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: jimbob on 20:33:33, 02/08/19
I don't listen to music but I do like to sing for myself if there is no one around. 

Many people do listen to music and enjoy doing so. It doesn't actually need to bother anyone else as modern decent ear buds tend to keep  the sound in.
The only proviso would be as per Dovegirls contribution don't let it affect your awareness of what is happening around  you.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: richardh1905 on 21:48:23, 02/08/19
Music whilst walking - never.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 22:44:11, 02/08/19
Never while on a proper walk. I do listen to music when walking around the streets or local parks to build up fitness. Fast paced music encourages a fast walking pace. In the hills and countryside nature has enough sounds.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Percy on 07:20:07, 03/08/19
I would never use headphones outside of the house except maybe when sat on a train. So it’s a no from me.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: fernman on 09:12:08, 03/08/19
NEVER while walking, and never while out and about in fact, except when I'm in my car when I play 70s rock full blast on CDs I make from music from YouTube. But I do turn the volume down when I'm in queues and waiting at traffic lights, as I'm not sure how other drivers would react to a grey-haired oldie with something like Mountain or Rory Gallagher blasting away  :-[
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: barewirewalker on 10:50:53, 03/08/19
Mrs BWW has one of those Ipod things, but she doesn't use it when walking. When my hearing was better, I told her what many of the sounds of the countryside are. Now she can pickup the slightest hint of a wood pecker and is first on the ball with the cuckoo. I am not very good a birdsongs, but there is a difference between the warning call a blackbird makes for a domestic cat or a stoat, sometimes wish I had paid more attention to my old countryside mentors in my youth.

Last week Mrs BWW picked up on a waterfall in Glen Strae, by the sound, I had seen it on the map but finding it might have passed us by, if the sound had not added to the intrigue to the location. It was hidden away in forestry and behind a deer fence, it was the highlight of our walk, as the River Strae fell into a a narrow gorge cut by a lesser burn cutting at right angles across it's course down the Glen.

I have been fortunate to locate many more sites of Peregrine Falcons, by catching the warning calls at a distance, than I expect many walkers are aware of. Since I made Mrs BWW aware of the smell of a fox, the number of times she picks it up, now my sense of smell is not so good, makes me feel that I have helped increase her awareness of wildlife. This may not be an audible clue but is among the many signs that can tell the visitor that the countryside is not an empty space.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Rob Goes Walking on 11:22:11, 03/08/19
Despise my heresy I did not in practice take the music out into nature, nor did I miss it.  :)
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: barewirewalker on 11:41:56, 03/08/19
One of the greatest pleasures I have had from our walking together is seeing how my partner has developed awareness from some of the tips I have been able to give, that is the point I was trying to make and was not intended as an argumentative point aimed at those, who choose otherwise.
Perhaps posing your heresy was a lure, do you fish by the way  ;) .
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Dyffryn Ardudwy on 12:38:36, 03/08/19
No, ive never been a convert of MP3 players or the app on my Apple I phone.
The only music to my ears, is to the listening out for the sounds of nature around me.
Yesterday i was walking around Cors Ddyga nature reserve on Anglesey, and there is a very rare migration of Painted Lady butterflies happening at the moment.

The Painted Lady is a scarce visitor to our shores, but this year has been an exceptional year for their arrival.

There were Peacock Butterflies, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Skippers, and other species that i did not have the knowledge to identify.


These carefully managed RSPB reserves are like attending the Last Night of the Proms, as the sounds and smells of nature around us is truly magical.

I also heard a Bittern, and Water Rail, calling amongst the reeds, that is a symphony to anyones ears.

Listening to music along my travels, takes away the pure harmony of Nature around me.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: vghikers on 14:08:00, 03/08/19
Absolutely never whilst walking on a backpack. The only trips where I might take an MP3 player are mid winter camps when it's dark at teatime and hours in the tent before I can get to sleep.

Quote
I do turn the volume down when I'm in queues and waiting at traffic lights, as I'm not sure how other drivers would react to a grey-haired oldie with something like Mountain or Rory Gallagher blasting away

Hmm, I never turned mine down. My wife reckons she always knew when I'd turned into our road because she could hear Jobriath playing from our house halfway along. Now I think about it there were some strange looks here and there...
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Warbler on 15:13:12, 03/08/19

Hmm, I never turned mine down. My wife reckons she always knew when I'd turned into our road because she could hear Jobriath playing from our house halfway along. Now I think about it there were some strange looks here and there...


I have to admit to having never heard of Jobriath, and had to use Google. I thought I was quite knowledgeable about that era too :-\ .
Seems an interesting character.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 17:03:16, 03/08/19
My car is also usually filled with rock music from the 1970s,with some 1960s and 1980s. Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Genesis, The Who, Supertramp, ELO, Queen, Rainbow, ELP. My journey to and from work is usually just under an hour each way and the music helps the time pass. I don’t lower the volume at traffic lights. You do need to be careful with some of this music, as a fast beat does tend to encourage faster driving.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Kidder44 on 19:30:13, 03/08/19
It looks like i'm in the minority, :-\ or maybe just the only one who'll admit to it. I often listen to music whilst out walking the  South West Coast Path, from St Ives around to the Lizard
A mix of pop and rock from the 50's through to the present day, basically anything I like. Some days I'll listen for the duration of the hike, or just use my MP3 when I take a break, and on other days I don't use it at all, it all depends on my mood. I normally walk alone, but should I have company, then I don't listen to it. I've spotted dolphins, a whale, sunfish, various birds, foxes, seals, rabbits etc etc
I'm sure I enjoy my hiking as much as anyone else, so much in fact that I'm out almost every day on this stretch of the coast. O0
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: ninthace on 19:31:12, 03/08/19
High on my hate list are folk who play "music" at a volume that can be heard outside their car.  We have a couple of drivers locally who you can hear coming before you see them.  I find it really inconsiderate.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: jimbob on 20:04:28, 03/08/19
High on my hate list are folk who play "music" at a volume that can be heard outside their car.  We have a couple of drivers locally who you can hear coming before you see them.  I find it really inconsiderate.
You're not alone. Something in last week's  papers about the testing of "sound cameras" to catch those vehicles who impose their music on others whilst driving above the permitted decibel limit.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 20:07:23, 03/08/19
I don’t know how loud my music is outside the car, as I am inside the car when listening. However, at lights I can often hear an incessant thud-thud from other cars.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Rob Goes Walking on 20:25:41, 03/08/19
Music from cars only bothers me at night when I find it inconsiderate. In the day time I find it interesting to hear what other people are listening to (though only with it being transient) and am generally impressed by a loud sub woofer. I've even owned one myself though today I just have the standard car stereo, which I play on a normal volume.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 20:37:11, 03/08/19
I do have a sub-woofer in my car and it makes a real difference to the sound quality.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: barewirewalker on 21:40:42, 03/08/19
I don’t know how loud my music is outside the car, as I am inside the car when listening. However, at lights I can often hear an incessant thud-thud from other cars.
Probably synonymous with the landowner sitting in his mansion, unaware how his occupation on multiple acres affects the surrounding community.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Mel on 22:46:55, 03/08/19
No, I don't listen to music whilst walking - prefer the sounds of nature and all that.  Besides, I have a radio on at work, I listen to a radio or CD on my way to/from work, then there's the noise from whatever I'm watching on the tellybox.  It's just nice not not hear any man-made sounds now and again. 



Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: astaman on 07:37:13, 04/08/19
Don't listen to music while walking ever. I have carried an MP3 player with a talking book, usually a novel, and some music downloaded on it which I listen to in the tent and around camp at night. It's lighter alternatie to carrying a book really. When actually walking I prefer to focus on my surroundings.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: gunwharfman on 15:59:11, 04/08/19
I use an old small Ipod and a cheap pair of headphones, my son gave it to me. I sometimes like to hike uphill with a suitable music track to help push me onward to the next pub, Aretha Franklin's Respect is one track that helps me to get to the top.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: blistaz on 13:27:37, 05/08/19
Podcasts rather than music. Not least because the chances of a song's tempo matching my preferred walking tempo have to be pretty low.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: archaeoroutes on 21:17:54, 05/08/19
I cannot grasp the idea of going out with headphones on. I mean, I could not do it - I'd feel so exposed not knowing what was going on around me. Doesn't matter where, countryside or town, it would reduce my awareness so much I'd be so scared.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Rob Goes Walking on 21:22:00, 05/08/19
I'd be scared around town if I couldn't see but don't rely on hearing much, it's just an early warning system for things out of vision from a danger perspective and I've never been threatened in town by something out of vision except traffic which I turn my head to look for anyway. Can't recall one single time when hearing has saved me from danger in town but maybe I just don't remember.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: Rob Goes Walking on 16:49:33, 11/08/19
Archaeoroutes I've discovered they make headphones for people like you (maybe). They're called open ear headphones, you can hear your surroundings as well as what you're listening to.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: ninthace on 17:10:35, 11/08/19
Or you could just listen with one ear.  If using earphones, just put one in, if using headphones put one behind your ear.  I used to do that at NATO conferences - listen to the speaker in their native language directly and catch up with the interpreter with the other ear if I failed to understand.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: archaeoroutes on 18:22:45, 11/08/19
Yeah, I use open ear headphones on PRRs (though never heard the term before).
I still don't need to have music with me when I'm put and about.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: barewirewalker on 09:49:09, 12/08/19
Or you could just listen with one ear.  If using earphones, just put one in, if using headphones put one behind your ear.  I used to do that at NATO conferences - listen to the speaker in their native language directly and catch up with the interpreter with the other ear if I failed to understand.
I thought women claim that men can only do one task at a time, and they are the experts at multi-tasking. Are you trying to end the myth of sexual superiority?  ::)
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: ninthace on 10:43:26, 12/08/19
I thought women claim that men can only do one task at a time, and they are the experts at multi-tasking. Are you trying to end the myth of sexual superiority?  ::)
I wouldn’t dare.  I don’t have permission from OC Domestic Flight. 
I have always admired simultaneous interpreters though.  They can listen, translate and speak all at the same time.  Try repeating what someone has just said for an extended period in just one language, let alone translating it into another. German sentence and clause structure is fun though. Occasionally you get a long pause in translation and you can hear the interpreter muttering “the verb - get to the verb!”  We had one guy who had a string of jokes which he could entertain us with when there was a pause in proceedings.  It is was a very tiring process so interpreters would tag team and the voice over the headphone could change mid sentence without a break in translation.  As the French say: “Chapeau”
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: archaeoroutes on 15:15:42, 12/08/19
There's no such thing as multi-tasking, only doing two jobs badly.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: ninthace on 18:23:54, 12/08/19
I don’t know about that, but I have worked with people that you could stop wandering off by giving them chewing gum.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: archaeoroutes on 19:20:01, 12/08/19
It's a quote, but I can't remember who from. It was a TV star/character.
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: jimbob on 19:36:48, 12/08/19
It's a quote, but I can't remember who from. It was a TV star/character.
Pete Brockman, Outmumbered
Title: Re: Music while walking
Post by: archaeoroutes on 22:29:18, 12/08/19
Thank you! Great programme.