# Personal music.....how much of a difference



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

I'm not an iPod user tho my daughter is deeply hooked.

We do play a lot of internet radio streams in the office when working and I spent the day listening on the Bluetooth headset that hooks into both my G5 and cell phone - so music most of the day and available for clients as well. :clap:

I find listening to MY choice - without jarring ads etc - really affects my mood and I find time goes by quickly on tedious jobs like RAM testing etc.

I notice staff when not on phones are in their own world of music as well.

Curious as how others view the ability to have music of one's choice when ever where ever.

Empowering??
Time waster??
More relaxed??
Pumps you up??

etc..........personal stories good or bad.

Poll is to see how much time spent with *"personal music"* - this would include iPod, your computer through internet radio or ripped and burned in car etc

For instance a fav at the office is Classical Guitar on Sky.FM so I'd include that kind of listening.

MY sense is personal music has had a powerful impact far beyond the commercial aspects.

*Comments on how this has affected you or others encouraged*


----------



## 10macs (Feb 14, 2004)

*Music*

I love music when I'm in the car but as far as listening 24/7 I've got better things to do. It's amazing how much marketing is telling kids nowadays that if they don't have music with them then they are just not with it. I sometimes wonder what could be accomplished by people if even 10% of the time that people spent listening to music what put to constructive use. Check out this weeks Time magazine about the "wired generation" and potential problems that neurologists are discovering...very interesting.


----------



## Stephanie (Jul 21, 2004)

I don't listen to any commercial / broadcast radio at all. At work I have iTunes, and lots of playlists and music to choose from. So I'm either listening to exactly what I want, what I like, and what I feel like that moment, or nothing. In the car, I have a few CDs I've burned from iTunes, and for long trips, I have my iPod playing through my car deck. 

I just don't like listening to commercial / broadcast radio at all - why listen to somebody else's "playlist", plus commercials and inane chatter, when I can listen to what I want, when I want, how I want. 

That's the big iTunes revolution, for me at least.

-Stephanie


----------



## Jason H (Feb 1, 2004)

I went for "Every waking hour" I used to listen to music for about an hour before I went to sleep to relax. That turned into listening to music while using my iBook for 1.5 or so hours every night. That turned into listening to my iPod for 3+ hours a day.

I'm also into good sound! I cant understand how people use the stock apple headphones, or these home theatre in a box contraptions. Maybe I'm just picky.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

What would the difference be between that and the Walkman revolution?

The question seem ambiguous. iPods, radio, computer streaming are more of a background noise than really "listening" to music. 
Listening to music, in my case implies focus, taking the time to enjoy the music not some soundtrack to the world around me.

I can see you point with repetitive mindless task (such as RAM testing), but if you have to concentrate, music (or background noise) can distract.


----------



## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

I find my iPod extremely useful at bringing down my stress level or keeping me focused on one task at the office. I tend to group a bunch of music together, R&B and rock when I'm feeling calm and mellow and simply need focus work (I think I have AD&D), rap and hard rock as stress busters, then punk just seems to pretty okay both ways. I would say at the most 25% of my work day will involve me having my iPod on because either I just forget to put it on or I'm too bombarded by phone calls to bother putting them on. On the bus during the commute, I basically need my iPod,


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

AS
In some cases yes but it also can be mood altering in a very positive manner.
The Walkman situation certainly started it but if you recall there was nowhere near the level of personal choice so readily available without going to a lot of work.



> I sometimes wonder what could be accomplished by people if even 10% of the time that people spent listening to music what put to constructive use.


Yet listening to music ( as I'm doing now ) AND doing other tasks is one of the prime benefits. Maybe more IS accomplished.
It goes far more toward shaping an environment of my own choosing both in mood and isolation.

Are not things like mass transit, exercising, biking often enhanced by having your choice of music available??

Remember it can be turned off as the mood and situation determines but having that instant ability to drop into a world of your choosing sonically I think is having a strong social effect but I'm not sure in what ways.

I vividly recall as a kid listening for hours sometimes reading, sometimes just the music. Music is very different than watching something and it's also universal across cultures so has a pretty deep background for humans.

I'm sure there must be sports and pyschology studies as well as brain chemical alteration studies.

With personal music much has been taken out music as a social interaction and turned into a personal environment capability.

I find time passes differently too.

••••

Dona - yes exactly.


----------



## MBD (Sep 1, 2003)

I listen to my iPod for my one hour commute in the morning & evening but I've found I'm listening more to podcasts and audiobooks these days than music but I do listen to that as well.

I don't listen to it at work since I'm either in a meeting, working with a client or writing a business case or analysis & I don't like music when I'm doing analysis or deep thinking.


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Yeah I should have included Podcasts and audio books - I find the latter fabulous for driving and I would guess if I commuted I'd be into them as well.

Sometimes if I have to work at something but not think too hard the music helps keep me focused.
I'd see as a distraction only occasionally as it's the lesser of distractions all around and I'm ADD prone as it is..


----------



## thatcomputerguy (Jan 13, 2005)

MacDoc I have to agree, i think more is accomplished. I find when i am working on menial tasks the music helps to keep the spirits up which helps when doing the mundane ( i was just painting my daughter's room, which inspired that comment).

But also, even when working on difficult more brain taxing work (i'm thinking of work now, which is engineering, it can be a brain strain at times), the music helps to calm and keep me focused and block out some of the other distractions. Not loud music, just loud enough to hear comfortably without disturbing others. I notice when i don't the radio on or my itunes playing, it seems like something is missing.

Music has always been a big part of my life and i remember going to college in toronto, riding the subway with my sony walkman back in the day, back before MP3 players and itunes, just me and my pocket full of cassettes...


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

MBD said:


> I don't listen to it at work since I'm either in a meeting, working with a client or writing a business case or analysis & I don't like music when I'm doing analysis or deep thinking.


I'm very similar to that myself. Lately I have also taken to wearing ear plugs to block the sound of the computers (it amazing how noisy they are)....


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

This is sort of funny as I'm so enjoying relaxing with the music on I'm avoiding seeing what's on HD. Mellowed me right out. YoYo Ma is incredible.

BTW for those that MUST be phone available the Plantronics 590a really does the trick.


----------



## merlezllama (Nov 21, 2005)

I'll turn on the iPod before the TV everytime. The soundtrack of my life will have been amazing... even if my life turns out to be just normal.


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

:clap: - "sound track of my life".....like that.

My daughter just about made me jump out of my skin - sitting here typing in the dark enjoying tunes and she tapped me on the shoulder.  Talk about LOST...

•••

BTW might be a good thread to drop in headphone recommendations or your choice.


----------



## Jason H (Feb 1, 2004)

MacDoc said:


> :
> BTW might be a good thread to drop in headphone recommendations or your choice.


Shure E series for the road, Sony for full size cans.


----------



## The Great Waka (Nov 26, 2002)

When I first got my iPod I used it for the commute on the TTC. But now I prefer reading, and the iPod has been getting less and less use. However, if I'm working on something, I almost always have music on. More for just background, but if it's something really boring and not thought-intensive, the music is vital.


----------



## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

For me, I can sit and listen to music just for music's sake. Often, I'll find myself wanting to listen to music for the evening, rather than watch a movie. Music IS my movie. 

I've been this way for as long as I can remember. Sitting and listening to music or playing it. I rarely (once a month) sit down to watch a program on TV. I'm much more interested in computers and music.


----------



## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

I listen to my music almost all the time. I find listening to music helps me get through my work. One thing I hate is regular radio, epecially here in Ottawa, there is nothing good on at anytime. I'm either listening to Sirius Radio, my iTunes collection or my iPod.

There are definately certain types of music I use to "pump me up". For example when I run, I'll listen to heavy, fast paced music, I find it helps to keep me going. When I need something more relaxing, I'll switch to more alternative type music or if I need background music bands like Opeth which are heavy into instrumentals are great.


----------



## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

At work I listen to classical music all the time in the background (streaming internet audio w/desktop speakers), and I turn it down/off as required (meetings, important phone calls, etc.). I switch between CBC Radio Two, CJPX (local FM station) and Vermont Public Radio in order to avoid the vexations & distractions of announcer babble and the odd program that doesn't interest me. At any rate, listening to classical music at work is not only for personal pleasure; it can positively influence my mood and ergo, my level of concentration and productivity.

During my morning and evening commutes I listen to a variety of classical music with my Nano & in-ear headphones. Listening during commuting serves two basic purposes: defensive (e.g. blocking out unwanted & annoying voices / human noises and ambient sounds) and plain old personal pleasure / meditation.

At home I always have classical music playing on the radio, or CDs on the stereo, but while at my G5 I listen using good over-the-ear headphones. A fair amount of classical -- but this is when my Mr. Hyde likes to emerge. Time for adolescent jollies, time to _play_, listening to favourite non-classical fare. This ranges from light to fairly heavy sounds, and/or my own GarageBand confections (might not be "good" in the larger scheme, but it's all from _Mr. Hyde's own hand_ and that's all that counts to him, eh?  ).


----------



## Pelao (Oct 2, 2003)

Great poll macDoc, and really interesting comments.

Music is huge for me, for everyone in my family.

I loved my Walkman back in the day, but of course that does not compare to what I can do now with my digitised music.

I have wide ranging tastes, so what I listen to depends on what I am doing. I will often just sit and listen, really listen, to some music. This is wonderful when discovering something new, but also when re-discovering something I thought I knew.

Because I can quickly and easily change what I listen to there is always something appropriate.

At work I generally listen in as my business partner walks through his iTunes - mostly new rock. He is nearly 20 years younger, so he is a great source of new stuff.

If I am focusing on something creative (except writing), such as a marketing concept, company name, mind-mapping ideas etc then I really enjoy the Beatles, or Beatlesque music.

For writing I like classical.

In both cases I prefer to use my Bose noise-cancelling headphones to really lose background distractions: Rediculously expensive, but they have helped me through some noisy stuff at home and work - and on flights (they come with an adapter so you can use them with the in-flight system)

http://www.bose.ca/controller?event=VIEW_PRODUCT_PAGE_EVENT&product=qc2_headphones_index&perfsourceid=k47942&src=k47942


----------



## kent (Oct 18, 2003)

I listen to music when I run, take the bus, cook, read [non-thought provoking material], and drive. When doing CAD work, I listen to music through iTunes, but when I have to think, I cannot listen to music at all. Since iTunes, I very rarely listen to CDs anymore [except in the car] and never listen to the radio [CBC sometimes].

I find music helps me concentrate when doing really tedious tasks ... like CAD or 3D modeling where 100% concentration isn't always necessary. The type of music I listen to can affect my mood ... last summer, while working in a busy office, I'd listen to opera [through earphones] while people were moving about around me - very calming ... almost surreal. While running, I listen to something that is heavier and motivating like Zamphere - the pan flutist [just kidding] ... seriously, something like U2 etc. At home while cooking, maybe some acid jazz. My musical tastes span the full spectrum: from Beastie Boys to Bach...


----------



## macsackbut (Dec 15, 2004)

I agree this is a fascinating poll and an interesting thread to read, MacDoc. Personally, because of my former life as a musician, I tend to find background music a real distraction when working, though I recently created a Pandora station that I like so much I'll play it despite the distraction it causes (if anyone's interested, it's on the blog). 

Ironically, I rarely used to listen to music at home or in the car. I found that nothing could replace either attending a live performance or, better yet, performing. But since I've had the iPod (a little over a year now), I frequently plug the iPod into my home stereo and shuffle through my entire music collection, a practice I find to be inexplicably exhilarating. I love the fact that I never know what's up next--a pop tune from when I was a kid, a classical piece from my university days or a jazz tune from my later years. It also connects me with the dusty reaches of my collection in a way that would never have happened before.

But all this said, in recent months, even music has taken a back seat to podcasts. I simply don't listen to the radio anymore, except for the odd CBC program, and once CBC gets it butt in gear and makes more of its programming available for podcast, I won't even listen to that anymore. 

To my mind, iPod + iTMS + personal collection + podcasts = the rebirth of radio.


----------



## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

Ever since I decided to grab an iPod on a whim when I purchased my Powerbook I've been pretty hooked to using the iPod or iTunes having some music pumping to keep the distracted side of my brain busy.

As echoed before I'm a huge fan of the sudden shuffle as my music will switch from some techno-trance to some punk and back again in a couple of songs. It gives me variety and background music to help focus on the job at hand. That said there are always times where pure silence is just as good.

With good headphones, you can listen to music for hours at a time 

I think my only complaint is that it feeds the multitasking/ADD style mind set prevalent in today's society - at least in my experience - I use music to keep myself focused and when I don't have it I can find myself more easily distracted. Other times it's a moot point. Anyone else echo the same experience?


----------



## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

kent said:


> I find music helps me concentrate when doing really tedious tasks ... like CAD or 3D modeling where 100% concentration isn't always necessary.


It's not only the fact that CADding doesn't require 100% concentration, it is so mind numbing that my mind just begins to wander. If it wanders too far off I get totally distracted... with my music I find I can whip up some drawings really quickly because my mind just doesn't wander off, I tend to stay upbeat and just focused on two things, the CAD stuff and the music. When I actually have to think and do engineering/design type stuff then the music becomes annoying and off comes the earbuds, or I'd listen to news radio station. But yes I'm glad someone here thinks like me.


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Well studies have shown people are more productive when they have control over their physical environment ( local climate it's called - the temperature etc in their personal work space ).
It only makes sense that controlling the sonic environment has similar benefits.

There has to be far more to the whole iPod phenomena than just the music listening - it has to do I think with taking back personal space, giving us back control of the space and what's in it from a sound standpoint yet still allowing us to work.

I wonder if part of the dissatisfaction with movie going is based around a similar and perhaps new and growing expectation of our ability, our DEMAND to control our personal environment.
Both with big screen at home and in the personal audio space we are getting used to being able to eliminate distractions, set the volume levels and be free or shut ourselves away from unwanted distraction on demand.

When we find that out of our control it is most annoying and takes away from the pleasure a good movie should provide because we lose control of the environment - something we increasingly take for granted.

There is an unexplained spike in IQ levels over the past generation..I wonder if music, personal music has some play in that.

I hear here, and I know personally I use it to relax, focus better, get pumped up, work better and longer and unwind more quickly.

Music is exceptionally universal, the iPod has grown to impact traditional media like radio stations.
There is something beyond the music going on.
This is fascinating info from you - appreciate the navel gazing about personal music and interesting even the noise cancellers as THAT'S also control of sound space and self imposed environment.

We seem to be over riding the random noise and distractions with music or silence as our mood and needs dictate and coming to expect that more and more in all our environments, plane, car , theatre.
You can even close your eyes and drop immediately into the music for a moment or more break, literally from reality.

I did so tonight before watching a movie - stopped working online and just turned the lights and listened for 20 minutes or so. 
This is SOMA of our own devising and we use it to sculpt our moods and emotion to our OWN ends - be it work, R&R, motivation etc. 
Huxley would be delighted.

BTW I LOVE the random element someone mentioned.......never ending delightful unexpected juxtapositions. :clap:


----------



## mycatsnameis (Mar 3, 2000)

If you want to check out something really cool in *Personal Music*, have a look at www.pandora.com.

You can enter an artist or track name and it will comb their db of songs that have been categorized into a vast array of subcategories (not just genre or type but by how they actually sound and what sort of instrumentation/arrangement is used etc. the categorization is done by musicians).

Then it will create a personal streaming server based its analysis of your track or artist. The cool thing is that, while your server is playing, you can give it feedback that will alter what music it will subsequently include (just tell the server whether you like or dislike a currently playing track).

It is free (with very unobtrusive visual ads) or you can subscribe.

It's a great way to discover new artists and they link directly to iTunes or Amazon if you want to buy what you hear. Very cool, supports Safari.

Edit - Oh yah you must be from teh US in order to sign up for a free or subscribed account. How do they check? They ask for you to enter your zip code .

Edit 2 - I see that this was my most evil post ever, check out the number ...


----------



## kent (Oct 18, 2003)

dona83 said:


> It's not only the fact that CADding doesn't require 100% concentration, it is so mind numbing that my mind just begins to wander


Mind-numbing ... absolutely ... the music keeps me sane. CAD is brutal for that ...


----------



## thatcomputerguy (Jan 13, 2005)

kent said:


> Mind-numbing ... absolutely ... the music keeps me sane. CAD is brutal for that ...


that's 3 of us basically saying the same thing - CAD is not using 100% of our brain and we need the distraction. My whole office is the same. If the music turns off the chatter heightens. Need some kind of distraction, and music is much more beneficial to the work environment, than chatting.


----------



## Pelao (Oct 2, 2003)

I think I am going to avoid CAD. Whoever he is.


----------



## macsackbut (Dec 15, 2004)

MacDoc said:


> There is an unexplained spike in IQ levels over the past generation..I wonder if music, personal music has some play in that.


MacDoc, do you have any sources for this? Not questioning, just curious.


----------



## duosonic (Jan 7, 2004)

I'll admit at the outset that I do not have an iPod – yikes! - however, I do have a stereo system in the main room of the house, two computers both of which feed into speaker systems, another stereo system in the shop, a ghetto blaster for music in the yard, and I turn the radio on to CBC 1 or 2 whenever I'm in the car. Oh, and I'm a musician. Although there are times when I prefer silence, for most of my life I have been a "please keep the music on person". My tastes range from blues to folk, jazz, R&B, classical (esp. the baroques - ah, Vivaldi! - & choral music), roots & world, etc. Sometimes, I use music to pump me up, sometimes to calm me down, sometimes just as a background & sometimes as a total focus.


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

> Increasing intelligence: the Flynn effect
> 
> The results of intelligence tests in different countries show that over the past century average IQ has been increasing at a rate of about 3 points per decade


http://pcp.lanl.gov/FLYNNEFF.html

Certainly it's clear that active stimulation and a rich environment improves cognitive ability in babies and young kids.
It's been determined now that contrary to previous thought, brain cells do repair and increase even in adults under the right circumstances.
Music is universal, perhaps the media stimulus, especially a controllable one has a life long impact.

The rise in IQs seems to track the rise in easily available music. Hey maybe there is a Nobel in this for some enterprising scholar.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

The Flynn effect seems to have stopped for many countries in the mid 1990s (source Wiki), so your "theory" maybe premature. 
Of course, you have to believe somehow that IQs equates with intelligence and that's another debate. I tend to agree with Stephan Jay Gould views on IQ (The Mismeasure of Man).


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Yes it's a messy subject and for another thread - Blink also casts a huge spin on the subject but I still can't help but think the nature of music, the fundamentals of our brains ( responses to harmonies, rhythms, beat etc ) have a positive effect especially if we are able to exercise control over it.

iPod et al = SOMA  ...now about the subliminals


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I use my iPod at work on a fairly regular basis -- I need to answer the phone so I don't use it every working (waking?) hour.  The wires on my headphones are actually coming loose around the rubber sleeve.

My office has radio piped in, but to me most commercial radio is monotonous and redundant... same stuff repeated day-in, day-out (you'd swear artists only wrote one song--ever.) It's great to listen to it one, maybe two days a week for something new, but any more than that--forget it. That's why I love my iPod--I have various genres/playlists that I listen to depending on my mood. Audiobooks, music, podcasts, comedy, etc.

I'd like to get a video iPod of my own (*wink wink* to the wife) so I can load on some videos for the bus ride home. I have been toying with the idea of getting a PSP... but I like the idea of being able to carry files with me to/from work.


----------



## kobogigo (Aug 21, 2003)

*My iPod Music*

I have about 1500 songs in my iPod and I would have a hard time without it. My job involves a lot of travel and the iPod is wonderful on the plane for music and audiobooks. 

Also workout at the gym about 3 times a week and it is great to have my own playlists available. 

And finally I use it in my truck during my drive to work. 

Bottom line ... I love it.


----------



## AppleAuthority (May 21, 2005)

Music is my life. Like mentioned before, it's like a sound track. Almost every event that happens seems to have a song or piece of a song attached to it.

It is very true that music affects your productivity. I find that without music playing, I tend to just fall asleep during work! I need something playing to keep me 'in the groove' of the work. Occasionally I get side tracked by a spine-chilling guitar solo, but most of the time its what keeps me going.

I rarely ever listen to the radio. With 3333 songs (and counting), I have plenty to keep me occupied. I haven't even heard it all (my music library is shared amongst my family). If I set my iPod to shuffle on the bus ride to school, or while moving from class to class, I find myself kind of in a 'sub-world' that leaves only a visual and a soundtrack. It's works well, and gets my mind off things.

Music is great for different situations. When I work out, I generally listen to a good adrenaline pumping song. When I study, I listen to instumentals. It all comes together.


----------



## Strimkind (Mar 31, 2005)

I prefer personal music at home when I am infront of my PC and my laptop and when I drive. Funny thing is, I do not like it when I am on the bus or when I am walking. When I walk I'd rather hear my surroundings and when I am on the bus I prefer to read so the iPod is not a big thing for me except as a large music container for the car.


----------



## Atroz (Aug 7, 2005)

Re: productivity. 

Back when I was in school (~15 years ago) there was a debate about whether listening to music while studying/doing homework was bad for learning. I can't cite any studies, but I remember the results were that you are best doing what you are used to. If you normally have music on, then play it while studying, but if you prefer quiet, then find a quiet place to study.


----------



## AppleAuthority (May 21, 2005)

I'm probably the worst examples for a student capable of good studying. I generally get side tracked within the first couple minutes, or just fall asleep. Music helps to keep me studying, but I generally don't study for tests/exams unless I absolutely have to.


----------



## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

I am one of those persons who is so badly distracted by music I cannot work and listen at the same time. I need to concentrate on the task at hand. Same goes when surfing or reading a forum or a book.

I love most kinds of music, but I can only truly enjoy it when I sit and listen with no distractions.


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

I had to revive this just for this signature image. Good cover for a book on the subject.










I wonder how the future anthropologists will view the iPod phenomena


----------



## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Looks like most of the kids on our block. Metal everywhere! 

And iPods too!


----------

