I’ve gone into quite a few different workshops and am always fascinated with what people listen to on the radio while they are working. Probably most often is classic rock. Then the next favorite is classical music (usually NPR). Country Western on occasion. Then there is talk radio that shows up here and there. There are very few times when there is just silence.
Which brings me to the conclusion (or maybe confirms my suspicion) that I am quite an odd person when it comes to this. I generally do not listen to anything while I carve or work in my shop. I do turn the radio on occasionally, but find that when I am really concentrating and focusing on a carving, the music ends up being a distraction and I end up turning it off. I think the only time I listen to any type of music is when I feel like I need to have distraction from what I am working on. This is usually when I am doing something very repetitive and I am past the point of really needing to concentrate or focus on what I’m working on. I find that I turn to listening to music as a distraction and it causes the time to go by faster.
I think also that I tend to really listen to the music, rather than just let it be something in the background – which can be more of a distraction that just passive background music.
And if you do listen to certain types of music, what types of music do you listen to that will inspire you when you are doing a particular kind of work? French polishing with French opera music? Celtic knot carving with The Irish Tenors? How about when you have to do a lot of really hefty mallet work you can listen to some really angry rap music.
Maybe I’ll just enjoy the “sound of silence”…
I listen to audio dramas, NPR/podcast when in the shop mostly (to stay current) but tend to agree with you. It can’t be too engaging if the task requires thinking. I often find that I spend time in silence developing a plan (sometimes even with my earmuffs inadvertently left on) then I can crank up EDM (eg Daft Punk) to really get chugging with focused energy. When a little creativity is required in shaping or something I tend to like rich upbeat modern Euro swinging music like Caro Emerald or Bitter:Sweet and/or classic “Radio Deluxe” music like Nat King Cole and Sinatra. After seeing so many PWW banjo videos I also like the “soggy bottom boys” station on Pandora. That seems a bit eclectic but probably points to my scattered interests. Probably the one common denominator is nothing slow.
Country, country, and country. Sometimes a little light jazz, and occasionally classical.
Usually silence, Christmas music during the holidays.
Hello,
Usually the first thing I do walking into the shop is get the music going. Sometimes it’s low, sometimes the opposite of low depending on mood and what’s needed. Pandora is great and also entertaining to see what comes up on your channels during shuffle. I had a good combination a few days ago, Percy Faith (60’s channel probably) followed by Cinderella (80’s Hair Bands channel). Usually I shuffle, but my Beach Boys channel is a good mood lifter when spirits need rejuvenated. And if things demand something lighter, Yoga Radio channel handles that.
On a separate note, I watched the video from Highland Woodworking with your interview, and saw an Auriou gouge or two, looks nice.
Thanks
Doug
For sound in the shop, I turn to auto books first then to classic rock. For some reason I can get lost in a good “Who done it” while still being able to focus on the task at hand.
I may have a different focus on my carving adventures than most carvers. For me wood carving is for pure enjoyment. If the story gets a little intense, I have no trouble in putting down the tools for a while.
Best Regards,
Jerry