Recently my phone had to be sent in for repairs for a week, so I had the coincidental fortune of having no music for when I travel about or do my business t throughout the day. It felt a bit funny to be honest. There were times in my life where I actually felt anxious when I left the house without having any headphones. So from that perspective it was a good opportunity to detox from constant music listening and observe my reactions to having none around.
I think the chief effect I noticed was that I do seem to notice the effects of certain music on me much more strongly, compared to the baseline of simple environmental sounds. There are times when I would listen to music and have a cathartic experience, but there are other times when I felt like I was using music to disconnect from reality in some ways. Another possibility I thought of was that somehow my mind was using the constant music to maintain some kind of inner equilibrium. There's another thing also to music that I can't put my finger on, but will try and describe. I've noticed that a lot of music can carry a negative psychic influence in the lyrics, but more markedly in the melodies, rhythms, etc.
On the whole I'd say the music fast was a productive experience for me, so far so that I've decided to just listen to music at home, and not when I'm at work or running errands.
I'm interested in hearing other people's experiences, especially for those for whom music is a large part of your life. Have you ever done a "music fast", and if so for how long? What effects did you notice, if any? :)
I think the chief effect I noticed was that I do seem to notice the effects of certain music on me much more strongly, compared to the baseline of simple environmental sounds. There are times when I would listen to music and have a cathartic experience, but there are other times when I felt like I was using music to disconnect from reality in some ways. Another possibility I thought of was that somehow my mind was using the constant music to maintain some kind of inner equilibrium. There's another thing also to music that I can't put my finger on, but will try and describe. I've noticed that a lot of music can carry a negative psychic influence in the lyrics, but more markedly in the melodies, rhythms, etc.
On the whole I'd say the music fast was a productive experience for me, so far so that I've decided to just listen to music at home, and not when I'm at work or running errands.
I'm interested in hearing other people's experiences, especially for those for whom music is a large part of your life. Have you ever done a "music fast", and if so for how long? What effects did you notice, if any? :)