# How much time each day do you listen to classical music?



## DeanClassicalTchaikovsky (May 13, 2014)

It varies day to day for me. Sometimes hours. But I am almost always thinking about it. How much time do you spend listening each day?


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

[ We must be the only two online presently  ]

Depends on what I'm doing. I usually manage 2 CDs a day, but on rainy days, it can be quite a few more. I barely ever listen when out of the house.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Well, there's hearing and then there's listening. I hear it in headphones maybe up to three hours a day with only sporadic attention. I listen in earnest maybe an hour and half a few nights per week or on weekends. The latter depends on how tired I am as active listening requires quite a bit of effort.


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## JCarmel (Feb 3, 2013)

At the moment....because I'm not well...lots of time, day & unfortunately night too. But at this time of year, I'd usually be doing other things during the daylight hours though music would be playing in the house a lot of the time when I'm not watching tv.
It's odd...I feel as if I've totally missed-out on Spring!


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

During the week it often depends on how work has gone - if it's been a breeze then I get in about 4 p.m and listen from about 5 p.m. until about 9-ish, usually only breaking off for dinner or small chores. If I've had a stinker then I find I'm rarely in the right frame of mind so I tend not to bother as I prefer as much silence as possible to wind down to. Luckily the bad days are few and far between. My main listening days are Saturday and Sunday assuming I don't go out anywhere. So, on average, I'd say about 30 hours a week, but it does fluctuate.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Most of the day here. It's always on.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Listening/playing more or less describes my entire day.


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

Usually about 2 hours a day, which leaves an additional hour or so for non-classical listening as well.


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## DaDirkNL (Aug 26, 2013)

It's usually continuously on, except for when I am studying.


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## Mister Man (Feb 3, 2014)

It's usually on 70% of the day, non-consecutively.


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## Matsps (Jan 13, 2014)

Averaged out, maybe 20-30 mins a day, although more realistically there can be a day with several hours and other days with none at all. 
I listen to music probably 2-8 hours a day though. I just find classical is quite difficult to listen to while trying to do other things at the same time (usually programming), because the music is quite musically "rich".


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## cjvinthechair (Aug 6, 2012)

When based at home, as at present, something on 90% of waking hours - makes up for many weeks working away from home, when it can be nil; particularly since my car CD changer has recently died...apparently they're not even made any more.
I'm far too much of a dinosaur to work out how to play my 1000s of hours of downloads in the car. Maybe someone..... ?!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

cjvinthechair said:


> I'm far too much of a dinosaur to work out how to play my 1000s of hours of downloads in the car. Maybe someone..... ?!


My CD player has a slot for a memory stick and a plug for an mp3 player cord. I use both - I have a stick with my most played music and occasionally plug in music from my smartphone. Maybe you could find a new player that does that.


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

I am quite busy nowadays and I dislike having music in the background (I end up listening instead of what I should be doing), so usually I listen to one long work (that is, over 20 minutes) a day. If I have more time, then up to four - five works a day. Apart from this, I usually listen to a bunch of short pieces throughout the day. 

Best regards, Dr


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## Centropolis (Jul 8, 2013)

Not enough! I can only manage to listen to one CD a day. I get home from work around 6pm, cook, eat, shower and it's 8pm. Then jump on the laptop for an hour or so. Then one hour of music.....then try to fall asleep.


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## cournot (Jan 19, 2014)

I take advantage of passive listening at work to put on familiar things in the background for large parts of the day. I also use my low tech desktop system to put on great historical recordings that I usually can't stand to hear on my big rig. I'll then spend anywhere from 20 mins to 2 hours every other night to really listen intently on my stereo. Depending on how busy I am I'll often get up much earlier than everyone in my household to hide in the basement and play a "concert" lasting an hour or two on my higher end music system where I can sit and listen with mostly full attention. I'll also flip through the libretto or various music reference books I have.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

I don't like the idea of music being continuously on that some on here do as that sounds like muzak to me. 

I'm assuming Mr Man's "It's usually on 70% of the day, non-consecutively." doesn't mean during the sleeping hours but I like the non-consecutive approach.

I liked Weston's listening in earnest as that's what I do except whenever driving in which case I'm hearing or half-listening.

A day without music at all would be worse than a day of muzak though.

Hope you get well soon JCarmel.


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## opus55 (Nov 9, 2010)

Probably 2-3 hours a day on average. Some weekends, 5-10 hours a day. Of course, my wife thinks the music is always on 24/7.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

cjvinthechair said:


> ...work out how to play my 1000s of hours of downloads in the car. Maybe someone..... ?!


It's pretty easy, if your car stereo has an input jack. And you must have your downloads stored on some device, perhaps a subset of the downloads on a portable device, like a Sony Walkman or similar mp3 player? You will need a cable, stereo (it will have a black or coloured band at the tip), with ¼" male jacks at both ends.

On my car stereo:

1. Plug in the external playback device (likely a Walkman, laptop or comparable Apple device)
2. Set input to External (other options are AM, FM, CD)
3. Press play on the device and adjust the volume on your car stereo
4. (optional) Use a cigarette lighter adapter to power your playback device

It should be really simple to do, unless your car stereo is ancient.



RudyKens said:


> IHope you get well soon JCarmel.


+1

I wanted to say it last night, but was too bashful, so I 'liked' one of your posts


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

When my wife is away I usually listen as close to continuously as possible. When she's home, well, I get shut down quite frequently. I see nothing wrong with background music as I find it to be a good way to familiarize with unfamiliar pieces. I love listening to string quartets and violin concertos while I'm cooking. Concertos and symphonies while driving. Symphonies at the gym. Anything while swimming, barbecuing, or lounging outside (My back patio is wired for sound baby). Besides driving though, the evenings are the time I really conduct focused listening, whether I'm in the living room listening with my sons or in my library listening alone. 

As for sleeping, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. It really depends on the mood or the hour. I probably don't do this as frequently as I used to. Perhaps 2 to 3 times a week.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

scratchgolf said:


> As for sleeping, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. It really depends on the mood or the hour. I probably don't do this as frequently as I used to. Perhaps 2 to 3 times a week.


Wow, I sleep two or three times a day.

It's very warm in our conservatory so after lunch and dinner 40 winks are sometimes had followed by hundreds more between sometime after midnight and 8am.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

I meant listen to classical music while I'm sleeping 2-3 times a weeks. But I don't sleep well either. A good night for me is 5 hours of sleep. A bad night sometimes is 1-2 hours.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

scratchgolf said:


> A good night for me is 5 hours of sleep. A bad night sometimes is 1-2 hours.


I'm sorry to hear that unless you're ok with less.

Islay single malt helps me drift away though my liver is probably pickled.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

RudyKens said:


> I'm sorry to hear that unless you're ok with less.
> 
> Islay single malt helps me drift away though my liver is probably pickled.


Lagavulin was my favorite but I don't drink much anymore. I have numerous prescriptions for sleep but the side effects can be nasty.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

On average, maybe an hour or two. I listen to Non-Classical as well. Like a couple others in this thread, I try not to have it on as background music. When I listen, i want to really listen to it.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I listen in my truck about 30 minutes a day, other than that I have one earbud in my ear for several hours a day, and much longer on weekends. How much of that is listening is a big question because sometimes I don't even pay attention to the earbud, but when I am aware it is wonderful to have the piped in music. Of course the ultimate listening experience is live concert and I get maybe 5+ hours a year of that.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

Florestan said:


> I listen in my truck about 30 minutes a day, other than that I have one earbud in my ear for several hours a day, and much longer on weekends. How much of that is listening is a big question because sometimes I don't even pay attention to the earbud, but when I am aware it is wonderful to have the piped in music. Of course the ultimate listening experience is live concert and I get maybe 5+ hours a year of that.


That's a bit sad as there's no substitute for live music however good your hifi system and I get as much of it as I can.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

RudyKens said:


> That's a bit sad as there's no substitute for live music however good your hifi system and I get as much of it as I can.


Yes it is sad. (I hope there really is music in Heaven. It will be more wonderful than anything here. )

In an odd sort of way, I appreciate live recordings including the coughs and other extraneous noises. Somehow it gives a more real feel to it.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

opus55 said:


> Probably 2-3 hours a day on average. Some weekends, 5-10 hours a day. Of course, my wife thinks the music is always on 24/7.


You might have to trade her in for a new model.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

About five hours a day of concentrated listening for me; I'm retired and my wife still works. But wait! She retires in a couple of weeks, and I'm sure that the 5 hour number will decline.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I try to listen to something every day, even if it's short. But once the students leave my classroom the music comes on, and I'm there at least one hour, often two hours after school. Sometimes I listen to music at home after work. On week-ends all morning I listen. Sometimes more, sometimes less. 

More than 5 hours per week, probably less than 15 hours per week.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Far less than I once did. As a young person I couldn't get enough and was blissfully oblivious to the effect of continuous music on family, friends, and roommates. But the gradual slacking off of listening has less to do with increasing consideration for others - I've lived mostly alone for many years - than with the sense that I can focus on other aspects of life while still carrying around in head and heart a lifetime of intimacy with great music. I have found this to be true of others who've spent most of their lives immersed in music as performers or composers, both of which I've been for fifty years. There's simply so much music in my head most of the time that actually listening to it is almost redundant. 

So, lately, I'm apt to spend no more than an hour a day listening. But I'd probably spend much more if I weren't so busy reading and writing on this forum!


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Extreme listening in winter. Average listening in spring and fall. Moderate listening in summer. :tiphat:


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Couac Addict said:


> Listening/playing more or less describes my entire day.


Yes, this is pretty much the way when music is your profession, with music usually only not somehow actively in the forefront while one is asleep.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Far less than I once did. As a young person I couldn't get enough and was blissfully oblivious to the effect of continuous music on family, friends, and roommates. But the gradual slacking off of listening has less to do with increasing consideration for others - I've lived mostly alone for many years - than with the sense that I can focus on other aspects of life while still carrying around in head and heart a lifetime of intimacy with great music. I have found this to be true of others who've spent most of their lives immersed in music as performers or composers, both of which I've been for fifty years. There's simply so much music in my head most of the time that actually listening to it is almost redundant.
> 
> So, lately, I'm apt to spend no more than an hour a day listening. But I'd probably spend much more if I weren't so busy reading and writing on this forum!


---
Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. . . Soooooooo_ true_.

-- "Can you turn the Callas_ down_?!"

-- "I'm sorry! It's as loud as it will _go_!"


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## Fratello (May 14, 2014)

Normally , 1 CD before going to bed , in some cases few hours ... 
specially while im reading some thing .


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

Variable but most of today apart from a dash of laughing Len. I'm poorly in bed with only a visiting bloodsucker and the daily who'll cook my Bolognese later.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Who has time to listen, when one is posting here 24/7? It's all from memory.


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## Gondur (May 17, 2014)

Most of the time. Even when I'm out, I have earphones pulsating such music into my discerning ear.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

1.1345hr per day 
But that's only an estimate


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