Workshop Tunes
Looking for some good listening in the shop? Here's what other woodworkers enjoy.
For many woodworkers, there is nothing as agreeable as the singing of a saw blade or the drone of a router. But, as some craftsmen will attest, music can also play a role in the woodworking process– the raucous thumps of a modern rock hit can invigorate and the gentle notes of a violin concerto can calm nerves to help with detail work. Music can also help you endure sanding and other workshop drudgery. Radio headphones like those shown here not only muffle the thwack of a nail gun, but also tune in your favorite radio station.
In a recent Knots discussion, we learned more about what members listen to in the workshop. Responses touched on a gamut of genres and artists, from Chopin to classic rock. More than a few admitted a keenness for the bagpipe. National Public Radio also ranked high. We pored over the hundred plus replies and compiled an inventory of recommended genres and artists.
Classical- Bach, Rachmaninoff, Strauss, Vivaldi
Johann Sebastian Bach
Bagpipe Music- McGillivray, Off Kilter, Tartanic
Big Band- Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, John Philip Sousa
Rock- Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, John Lee Hooker, Bonnie Raitt, Tool, Van Morrison, Stevie Ray Vaughan
Bonnie Raitt
Blues- Cash Box Kings, Jeff Healey, B.B. King, Wynton Marsalis, Otis Rush
Sports- baseball, college football
Vintage radio programs- “The Green Hornet,” “The Shadow,” “Sherlock Holmes”
“The Green Hornet”
Talk radio- National Public Radio, Rush Limbaugh, Russ Martin, Savage Nation
The discussion also drew comical responses. For example, one member wrote, “When sanding, there is nothing better than the whiny sound of pop to discourage me from turning off the sander for a break.”
Another said, “For me, it depends on the time of day. Early, I like to play ‘Flight of the Valkyries’ while I walk around in my cowboy hat saying, ‘I love the smell of sawdust in the morning.’”
Yet another preferred his own harmonies: “I tend to just whistle, and sing… there is no one who cares that I am way off tune, and since I make up most of it, it always matches my mood.”
The subject attracted safety concerns, with some arguing that background music can be dangerously distracting in the workshop. Fine Woodworking assistant editor Matt Kenney, who kicked off the discussion, anticipated these worries and offered a response in advance: “Before anyone thinks of censuring me, I have all eleven of my fingers and mostly use hand tools.”
Photos courtesy of Classical Forums; Entertainment Weekly; Art.com
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