📕 Part 1: Music

How much time do you spend listening to music every day?

I think that really depends on the day of the week, to be honest. So if it's a day where I'm walking back from the gym or jujitsu, then I'll listen to that instead of whatever noises you can hear in the street. Well, I mean, it certainly beats listening to those, that's for sure.

What music do you dislike?

Well, anything chaotic without a beat or a rhythm that I can follow. I think like, for me, some music is just, it's just random sounds that don't have any sense or regularity or logic to them. And the same goes for like really loud music. I just can't get into it. Although, that's probably more a comment about the volume than anything else, except for maybe death metal, which is supposed to be loud.

What kinds of music are popular in your country?

Well, in the free market that we have for that kind of thing, anything goes really. So I don't think there's like one genre of music that's in vogue more than any other, now that I think about it. Well, apart from pop music. And I think that's basically written to have an endless string of hits or to... For people to get really into and to listen to a lot.

Do you ever listen to music at work?

It depends on the task, I suppose. So when I'm marking or planning or writing, then I'll listen to some lo-fi hip hop or some baroque music, or, well, I'll have it on in the background. I wouldn't have anything with catchy lyrics or anything like that. More ambient music seems to help me concentrate. And I think that's true for a lot of people, to be honest. Otherwise, well, I'm also a teacher, and I think it would be difficult to teach a class and listen to music at the same time, wouldn't it?

Is there an instrument you would like to learn to play?

Not overly so, I'm kind of just happy to enjoy other people being talented in that area. I suppose if I had to pick one instrument, I would pick the drums, just because drummers always seem to have these really big arms. And so it looks like a really great workout. But then I'm picking it for the exercise and not so much for the music.

Hey! Music! So we listen to music. Okay? Listen to.

Oh, yes, that's so important. The number of times I hear people saying I listen music and I'm like, no, it's to, listen to music. Please, listen to music.

Like number two. Number two. Yeah, music to. Listen to, listen to. It's kind of like one word, dear listener. Listen to. Listen to me, listen to music. You can say I listen to music if I'm out for a walk, for example. So if I'm walking, or if I'm out for a walk, I listen to music. Rory, you said it beats listening to something. Beats.

Yeah. It's kind of a pun, though. Because music has a beat, which is... Well, it's similar to the rhythm or the thing that you can follow. I'm not very good with musical terminology. But here, if we say it beats listening to something else, what I mean to say is it's better than listening to doing the other thing. It's not always it beats, though. You could just say beats listening to and then whatever the sound is.

So, for example, taking the bus beats walking, like beats, you know, like a fight. So it's better to walk than to take the bus sometimes.

Well, it's like it's winning the fight as it were.

Kind of like, yeah, it's more enjoyable. It's better. So you say like taking the bus beats walking, and here, it's in the same, kind of the same meaning. Right? So kind of like listening to music beats listening to street noises. Yeah?

Yeah. Especially... Well, I think only if you're by yourself. If you listen to music when you're supposed to be walking with somebody, that's kind of rude.

Give us another example with this beat.

Lots of things. Like I think listening to the live version of music beats listening to the recorded version almost every time. It sounds smoother. I think so, anyway.

I dislike certain music or I can't stand. Like... I hate. Yeah? And Rory doesn't like chaotic music. Like... Like this.

I should say, Death Metal maybe does have some logic to it. But if it does, it's lost on me because I just don't like that kind of music. I'm sorry, death metal fans.

So I dislike chaotic music without a beat. A beat is like tu, tu, tu, tu. Or a rhythm to follow. So when we listen to music, we follow a rhythm. How do you describe a rhythm?

You follow the beat or you follow the rhythm. Like... Music words. Use the music vocabulary. But ask me what it means... It's got very technical in fact. Let's, let's use Google now. Google can be our friend.

I dislike loud music. I dislike heavy metal, death metal. Yeah? Just like listening to our episode about singing. We give you lots of genres. So genres? All kinds of music.

So, according to Google, the beat is like the basic element of the music. So, the rhythm is composed of different beats

Oh, okay.

Well, the rhythm is composed of different sounds, to be honest with you. But a beat would be the kind of sound, I suppose. It's also composed of the silence, the use of the silence as well. Oh, I should say, the beat is also used to refer to, like what you follow, when you're listening to it. I'm bouncing my head up and down to the beat, for example, to the rhythm of the song.

You can also say I can't get into it. Like I dislike this music. I dislike heavy metal. I can't get into it. Like I, kind of, it's not my thing. Okay? I can't get into it.

Yes, I can't get into it. Because I cannot hear myself think. Because it's so loud. It is so loud. And you can't even... You just, in my case, you just have to stand there and survive. Other people are totally into this. And it's great that they enjoy that. But I can't, I'm sorry.

Yeah, like I'm into popular music. I'm not into rap. Or, I don't know, you dislike jazz maybe? Who dislikes jazz?

I'm not a fan of jazz.

Okay, okay. There you go. Yeah, I'm not a fan of jazz.

Oh, sorry, jazz lovers. It's not a good day for me.

So you can say I'm not into blah, blah, blah, or I'm into blah, blah, blah. Or I'm not a fan of, I'm a fan of. Pop music is in vogue. Vogue? Like a magazine. Vogue.

Yeah, but I think the whole expression is in vogue, which means, well, it's fashion, basically.

Fashionable. Yeah, it's in vogue. Like, for example, like, black is in vogue. Yeah? So it's like fashionable. And we can say like popular music, pop music is always in vogue. Yeah? So it's always... Lots of people like it. Yeah? And actually, I've Googled it. And pop music is indeed super popular. Well, it's pop music. And then, rock. Rock music. And dance and electronic music. Okay? So the second and the third most popular genres. Genres. Or kinds of music. So pop music, rock, dance, electronic, electronic music. And we say that we have hits in popular music. Hits? Like very popular songs. Hits. I can listen to music when I'm working and when I'm studying. So I usually listen to Lo-Fi hip hop, Lo-Fi. Low fidelity. What's this?

I'd love to know what it means but all I see is the name Lo-Fi and the name of the tracks that I'm listening to. And all it is is just background music. It's like beats with no lyrics, no words. So you don't focus on the words, you just hear the sounds.

So Lo-Fi music, dear listener. Kind of low fidelity music is, oh...

Well, it's because there are no lyrics to focus on, you don't concentrate on the music. You have the sounds in the background. And you do whatever it is you're doing that you should be doing while you are listening to this music.

Yeah, so you just have to listen to Lo-Fi music. Okay? Just like Google, like Lo-Fi hip hop for example.

It's really... It doesn't intrude, it's not invasive music. It's like the kind of thing, well, it's similar to what you would hear in an elevator. Elevator music is slightly different, but it's got that same idea of it's in the background, you're not supposed to focus on it.

Yes, and you have this music on in the background. So kind of in the background, the music is playing somewhere there, and you are like doing your thing. So you can say like, I have hip hop in the background, or I have it on in the background, to have music on, kind of to switch it on. So I usually have classical music on in the background. Also, lots of people enjoy ambient music. Like, we can hear it in the lift, like ambient music. Again, like no lyrics, no words, it's just like relaxing music, ambient music. Sometimes I listen to music at work, but I don't listen to catchy lyrics. So what are catchy lyrics?

Well, catchy isn't just used to describe the lyrics, it's used to describe the song, any part of it. If something is catchy, it's something that stays in your head for a long time.

Also, dear listener, you should know that some music does help us to kind of focus and according to the recent research, okay? Super research. Music activates both the left and right hemispheres of your brain. And this activation helps us to learn and even improve our memory. Dear listener, I checked it on the nu.edu website. So National University. So like super scientific research. And they say, so like you can listen to classical music in the background, yeah? While you are studying, or spa music, spa music. Like ambient sounds. Okay? Nature sounds, for example, like, for example, rain or birds. Electronic music.

Oh, yoga music. I like the music they play in the yoga classes. They're cool. Or it's cool.

Yeah. Jazz. And also, dear listener, film or game soundtracks. For your studying or working, okay? But they don't have like one specific genre, they say kind of, it's all individual. So it comes down to creating the best study or work music for you. But these are like some genres to consider. You play an instrument, dear listener, so you can play the drums or play the piano, play the violin. So like... Or I don't play any instrument. Tell us about the drums.

The drums. The drums are a percussion instrument that you strike with drumsticks. And that's all I know about them, really. The only other thing I know is about the drummers. And like I say the only reason I remember that is because they have huge arm muscles. And that is what I would like to have. So there we go, if I have to choose one, it's not about the music. It's just about the workout routine.

You can say that if I had to learn to play an instrument. So the second conditional. Like we're imagining, like, if I had to learn an instrument, or if I had to learn to play an instrument, I'd probably choose the drums. Or I'd, I would, I'd probably go for the guitar, or the piano, or what? What else do we have?

Ukulele. You can play ukulele.

Yeah, ukulele. But I don't play any instruments, and I prefer more talented people to play it for me. Oh, and also, when you study, you can listen to low-key, unobtrusive music, dear listener.

Well, that's what Lo-Fi is, isn't it? It's low-key and unobtrusive.

Like unobtrusive, like in the background, you know? Like it doesn't make you dance. So it kind of calms you down. Unobtrusive.

And now it's the part where I get to talk about the cool vocabulary that I have highlighted in the transcript because you can use it to talk about anything. For example, we already talked about it beats listening to something or just beats listening to, but you could talk about that. You could talk about anything using that, couldn't you? And then, I also have this expression, the same goes for. And the same goes for is just a way of saying I feel the same way about the other thing. So if someone asks you, how do you feel about dogs, you could say I love dogs, same goes for cats. And then, related to that, there's another expression, the same goes for me. So we can talk about what other people think about something and then say the same goes for me. So you don't repeat yourself. And you have linked back to what was said previously. And the last one is one of my favorite ones because I say this all the time even when I'm not recording and that is the phrase not overly so. Which is another way of saying not too much or not a great deal or not a big amount. So if someone asks me, do нщг like social media, not overly so. Do you want to learn how to play an instrument? Not overly so. So you can use this to talk about anything as long as you dislike it. But those are my favourite phrases.

Do you take photos of your food?

Not overly so. No, it would be do you like taking photos of your food? Not overly so.

No, no, the question is like, do you? Do you take photos of your food?

Do I?

And post it on Instagram. Yes.

I have never... I think I did that once. But I didn't put it on my main series of photos. I put it on my stories.

Hey! Dear listener, thank you so much for listening! Please let us know in the comments. Like what music do you dislike? Like you can't stand what music and also in the background, like do you have music on in the background while you're working or studying and what kind of music is it? Okay? Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory. Bye!

This definitely beats listening to one of Maria's jokes at the end of the episode. Bye! Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff: Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi