Music for the long haul.

After coming back from holiday recently I thought how the one thing that made the long haul flight so much more bearable was having my music with me.  If it wasn’t for my Ipod and headphones to drown out the incessant drone of the engines I think I would’ve arrived at the destination a gibbering wreck.

I was delighted when the stewardess came round with the flimsy, cheap and crackly airline headphones that I could pull out my Bose and slip them over my ears.  The sound isolation from them is pretty great and I immediately noticed the volume of the engines diminish to a bearable level.  That’s before I used them to watch a film or play some music.

One immediate benefit was that I could have the volume set lower on my ipod or on the film as the sound isolation was so good.  I could hear more details and not struggle to hear dialogue in the in-flight film and it was much less harmful to my hearing in the process.

As the flight wore on I was able to retreat into my music and go into my own space.  I chose my favourite albums and played these and then put on a playlist and let the music drift over me.  Sometimes the only time I was aware I was on a flight was when I was offered a hot towel or drink!

It was nice to look out over the cloud tops as some particularly stirring music played and I was able to think about various thinks and plan my holiday before I arrived. 

Having my music also helped me to get some sleep.  I can never normally sleep on a flight due to the small seats and excessive noise, but having my music to focus on really helped me to drift off and get a few hours sleep.  I also deliberately added some natures sounds CD’s onto my ipod to see if these would help with sleep and I am glad to report that they did.  I had a rain and thunderstorm CD and after I got over the initial urge to urinate it worked really well to mask the sound of the flight and relax me enough to get some sleep.  The sounds of Humpback Whales was less effective!

I also enjoyed plugging into the in-flight entertainment list and listening to an album that had just been released or from an artist I didn’t know that well.  It was a good way to try out some new music before I bought it and helped stave off the boredom.

Music has the ability to transport us to another time or place and you’ll never need this more than on a long flight.  I was able to tune out the noise and disruption of the flight and enjoy my music and before I knew it we were coming into land and I had reached my destination.

I have another short flight coming up soon for business purposes and I can guarantee I will have my ipod and headphones with me again to keep me entertained for the duration.  If you have to fly I can think of nothing better than  playing some of your favourite songs to get you though to your destination in one piece and feeling more refreshed than if you had had to contend with the noise and bustle of the flight without them.  When music blocks out engine noise and screaming children I can certainly think of worse ways to spend a flight!