Communal bathrooms are one of the great joys of dorm living. I have enjoyed listening to music in the shower and singing for as long as I have had some sort of iPod or iPhone. I knew this was common but had not considered how it would play out my freshman year in college. Here are my thoughts on how things should play out.
- If you are the only one taking a shower, play whatever music you would like, feel free to sing along
- If someone else starts showering while you are there and they also play music, turn yours off
- No one wants to listen to two songs at once
- No one wants a stranger asking them to turn their music off
- It is just easier and less awkward if you turn yours off
- This might be obvious: if you enter the shower area and someone else is playing music, do not play anything no matter how much you hate or disapprove of their choices
- If you enter the shower area and someone is already there with no music, I personally would not play any. However, I do not think it is terribly rude to play your own
- In this case, I’d recommend you play something that can be generally appreciated (I understand that is a very broad term)
- Try to shy away from country or weird Norwegian folk (for the record I really enjoy weird Norwegian folk and highly recommend the band Morgonrode)
- If anyone else is showering while you are, DO NOT SING IN THE SHOWER
- I do not care how great you think you are or how great you actually are, unsolicited performances are some of the most awkward and uncomfortable experiences I’ve had
These are all my PERSONAL thoughts and OPINIONS. While I would love it if everyone agreed, I understand they won’t. There are many exceptions to these suggestions. For instance, if someone is going through a breakup, crying and singing sad ballads in the shower are often a necessary part of the process.
Enjoy your shower acoustics! You probably sound at least okay if not great.
5 thoughts on “Communal Shower Music Listening Etiquette”
Wonderful advice! I will go now and check out Morgonrode!
Let us know what you think, Poupie!
Excellent advice. For me, however, I prefer that music be played with a full range system in an acoustically friendly environment, so I would never play anything in a shower. Love from your Hifi/THX 7.1 sound system loving Boompa.
I expect nothing less from you! What have you been listening to recently?
I’ve recently renewed my interest in Boito’s Mefistofele Opera Prologue. I was enjoying it in my archives with my new (birthday) studio grade Beyer Dynamic headphones. It was great, but I realized that it was one I’d transferred from one of my Telarc records and it had a slight, but audible, background haze so endemic with even the best records. (I am still puzzled at the renewed enthusiasm for records. They are technically and physically limited to about a 65db signal to noise ratio, while digital sources are closer to 100db and suffer no limits on dynamic range. Most records are rather compressed and don’t approach the 65db limit.) Anyway, I just received my order from eBay of the same Telarc recording on a CD ($14 incl postage) 5 minutes before I checked in on AOL. The opera is less gripping, but the Prologue is a big piece and is in the same league as Berlioz’s Requiem, which is on the same disc. I have also been enjoying much of the Fleetwood Mac recordings with Stevie Nicks on YouTube. A couple with a guitarist “picking” in concert with her song are mesmerizing. I don’t think it is Bob Greene, who died recently, but rather one of Stevie’s early husbands. YouTube is the best subscription I have. ANY music, Any repair, Anything else one ever wanted to know about is there. Meanwhile, Christmas is ahead. Ideas welcome.
Love you, Boompa