Do you ever watch figure skating muted?

[TallyT]

I've tried that, but never found any yet that worked for me. Small bones = small skull, also small ears. Any "grown-up" headphones I've tried slide down even with adjustable bands. Earbuds? Still too big, and they keep falling out and have to be held in place with a finger the whole time. I tried children's headphones and found they came with an automatic mute that muffled the music. Still searching for the perfect solution.

I hear you, though for other reasons, I find the popular silicone earcups horrible to wear and earbuds hurt, so I have to go looking for old-fashioned office headphones with foam ear pieces (and microphones I don't want but still), which aren't as good quality soundwise and don't block out the sound nearly as well so other people can hear juuuuuuust enough slightly scratchy bits of noise to annoy them.




earbuds hurt

 

[Diana Delafield]

I hear you, though for other reasons, I find the popular silicone earcups horrible to wear and earbuds hurt, so I have to go looking for old-fashioned office headphones with foam ear pieces (and microphones I don't want but still), which aren't as good quality soundwise and don't block out the sound nearly as well so other people can hear juuuuuuust enough slightly scratchy bits of noise to annoy them.




earbuds hurt

My husband had a foam pair like that. Wore them constantly his last few weeks in the hospital, listening to all his CD collection I brought in batches every day. I used his myself after he died and they do work better, but that was almost 15 years ago and they were well-used already. The foam wore off and I was convinced I'd get electrocuted somehow, so started my search for new ones. Never thought of office supply stores, or maybe eBay where people sell off old stock? I'll look there.

 

[TallyT]

At least here, they do carry them at office supply stores, probably because they are cheaper than the silicone ones so managers on budgets prefer them for staff to use (I'm guessing, but I'm not complaining! I go and stock up on a few every few years)

 

[LongTimeLurker]

This has become my new obsession
It is a great chance to evaluate the plain physical delivery of a skater; to pay attention to what skaters actually physically do. It's paradoxical but watching sans music helps to evaluate how musical the performance is: does the movement keep any rhythm pattern? Does it build any structure, any character, or tell any story?
It is interesting to watch first without music and guess what the music could be. But it is also interesting to do a muted re-check without music that I know very well.

Have you ever tried it? What are your most interesting discoveries?

Yes, we mute it any time Tara and Johnny are commentating. If it's one or the other, it's okay-ish, but both simultaneously is super annoying. Sure wish they would be quiet during the performances!