# Some of your favorite sounds **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 8, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163 "2015-04-08T22:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Last_Glacial_Maximum)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/41 "2015-04-09T20:06:15Z")
The sound of a cold, two-stroke outboard motor as it is first started and hesitates, then slowly warms up to a pleasant idle. Also, of course, the smell of the blue two-stroke smoke wafting about in the early morning haze… . . ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/42 "2015-04-09T20:16:13Z")
Wind chimes. The roaring of the wind in the trees during a really strong thunderstorm or hurricane. Waves crashing on the sand Birdsong The full-throated, gurgling belly laugh of a baby…they really get into it and it tickles me. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/43 "2015-04-09T20:22:51Z")
We have some ducks in the back yard. One of them waddles about quaking in a way that sounds a lot like the Martians from _Mars Attacks_. That \*aack aaaack aaaaaaackkkk! \*makes me smile for reasons I don’t quite get. Magpies warbling in the mornings. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/44 "2015-04-09T20:27:21Z")
I love the sound of a sports crowd. Baseball is all that “aaah” when the ball is hit. Hockey is the crisp whoosh of skates. Football: the leathery smack of shoulders into pads. Basketball: the whistle of the zebras. As a kid on the farm I loved the metallic rattle of the lid of the pigs’ self-feeder. I’d know that sound anywhere. I don’t get all the love for doves though. When they’re up close they’re LOUD and to me they always sound really grumpy. I do love the sound my cats make when they see a dove on the lawn: chitter chitter chi chi chi: “Come here and I will eat you up.” ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/45 "2015-04-09T20:52:45Z")
No love for cicadas? I want to like crickets, but one somehow found its way under my bed and wouldn’t shut up til it died and that kinda killed it for me. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/46 "2015-04-09T20:58:43Z")
Gentle rain Pounding rain My dogs chirping in their sleep My boy dog squeaking when he yawns The garage door opening because it means my Sweetie is home from work. A baby crying in the NICU. Usually it’s so eerily quiet because the babies are intubated and can’t cry. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/47 "2015-04-09T22:24:57Z")
Shoot! I didn’t think to mention bagpipes, but several of you took care of that for me. 😃 My mother was a piper and performed, in full dress, several times a year. She had been playing since childhood and was quite good, and the sound of her practicing was a big part of the soundtrack of my childhood. They almost seem human, the pipes, with the big ‘breath’ they take in the beginning before they play and the “flatulence” they exhibit when you let the air out. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/48 "2015-04-09T22:29:44Z")
lots of good sounds here - I enjoy all the bird songs that I recognize: when I can say, there, that was a redwing blackbird or a robin, then I am happy. I like the ticking of a wind up clock and the noise made by the very end of a breaking wave: not the crashing of the break, but the last hiss of it dissipating on the sand and it’s done. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/49 "2015-04-10T00:38:08Z")
I love the “pop!” when a bottle of champagne is opened. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/50 "2015-04-10T02:48:12Z")
A couple more bird sounds: the whoosh of raven’s wings when they fly over you in a desert canyon. And the canyon wren–I just love hearing that descending trill when I’m hiking. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/51 "2015-04-10T02:51:05Z")
You know, I’m laying in bed right now and I’m hearing rain: soft, rhythmic, pouring rain. And I’m enjoying it because I haven’t heard rain in about 5 months. Rain is suddenly signifying the return of moderate to warm temperatures and that makes me very happy. It’s a very peaceful droning noise that I’m glad to hear once more. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/52 "2015-04-11T01:15:37Z")
The welcoming nicker of a friendly horse. Rain on the roof, with rumbling thunder. A happy dog roo-ing. Setters are excellent at this. A tiger giving a greeting chuff. Horse hoof beats. My dogs snoring. A waterfall. A crackling campfire. Frogs. ---
**Author:** ![funky\_little\_lee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@funky\_little\_lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funky_little_lee)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/53 "2015-04-11T02:02:51Z")
Hearing a prop plane pass overhead always gives me a feeling of deep inner peace. I don’t know why that is, but I love that sound. Also train whistles–we actually picked our house because it’s close to an at-grade crossing and we get to hear whistles regularly. Also the chirping call that robins make at dusk or before a thunderstorm. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/54 "2015-04-11T06:08:45Z")
The sound of big round engines cranking up. The creak of saddle leather. Harley Davidson ‘pan’ engine at a well tuned slow idle. Poping Johnny JD running slow. My kids learning to talk. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/55 "2015-04-11T08:15:59Z")
A strong wind through pine trees, particularly on a sunny, but cool day. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/56 "2015-04-11T10:47:30Z")
Lots of good stuff here. I had forgotten that great horse greeting, **PapSett**. And **GusNSpot** , I learned to drive on a John Deere “Poppin John” and love that idling sound. I seem to relate most to the sounds of a farm and I guess it makes sense that I remember the sounds of my childhood fondly, especially if they are ones I’m not hearing on a regular basis any more. The sound of the John Deere makes me see my dad extremely vividly, standing next to the tractor. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/57 "2015-04-11T12:22:44Z")
Another one for rain - I like thunderstorms best of all, with whistling winds and cracks of lightning. Purring cats and crackling fires are also good. Also, the sound of sudden silence - when there’s been some kind of repetitive noise (clicking fan, dishwasher, vacuum etc) and then it stops and this beautiful sense of nothingness fills your ears. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/58 "2015-04-11T12:33:10Z")
I love the far away train horns at the crossings on Grand Avenue. I’ve heard those all my life, and they are just a nice reassuring noise day or night. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/59 "2015-04-11T13:40:53Z")
-The sound of two shod horses walking on pavement -Horses eating hay in the barn with a rainstorm outside (this scene accompanied by delicious smells of rain, good hay and horses 🙂 ) -birds squabbling at the feeders and calling from the trees -Redwinged Blackbird trills and the liquid sound of Brown Headed Cowbirds -cat noises - purrs, chirps, meows, even snores -Wind in the trees -a distant thunderstorm -the miniscule, unidentifiable sounds of a silent house ---
**Author:** ![Teach-me-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Teach-me-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach-me-not)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163/60 "2015-04-11T18:13:01Z")
Bells, particularly a pair of huge bells harmonising. Hawkers selling snacks and toys on a train. This one is tricky, because the initial nostalgic feeling induced by the sound inevitably gives way to “God, just please make it stop” in a few hours. The [_tadak-tadak_](https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100127193137AAvO5mf) of a train. I can never tire of _this_ sound. Involuntary humming when I am trying to focus on work, or I am restless. Not sure whether to call it a favourite, since it’s less about pleasure and more about taking the edge off. Lizard chirping at home. Frogs are loud and can drive you mad by croaking non-stop for hours. In contrast, lizard chirps are quieter, less frequent, and less predictable. They can even be soothing, and a welcome break from silence and loneliness. (Slight tangent. As per traditional Hindu beliefs, lizards are thought to bring many omens, both good and bad. [Their chirping is apparently considered auspicious](http://www.boldsky.com/yoga-spirituality/faith-mysticism/2012/spiritual-significance-lizards-hinduism-130312.html). It’s possible that I am just conditioned to like the sound.) And, of course, [the noise of freshly cut grass](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PUefiJBJQQ&t=859). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-your-favorite-sounds/717163.md?page=4)