It’s Oh So Quiet: Your Guide to Silent Discos
The best dance parties are ones that engage all your senses, but the biggest and most notable feature is definitely that booming party sound. We’ve all been to parties where the DJ cranked up the music so loud that we could feel the ground vibrating beneath us. Those can be exhilarating, but they can also cause hearing problems. In some cases, you may even develop tinnitus, which leaves you feeling like your ears are constantly ringing.
When you think about this very common issue, the rise of silent discos makes even more sense. If you’ve received an invitation to one of these unique dance parties, here’s what you need to know.
A party with headphones
As a kid, you’d get in trouble if you did something like show up at the dinner table wearing a pair of headphones. But silent discos are centered around the idea that everyone is wearing headphones. In some cases, they’re listening to music on their iPods. But the best parties still include a DJ. In fact, they might include several.
Here’s how it works. Partygoers put on noise-canceling headphones. Then they tune into a specific frequency. There can be up to 3 DJs per party. If DJ 1 is playing punk rock, you can switch to frequency 2 for some hip hop, or maybe head to frequency 3 for a poppy sugar rush. It’s all up to you. You can switch between frequencies as often as you want.
Each frequency is typically indicated by a color on the headphones. So if you’re dancing to Top 40, your light indicator might be green. If your friend is jamming to some good oldies, their light indicator maybe blue. This is also a great way to see what is more popular, and to join in with the crowd. And if you want to talk to your partner, you simply take off your headphones and speak at normal volumes. No need to shout at the top of your lungs only to still be misunderstood.
Elite Daily called silent discos “the most millennial thing ever.” But there’s no law that says you have to be a member of the millennial generation to get down with a pair of headphones. Even if you feel this is a trend for a different age group, you may be surprised to find that you actually enjoyed the silent disco party. When you boil things down to their basics, a silent disco is a way to party without being loud and obnoxious. This doesn’t mean silent discos are quiet and sterile, though. This isn’t a library. There’s still plenty of action on the dance floor. You might run into a stranger and start feeding off each other’s body language in a really cool and unexpected way. These events often support a free and open culture so hosting a silent disco is a great way to shake things up.
Silent Discos are more intense
The music isn’t washing over the room the way it does at a typical party. Instead, the noise is more tightly focused. Other people are experiencing the same sounds like you, but you’re also in your own private little bubble. That doesn’t mean these events aren’t social, though. They very much are. You don’t have to worry as much about making small talk. Let the music do the heavy lifting for you.
If this sounds a little like going to the gym and cranking your own workout playlist, then you’ll be happy to know that there are silent discos that double as exercise classes. These parties are much more interesting than those Zumba classes you took at the mall, though.
There are gay nightclubs, and there are also gay silent discos. In fact, there are silent discos for about every demographic imaginable. Yes, that includes children. While silent discos are often targeted at adults, there are also special parties geared toward teenagers or pre-teens. The biggest difference is that silent discos for adults are more likely to either serve drinks at a bar or encourage partygoers to stop by the liquor store on the way to the event. There’s nothing inherently risque about gathering a bunch of people in a room and distributing headphones, after all. If you’re going to one of these parties, you really only need to arrive with two things: an outfit perfect for gliding around the dancefloor, and your favorite moves!
