Going on a road trip, or just setting off for your daily commute to work? Veronica Stivala shares notes on the best music to listen to when travelling.

Hit the road, Jack... walking

I sometimes like to pretend I’m the protagonist in a film and the tune I’m listening to is the theme music. Even if do not opt for this imaginative option, great walking music is fun and uplifting. Why not set your playlist to some mellow indie pop (Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, Beirut, The Maccabees) or some funky electro swing to add a swing to your step.

Drive me crazy... driving

If you’re driving alone, you are lucky in that you can choose the music you like – why not make your trip dramatic and play some opera? If you suffer from road rage you might wish to opt for music that is not associated with people dying, killing themselves or others. Some happy pop songs might do the trick (The Beatles’ Twist and Shout perhaps), but it is not advisable to dance at the wheel. You can shout, but leave your twist at home.

The wheels on the bus... bus trips

If you are a group and on a road trip or a long journey in a car or on a bus, the driving soundtrack will make or break you. Rock/ pop singalongs (Iggy Pop, The Beatles, Britney Spears, Queen, Elton John) are a great choice here, as are soundtracks from musicals and Disney cartoons. But do be careful about the volume your voices reach. You don’t want to go breaking anyone’s ears.

Midnight train to Georgia... rail

It’s lovely to travel by train as you watch the scenery change, you can listen peacefully to music without being disturbed by noisy cars or the aeroplane’s engine. Here you can afford to listen to something peaceful and quiet. Classical music (Chopin, Mozart and Debussy), some soothing jazz (Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone), or perhaps some contemporary solo instrumental (Keith Jarrett, Chilly Gonzalez) are all great choices.

Leaving on a jet plane... flying

It seems British singer Adele’s hit Someone Like You is the best song to calm your nerves on a plane. Well, at least according to a survey commissioned by the music streaming service Spotify. Also on the list was Enya’s Sail Away, Bob Marley’s Buffalo Soldier and Coldplay’s Paradise as good tracks to listen to before or during a flight. The study found that music that stimulates both sides of the brain to reduces anxiety. Someone Like You came out on top because it has a tempo of 67 beats per minute – close to the optimum 60 beats per minute – and harmonious tones.

What are they listening to?

Some music lovers share their travel tunes

Nadine Noko, artist and illustrator

My favourite mode of transport is... levitating. Well, ever since I started watching The Jetsons, I wish­ed I could. Apart from that, walking is my favourite mode of transport.

I like to listen to my music on my… iPhone or my Bush radio.

I don’t have a favourite genre, I switch from Jay-Z, to Biggie Smalls, to Beethoven, to Budaj, to Florence and the Machine.

I love listening to… Nina Simone when I’m running, especially Sinnerman.

A song that brings back memories: When I was in Form 5, I spent most of my time plotting to skive school. Every time we succeeded we would play Nirvana’s Come As You Are.

Duncan Bone, creative director, film-maker and photographer

My favourite mode of transport is... My feet. I love to walk, especially if I have the time to wander around a new city. If running late, I jump in a cab, sit back and listen to the driver’s life story.

I like to listen to my music on my… iPhone. I wish there was another answer, but this personal ‘black box’ knows everything about me and is my personal tool to record sounds, images, video, read and write and has become the default way to carry and stream all the music I love.

My favourite genre is… American folk. Partially thanks to hearing Johnny Cash play on my dad’s record player while growing up, and coming back to it years later after I got over the ‘Culture Club, Beastie Boys, Led Zeppelin and Faith No More’ phase.

I love listening to… whatever varies on my mood, time and place, and also what I am listening to at the moment. Right now I am particularly hooked on a Canadian band called Timber Timbre.

A song that brings back memories: There are too many to keep track of and list, and that’s the beauty of music really – when you hear something you haven’t come across or played in years, and it just takes you right back to that exact moment.

Immanuel Mifsud, author

My favourite mode of transport is... the train. Trains fascinate me. Sometimes when I’m abroad, I spend hours sitting at train stations, jotting down notes, reading or simply staring.

I listen to music on my… MP3 player when I’m on the move. Otherwise, when I’m in my room I have a hi-fi system.

I love listening to… late romantic and 20th century classical music mainly, and tango. Last time I was on a train I had a four-hour trip from Martin to Bratislava in Slovakia and I was listening to Piazzolla. After Mahler and Shostakovich, there’s Piazzolla in my list of musical icons.

A song that brings back memories: There are too many to mention. But the fourth movement of Mahler’s Second Symphony reminds me of the one time I heard a live Mahler. It was quite by chance: the London Philharmonic were playing it at the Royal Festival Hall and I managed to buy the very last ticket. I was driven to tears.

Claire Tonna, musician

My favourite mode of transport is... walking. It allows me to enjoy every step and moment without rushing.

I like to listen to my music on my… guitar. Though I generally listen to the silence and sounds around me.

My favourite genre is... anything that is honest and transmits courage and strength; the songs that wake me up and keep me feeling alive.

I love listening to… Stevie Nicks, when I’m flying.

A song that rings back memories: Because the Night by Patti Smith. It must be because it was played on the radio when I was born and all the way through my childhood and adolescence. I have sung this song with so many artists around the world. It brings back so many good memories. It is the song that makes all the ‘because’ become love.