Music to Calm a Dog During New Year's Eve Fireworks: What Works and How to Set It Up

The short answer: yes, but it's one part of the plan

Music can help a dog through fireworks, but it won't block them out. Fireworks can reach 120 to 175 decibels (RSPCA), and no speaker in a living room competes with that. What sound can do is soften the bangs and give your dog something steady to settle to.

The set-up that has the most behind it:

1. A safe room or den with the curtains and windows closed, where your dog already likes to rest.
2. A low, steady noise underneath, such as brown noise or the free Dogs Trust Sound Blanket, to fill in the booms that come through the walls.
3. Calm music or an audiobook on top: classical, soft rock or reggae did best in the kennel studies.
4. Started before the first bang, at about the level you'd have the TV, with you at home.

If your dog panics at fireworks, not just startles, call your vet now, not on December 30. Some medications have to be given before the fireworks start (Dogs Trust), and you want the plan sorted with weeks to spare.

New Year's Eve 2026 is a Thursday, and the bangs in most neighborhoods run from dusk on December 31 until well after midnight. This guide is for the dog owner who already knows how last year went.

What the studies actually found

Most of the research was done in shelters and rehoming kennels, not in homes during fireworks, so treat it as a guide to what calms dogs in general.

Three things to take from this:

• Calm and steady beats special. The music made "for dogs" didn't outperform ordinary calm music in either study that tested it.
• Heavy, aggressive music is the one to avoid. It was the only genre linked to more shaking.
• Mix it up. The Glasgow team suggested dogs get used to the same sounds, and that more variety may keep the effect going. One playlist on repeat for six hours is not the best version.

None of these studies tested fireworks, and every dog is different. Your own dog is the real test, which is why the practice runs below matter.

Why a low noise goes underneath the music

Music has gaps. There are quiet passages, the second of silence between tracks, and the soft opening of the next song, and a bang that lands in one of those gaps is the one your dog hears.

The deep thump of a firework is also the part that gets into the house. "It is mainly the low frequency sounds that get through the walls," says Dr Zuzanna Podwinska, the University of Salford acoustics researcher who built the Dogs Trust Sound Blanket, and "the masking sounds have to be in the same frequency range as the fireworks" (University of Salford, 26 Oct 2026).

That gives you two options:

• The Sound Blanket. It's a free set of nine sounds, launched in October 2026, which mix a fireworks-matched noise with more natural sounds. It's on YouTube and Spotify. Dogs Trust says 99% of the dogs in its own testing tolerated it, but it may not suit dogs that are very sensitive to music or spoken radio. Dogs Trust's advice is to "press play before the bangs start" (Dogs Trust).
• Brown noise. It puts most of its energy in the low frequencies, so it sounds like a deep rumble rather than a hiss (more in brown vs white vs pink noise). It's not tuned to fireworks the way the Sound Blanket is, but it's steady, it never has a gap, and you can run it all night under whatever music you choose.

Either way, keep the noise as the floor and the music as the thing your dog actually listens to.

What to play, and what to skip

These picks are ours, chosen for the qualities the studies point to: steady, soft and without sudden loud moments. Use them as a starting point and swap in anything calm your dog already hears at home.

Classical, quiet and even:

• Bach, "Air" from Orchestral Suite No. 3
• Bach, the Aria from the Goldberg Variations
• Satie, Gymnopédie No. 1
• Debussy, "Clair de lune"
• Chopin, Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9 No. 2
• Brahms, "Wiegenlied" (the Brahms lullaby)

Soft rock and acoustic:

• Fleetwood Mac, "Landslide"
• James Taylor, "Sweet Baby James"
• Norah Jones, "Don't Know Why"
• Jack Johnson, "Banana Pancakes"

Reggae:

• Bob Marley and the Wailers, "Three Little Birds", "Is This Love" and "Waiting in Vain"
• Gregory Isaacs, "Night Nurse"
• UB40, "Red Red Wine"

An audiobook. A calm voice reading a long story, such as the one your kids are halfway through. The kennel study used The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Skip these:

• Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. The score calls for cannon fire, and many recordings use real cannons or big drums in their place.
• "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana, and Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony. Both have sudden, very loud hits.
• Heavy metal, and EDM or dubstep with big drops, for the same reason.
• Songs with gunshot or explosion effects. M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" is the famous one.
• Thunder sounds in any sleep-sounds app, and any "rainy night" mix that includes them. Many fireworks-phobic dogs fear storms too.
• Your own party playlist. If you're hosting, keep it on a different speaker in a different room.

How loud, and where to put the speaker

Quieter than you think. Dogs hear more sensitively than we do, and the point is a soft, constant backdrop, not a wall of sound. Aim for a normal TV level in the room, loud enough that you notice when it's off.

In the den room, not the party room. Put the phone or speaker in the room where your dog will be, a few feet from the bed or crate, not right beside it. An old phone or a cheap Bluetooth speaker is fine.

Close the room up. Close the curtains and the windows, as both the BVA and Dogs Trust advise (BVA), and keep the lights on so the flashes are less obvious.

Let your dog choose. If they want to hide under the bed or behind the sofa, let them. "If your dog wants to hide, let them stay where they feel safe" (Dogs Trust).

Practise in December, so the music doesn't mean "bangs"

If the only time your dog ever hears brown noise and Bach is the worst night of the year, the sounds can turn into a warning that bangs are coming. So play the exact set-up on ordinary evenings first.

• From now to mid-December: a few evenings a week, play the noise and the music in the den room while your dog naps, eats or chews something good. Same volume, same speaker.
• Late December: play it every evening. Many neighborhoods set off a few fireworks early, so you'll be glad it's already routine.

If your dog is badly frightened of fireworks, look at Dogs Trust's free Sounds Scary program, a sound therapy course with recorded noises and a guide, developed by two vets who specialise in behaviour and offered on the Dogs Trust website (Dogs Trust: Sound therapy for pets). It works by gradual exposure over weeks, not days, so start it now if you're going to, ideally with your vet's or a behaviourist's input. Don't start it the week of New Year's.

The New Year's Eve plan, hour by hour

Earlier in the week: check that the collar tag and microchip details are current. A frightened dog that gets out can run a long way. If your vet prescribed something, check you have enough and know when to give it.

December 31, daytime: a long walk in daylight, then dinner a little earlier than usual. Dogs Trust advises being settled indoors well before the fireworks start and not going out after dark (Dogs Trust).

Before dusk: last trip outside on a leash, even in a fenced yard. Close the curtains and windows. Start the noise, then the music, before the first bang.

Through the evening: stay home if you can. "Your pooch could panic if left alone" (Dogs Trust). Comfort your dog if they come to you, because ignoring them won't help. Never tell them off for an accident; it isn't their fault.

Midnight: the loudest stretch. Don't open the door to watch.

After midnight: leave the sound running until the neighborhood has gone quiet, and then for a while longer.

January 1: walk on a leash. There may be leftover bangs and firework debris on the ground, and a dog that's still jumpy is more likely to pull.

Signs it isn't working, and when to call the vet

Music takes the edge off. It won't fix a true noise phobia. Dogs Trust lists these signs of fear: whining, barking or crying; clinginess; heavy panting, drooling or lip-licking; a tucked tail; hiding; trying to escape; trembling; pacing; refusing food; and dilated pupils (Dogs Trust).

If you see that last year's pattern despite your set-up, or if your dog has ever tried to escape, chewed through a crate or hurt itself, talk to your vet as soon as possible. They can rule out pain, prescribe medication and refer you to a behaviourist. The BVA also suggests pheromone diffusers placed by the den (BVA).

Setting it up in Trending Music

Trending Music is our app, so weigh this section accordingly. It's free, and it can run both layers from one phone.

1. The noise layer. In the app, open Settings → Sleep & Wake → Sleep Sounds and tap Brown Noise. It's free, along with White Noise, Pink Noise and Rain. Set its slider low. Leave Thunder off and don't use the Rainy Night preset, which includes thunder. Tap the Sleep timer line and choose Off so it keeps playing until you stop it. The noise is generated on the phone, so it doesn't need Wi-Fi.
2. The music layer. Make a playlist of the calm music above. Tap ••• on a song, then Add to Playlist. Our playlist guide goes through it. Make it long and varied, and if you use repeat, swipe up on the player to open the queue, where Repeat sits along the bottom. Sleep Sounds keeps playing underneath your music.
3. No sleep timer on the music either. If you set one from the player's moon button, it stops Sleep Sounds as well when it ends.
4. Start it, then lock the phone. Playback continues with the screen locked. The free version shows full-screen ads between songs only while the app is open on screen, so lock the phone and leave it in the den room.

What it can't do: it has no "music for dogs" mode and doesn't know how your dog is doing. The Sound Blanket isn't part of Sleep Sounds; play that from YouTube or Spotify. The free version has ads, and Premium removes them.

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Can I leave my dog home alone with music on?

For a dog that is relaxed about fireworks, a sound set-up in a closed room is a reasonable way to cover a few hours. For a dog that is frightened of fireworks, music is not a babysitter. Dogs Trust warns that a scared dog could panic if left alone. If you're going out on New Year's Eve, line up a sitter who'll stay in, or take your dog to a quiet friend's place outside the fireworks zone if they travel well.

Is "music for dogs" on YouTube better than normal music?

Not according to the two studies that tested it. In Kogan's 2012 study, specially altered classical made little difference while ordinary classical increased sleep. In the 2016 audiobook study, dog-directed music didn't beat the audiobook. If your dog settles to one of those videos, use it. Otherwise, calm music you already own is just as good.

Does this work for cats?

The studies above are all on dogs. The rest of the advice is general fireworks advice and applies to cats too: closed curtains and windows, a place to hide, steady background sound and a vet visit early if they're badly affected (BVA). Many cats would simply rather be left alone under a bed.

More for the holidays

In the UK, Bonfire Night has the same problem in November. Our Bonfire Night songs guide covers when to stop the garden music. If you want the noise layer for your own sleep too, the free sleep sounds guide has the full mixer walkthrough. And for something calm to play for the people in the house that night, start with chill songs for a slow evening.

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