The 4 Ways Sound Affects Us
Part 1.
1.c 2.e 3.d
4.a 5.b
Part 2.
(A) F “most of the sound around
us is accidental, much of it is
unpleasant.” (B)T (C)F it affects these
“all the time” (D)F it “affects our
emotional state” (E)F “You can't
understand two people talking at once”
(F)T (G)T (H)T
(I)F “If you're listening consciously, you can take control of the sound
around you.”
Part 3
12 = cycles per minute is roughly the frequency of the breathing of a
sleeping human.
hundreds of thousands = years
we've learned that when the birds are singing, things are safe. It's when they
stop you need to be worried.
1/3 = productivity of workers in open-plan offices, compared to working
in quiet rooms.
28 = miles per hour, the speed at which a person listening to techno
music will never drive. (Fast, loud music makes you drive faster)
30 = the percentage shops are losing business with people leaving shops
due to unpleasant sound.
1.8 = billion times a day, Nokia ringtone is played
86 = percentage you reduce commercial impact when sound is incongruent
or has no use.
5 = minutes a day, the lecturer recommends listening to birdsong.
Transcript
Over
the next five minutes, my intention is to transform your relationship with
sound. Let me start with the observation that most of the sound around us is
accidental, and much of it is unpleasant. (Traffic noise) We stand on street
corners, shouting over noise like this, and pretending that it doesn't exist.
Well, this habit of suppressing sound has meant that our relationship with
sound has become largely unconscious.
There
are four major ways sound is affecting you all the time, and I'd like to raise
them in your consciousness today. First is physiological. (Loud alarm clocks)
Sorry about that. I've just given you a shot of cortisol, your fight/flight
hormone. Sounds are affecting your hormone secretions all the time, but also
your breathing, your heart rate -- which I just also did -- and your
brainwaves.
It's
not just unpleasant sounds like that that do it. This is surf. (Ocean waves) It
has the frequency of roughly 12 cycles per minute. Most people find that very
soothing, and, interestingly, 12 cycles per minute is roughly the frequency of
the breathing of a sleeping human. There is a deep resonance with being at
rest. We also associate it with being stress-free and on holiday.
The
second way in which sound affects you is psychological. Music is the most
powerful form of sound that we know that affects our emotional state.
(Albinoni's Adagio) This is guaranteed to make most of you feel pretty sad if I
leave it on. Music is not the only kind of sound, however, which affects your
emotions.
Natural
sound can do that too. Birdsong, for example, is a sound which most people find
reassuring. (Birds chirping) There is a reason for that. Over hundreds of
thousands of years we've learned that when the birds are singing, things are
safe. It's when they stop you need to be worried.
The
third way in which sound affects you is cognitively. You can't understand two
people talking at once ("If you're listening to this version of")
("me you're on the wrong track.") or in this case one person talking
twice. Try and listen to the other one. ("You have to choose which me
you're going to listen to.")
We
have a very small amount of bandwidth for processing auditory input, which is
why noise like this -- (Office noise) -- is extremely damaging for
productivity. If you have to work in an open-plan office like this, your
productivity is greatly reduced. And whatever number you're thinking of, it
probably isn't as bad as this. (Ominous music) You are one third as productive
in open-plan offices as in quiet rooms. And I have a tip for you. If you have
to work in spaces like that, carry headphones with you, with a soothing sound
like birdsong. Put them on and your productivity goes back up to triple what it
would be.
The
fourth way in which sound affects us is behaviorally. With all that other stuff
going on, it would be amazing if our behavior didn't change. (Techno music
inside a car) So, ask yourself: Is this person ever going to drive at a steady 28 miles per hour? I don't
think so. At the simplest, you move away from unpleasant sound and towards
pleasant sounds. So if I were to play this -- (Jackhammer) -- for more than a
few seconds, you'd feel uncomfortable; for more than a few minutes, you'd be
leaving the room in droves. For people who can't get away from noise like that,
it's extremely damaging for their health.
And
that's not the only thing that bad sound damages. Most retail sound is
inappropriate and accidental, and even hostile, and it has a dramatic effect on
sales. For those of you who are retailers, you may want to look away before I
show this slide. They are losing up to 30 percent of their business with people
leaving shops faster, or just turning around on the door. We all have done it,
leaving the area because the sound in there is so dreadful.
I
want to spend just a moment talking about the model that we've developed, which
allows us to start at the top and look at the drivers of sound, analyze the
soundscape and then predict the four outcomes I've just talked about. Or start
at the bottom, and say what outcomes do we want, and then design a soundscape
to have a desired effect. At last we've got some science we can apply. And
we're in the business of designing soundscapes.
Just
a word on music. Music is the most powerful sound there is, often
inappropriately deployed. It's powerful for two reasons. You recognize it fast,
and you associate it very powerfully. I'll give you two examples. (First chord
of The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night") Most of you recognize that
immediately. The younger, maybe not. (Laughter) (First two notes of
"Jaws" theme) And most of you associate that with something! Now,
those are one-second samples of music. Music is very powerful. And
unfortunately it's veneering commercial spaces, often inappropriately. I hope
that's going to change over the next few years.
Let
me just talk about brands for a moment, because some of you run brands. Every
brand is out there making sound right now. There are eight expressions of a
brand in sound. They are all important. And every brand needs to have
guidelines at the center. I'm glad to say that is starting to happen now. (Intel
ad jingle) You all recognize that one. (Nokia ringtone) This is the most-played
tune in the world today. 1.8 billion times a day, that tune is played. And it
cost Nokia absolutely nothing.
Just
leave you with four golden rules, for those of you who run businesses, for
commercial sound. First, make it congruent, pointing in the same direction as
your visual communication. That increases impact by over 1,100 percent. If your
sound is pointing the opposite direction, incongruent, you reduce impact by 86
percent. That's an order of magnitude, up or down. This is important. Secondly,
make it appropriate to the situation. Thirdly, make it valuable. Give people
something with the sound. Don't just bombard them with stuff. And, finally,
test and test it again. Sound is complex. There are many countervailing
influences. It can be a bit like a bowl of spaghetti: sometimes you just have
to eat it and see what happens.
So
I hope this talk has raised sound in your consciousness. If you're listening
consciously, you can take control of the sound around you. It's good for your
health. It's good for your productivity. If we all do that we move to a state
that I like to think will be sound living in the world. I'm going to leave you
with a little bit more birdsong. (Birds chirping) I recommend at least five
minutes a day, but there is no maximum dose. Thank you for lending me your ears
today. (Applause)
Music In Our Speech
1.out of tune 2. rang a bell 3.jazzes up
4. march to a different drummer
5.over until the fat lady sings
6.fit as a fiddle 7. blow her own
horn
8. face the music 9. play by
ear. 10. for a song 11. music to our
ears 12.clear as a bell
Broken Instruments Are Music to the Ears
of These School Repairmen
1.a 2.b 3.b
4.b 5.c 6.a
7.b 8.c 9.c
10.a
With A Little Help From My Friends
What would you do if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm,I get high with a little help from my friends,
Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.
Do you need anybody?
I need somebody to love.
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love.
What do I do when my love is away.
(Does it worry you to be alone)
How do I feel by the end of the day
(Are you sad because you're on your own)
No, I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm, get high with a little help from my friends,
Mmm, gonna to try with a little help from my friends
Do you need anybody?
I need somebody to love.
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love.
Would you believe in a love at first sight?
Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time.
What do you see when you turn out the light?
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.
Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm I get high with a little help from my friends,
Oh, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends
The Music Puzzle
Across
6. musician 7. melody 8. orchestra 10. conductor 12. choir 14. percussion
16. reggae 18. tune 21. country 23. lead singer 24. strings
Down
1. wind 2. jazz 3. karaoke 4. musical
5. brass 7. microphone
9. air guitar 11. classical 13. notes
15. concert 17. genres 19. lipsync 20. track 22. opera
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