Noise or silence: who decides?

[french frank]

Ultimately, and as far as the OP goes, it's piped music, isn't it? It intrudes on your thought processes (whether about the exhibition you're visiting or what you're planning for the weekend meals at the supermarket. It's there because someone decided it would enhance your being on the premises. Trying to imagine - I don't think one dominant 'soundtrack' is preferable to the jumble of disconnected lesser sounds of human presence: unless it happens to be your own chosen soundtrack.

It might be that the 'sound spots' used once to market Radio 3 would work. Approach one exhibit and hear something which related closely to what you were seeing might work. Move away from it and the music stops.

[Lat-Literal]

Contexts matter here. Appreciation of visual art - eg in Tate Modern - can be hindered by music playing in the background. However, one of the oddest events I experienced was an exhibition on punk rock music late in the 1990s which was entirely silent. I can't recall where it was exactly but it might have been in the foyer of the RFH. The atmosphere, while interesting, was slightly unnerving to the point of ghostly. My memory of the Jorvik is of (presumably Wishart's) sound and not music. There, surely, what is being provided is what modern commentators call an "experience". It is a "theme park" for those who want to think and learn as well as feel. I have been to other places in which there has been - I don't know - let's say a Victorian street scene and one peers into the buildings or rooms and may even be permitted to walk into them briefly. It's lovely but something is missing. That something is how those places would have sounded. In the here and now, every village gift shop on the English tourist trail has a new age celtic tape to accompany the smell of soap as people shuffle round. A part of it is to encourage a feeling of shared experience. Calming leads to forgetting the tiffs that immediately preceded it and a recognition that it is a place designed for shopping and hence spending. It is beneficial to everyone there including customers as most don't want to be aware of all the minor aggravations in couples or groups. There is enough of an element of tension anyway from the inevitable jostle between strangers in small places. A bit of harp can take the edges off that sort of thing.

I think that at root the question is about the extent to which people feel they want to be somewhat artificially forced into sharing an experience with those they have never met in the normal sense. Few realise in the mass media age how they subscribe to such things every day. Radio and television are all one way communication and the individual who turns to them is effectively agreeing to being silenced by strangers, however familiar and even reassuring those strangers might seem. Forums along these lines have altered the balance in daily routines so that communication is two-way and hence more friendly but it is all written and hence the voices in each direction are literally silent and even silenced. Skype is different but rather as with the telephone it is currently used for communication between people who know each other except in one area. Some use it - mainly young people - with the objective of mating. There is nothing else along those lines available which is mightily odd given that there could be a facility to discuss every topic on this forum and more. And as there is also profit to be made by an expansion of it into conversational areas, that it hasn't been done says a lot about the complex social dynamics of power and privacy.

As a footnote, I did allude on the WM board to having "a vision thing" for community radio as a means of reinforcing social and environmental inter-connection. My example was Brighton Marina and quite clearly I wasn't referring to the part of it which is essentially homes. However, what strikes me is how on a warm summer's night people congregate to an extent in areas which have bars and restaurants and late night shopping. Visually it can be an attractive scene enhanced by the rippling waves alongside. The imaginative might feel on seeing a roof bedecked in colourful light that it is one stop short of Tropicana. What, though, of the sound as a whole? In one place there is low-level local commercial radio, in another a selected soundtrack for the night, in the third it is silence in terms of music although the hubbub is deafening and as for the promenade it is all just bits and pieces.

Cacophony - if it wasn't for people talking in their groups inside invisible walls and the sound of the sea in the background, only occasionally noted. Certainly the instinct is for more than a mere gathering. It is to feel a part of a wider whole. However, as the night moves on the group becomes all, convivial or increasingly intemperate. It might as well be in Mexborough or Millwall or merely a living room inconveniently populated by masses of unknowns. I think there is scope for creating more cohesive social and environmental spaces with sound/music. The last thing I would advocate is for it to be a given at every twist and turn. But I do think there are places where it would make sense and it could be done with considerable inventiveness. Those spaces would link indoors and outdoors and the overtly commercial with the natural elements. It would, I feel, be interesting to see how the ensuing cohesion could be based on very different "vibes" according to what was broadcast. Some places could be designed not to ever feel the same from one day to the next day.

One thing it would do is facilitate gatherings of the like minded. Those keen on Classical Marina night would be different to those drawn to Jazz Marina night, Electronica night etc!

[Flosshilde]

I think the point is that if you're used to listening to music, the concept of a soundscape that somehow relaxes you without your conscious participation is never going to work.

I was as tense as a coiled spring by the time I left.

I haven't been, but my partner has, & was rather surprised & a bit put out by the aural aspect of the exhibition.

I would think that a soundscape is intended to represent or evoke something aurally - using all sorts of sounds, not just musical - & not simply be relaxing or background. It could be that in this context it's mis-used; I think it probably depends on the type of exhibition. Yorvik (as I understand it) isn't so much an exhibition as an immersive experience; the soundscape would be an important part of that, whereas the BM exhibition is, presumably, more traditional & it's probably rather difficult to be absorbed by the soundscape while concentrating on the exhibits in glass cases.

[Flosshilde]

The thing missing from exhibitions about life in the past (not just of cultural artefacts) is the smell.

[jean]

I find it sad that whilst abstract expressionism is very well known and popular almost no-one in the visual arts has the slightest idea about the music that is its counterpart

I have often thought about the mismatch between the public perception of the visual arts and of the music of the same period.

Tate Liverpool made a commendable attempt to redress this duing the recent Mondrian exhibition:


Discover the music that influenced and inspired the work of Piet Mondrian, master of twentieth-century abstraction.

Drop into one of our informal concerts during the opening weekend of our summer exhibition Mondrian and his Studios to hear a specially commissioned concert featuring Ensemble 10/10, Liverpool Philharmonic’s contemporary music ensemble.

The concerts celebrate the spectacular fusion in arts and music at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries which had a profound influence on Mondrian.

Unfortunately (I am told) they rather spoiled it by picking the wrong music.

But the point is, these were concerts, where you could listen properly, without distraction; the music was not played at you while you went round the exhibition.

[Pulcinella]

I was as tense as a coiled spring by the time I left.

A similar thing happened to me at the doctors: some radio station or other is perpetually on, apparently to allow privacy at the reception desk!

My blood pressure went sky high.

Next time, I asked to be allowed to wait in a quiet area, so was put in a room and then didn't hear my name called for my appointment.

I've decided to rely on home blood pressure readings instead!

[Lat-Literal]

I have often thought about the mismatch between the public perception of the visual arts and of the music of the same period.

Tate Liverpool made a commendable attempt to redress this duing the recent Mondrian exhibition:


Discover the music that influenced and inspired the work of Piet Mondrian, master of twentieth-century abstraction.

Drop into one of our informal concerts during the opening weekend of our summer exhibition Mondrian and his Studios to hear a specially commissioned concert featuring Ensemble 10/10, Liverpool Philharmonic’s contemporary music ensemble.

The concerts celebrate the spectacular fusion in arts and music at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries which had a profound influence on Mondrian.

Unfortunately (I am told) they rather spoiled it by picking the wrong music.

But the point is, these were concerts, where you could listen properly, without distraction; the music was not played at you while you went round the exhibition.

In places, yes, and in places perhaps no.

I have a Kandinsky print among others on my living room wall. It says jazz to me. I am not sure that I would want any overt musical reference at a Kandinsky exhibition.

A similar thing happened to me at the doctors: some radio station or other is perpetually on, apparently to allow privacy at the reception desk!

My blood pressure went sky high.

Next time, I asked to be allowed to wait in a quiet area, so was put in a room and then didn't hear my name called for my appointment.

I've decided to rely on home blood pressure readings instead!

Well, in the old place which in fact is a very modern corporate place, I felt so intimidated I left in August. I could write an entire book about it but I won't do here. Had you been there, you would have had the delights of breakfast television in the waiting room and all the wonderful programmes that follow it . Subsequently my father, nearly 85, arrived at 9.30am for his 10am appointment having been put on blood pressure tablets and was still sitting there at 11am through Kyle or This Morning. No explanation. Ultimately, he was seen at 11.05am and was asked if he had white coat syndrome ahead of having his blood pressure taken as demanded. He said "no" but in the mildest way possible added that the reading might be affected by confusion about the wait. Couldn't someone have advised him if he had been forgotten? And he was told without any hint of apology "it is not the way it works". Their cold arrogance makes me sick to be honest. Fortunately, I've landed on my feet in the move to a surgery that is a delight and feels like it resides in the 1960s.

I fought for an apology through the system for the manner in which an appointment for me was conducted in December 2014. That appointment had a seriously negative impact on my health and so did all of the subsequent systemic brick walls. As early as January '15, I had been told by the surgery manager about that appointment "she was just having a bad day although that is no excuse". Friends and family said that there was no way on earth that I would receive anything saying "sorry" in writing. GPs are worried about any legal implications and, of course, even loved ones were not entirely sure what happened. They were inclined to think of it as 50-50. No sooner had I left, a weasel worded letter arrived which did have the word "sorry" in it. When people saw it, they changed their minds. Said it was utterly incredible in this day and age and what I described was totally vindicated.

Pulcinella, if you are unhappy with your surgery you might like to consider other ones in your area. I can guarantee that in their "tone" they can be planets apart to the point of astonishing. It isn't just me. Nearly everyone I've spoken with in my new one was at the previous place - officially 4 stars out of 5 - and moved because they were unhappy with it. In my case, it is the difference between being described literally as "a very intelligent man" and I was gobsmacked when she had the decency to say it and being thought behind the fake smile as "a stupid boy". The truth is between the two but there is more hope with the former. My new GP is a sweetheart but then I do prefer care from people "of ethnicity"!

[french frank]

The Guardian piece isn't that bad:

The idea is to make the atmosphere more relaxed, so visitors don’t just shamble round in reverent silence like culture zombies.

If that is 'the idea', there is a presumption that most people would 'shamble round like culture zombies' without a bit of help. Maybe the problem is that they would - and we have to share all our interests with people who aren't really as interested as we are? However, it does sound as if the complaints are quite widespread, so that may not be the problem at all.

[MrGongGong]

Like many other composers I sometimes make pieces for exhibitions.
When they work well they are collaborations with the artist or curator and are an intrinsic part of the design of an exhibition.
Done well sound can really enhance and comment on the visual (as it can in radio drama and theatre).
Done badly it can be an irritant and distract from the appreciation of the environment.
Sometimes silence is what is needed and sometimes not IMV

There are many systems that can deliver audio material in interesting ways, personally speaking the "audio guide" is usually the worst option.

[doversoul1]

I haven't been, but my partner has, & was rather surprised & a bit put out by the aural aspect of the exhibition.

I would think that a soundscape is intended to represent or evoke something aurally - using all sorts of sounds, not just musical - & not simply be relaxing or background. It could be that in this context it's mis-used; I think it probably depends on the type of exhibition. Yorvik (as I understand it) isn't so much an exhibition as an immersive experience; the soundscape would be an important part of that, whereas the BM exhibition is, presumably, more traditional & it's probably rather difficult to be absorbed by the soundscape while concentrating on the exhibits in glass cases.

Dover Castle used to be just that: a great Norman fort that had been used for various purposes through the centuries. There were names scratched on the wall that were (said to be) by the prisoners of Napoleonic War. It cost £1 to go in and walk around, thinking your own thoughts.

It was bought by (not sure if I’m allowed to name the organisation but I expect you all can guess) a private enterprise and thoroughly ‘done up’ with brand new tapestries, antique kitchen utensils and find-out-more screens, plus ‘appropriate’ music and sound of people talking filling the place throughout the building. And they reconstructed a ‘privy’ with, yes, smell (although this may have been an attempt by the previous organisation).

The problem with this sort of ‘appropriate’ music, or for that matter any ‘things’ is that it has to be approximate / stereotypical in order for the music and the things to be recognised by the visitors as what it is meant to be. In the case of Dover Castle, it is all about Henry VIII and his time, yet to me, all this only makes things further from the real things. As if to make sure that nothing is left to the visitors' imagination.

[ed.] Flosshilde
This is by no means meant to criticise your post, in case it sounds that way.

[ardcarp]

I took 4 of my g-kids to a local swimming pool last Sunday. It wasn't a 'fun-session' just regular swimming time. There was, for the first time I can remember, pop music blaring throughout the session. It seems no-one can contemplate the absence of it. I complained and got it 'turned down' but not very much. It cost a ****** fortune to get in; not like my childhood when you went with your mates for 6d each. Luckily we have the sea on our doorstep (we went in on Boxing Day) so indoor swimming (and probably most winter-swimming!) is off the agenda from now on.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It' very difficult to swim well when music is being played. One naturally swims to the rhythm of the music, which will only suit the swimmer if it happens to be at the speed you want to swim at.

Music in 3/4 time is counterproductive, but 2/4 and 4/4 work when at your speed. It's worse than singing to a backing track. Front crawl and backstroke are in 6/8 time.

It may help to request they turn the music off. Occasionally it works, but most North Yorkshire pools are governed by a policy dictated by faceless morons, not allowing for any flexibility.


It

[Flosshilde]

If that is 'the idea', there is a presumption that most people would 'shamble round like culture zombies' without a bit of help. Maybe the problem is that they would - and we have to share all our interests with people who aren't really as interested as we are?

The thought that was behind my original comment about social chit-chat. So often my view of something is blocked by people who take a cursory glance at it & then discuss the neighbours, holidays, children etc.

[gradus]

I've never understood how people run/jog with headphones feeding music into their ears, it would put me off but I have noticed that sometimes the beats of some rhythms repeat involuntarily in my mind's ear, no idea why though as I don't try to do it.

[ardcarp]

Music in 3/4 time is counterproductive

I suppose one could do one's crawl kick 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 etc

In fact does much current pop music have a beat? Much of it seems shapeless moaning to max 2 chords.....