The Reith Lectures this year took a look at the interplay between Music and Society.
MUSIC DIARY In this year's Reith Lectures, the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim issued a challenge:
Too often, he argued, our ears are exposed to what's commonly known as Muzak, when on the phone, when out shopping, eating or drinking.
So how often do you find your ears invaded by music over which you have no control? And how often do you listen to music of your choice?
To complement this year’s Reith lectures, 'Front Row' invited you to keep a diary for a day, noting all the music which entered your life during that 24 hours.
MUSIC DIARY RESULTS
LISTEN AGAINas conductor Jeremy Summerly and music psychologist John Sloboda join Mark Lawson to discuss the findings.
Observations: 'Front Row' listeners who kept diaries were exposed to an average of one hour and sixteen minutes of background music in a day - music which they did not choose to hear.
One previously unidentified source of music rage emerged in a number of the diaries: bad singing by colleagues in the workplace, who have no volume control and little musicality.
Other music which provoked particular anger included 'hideous sounds' coming from newly installed TV screens on a bus, very loud pop tracks in shops and repetitive electronic tunes played by toddlers' toys.
But the diaries also reveal that - unlike Mr. Barenboim - many respondents actually enjoy piped background music in the right context.
While 38% of non-chosen music received a negative rating, 28% was rated positively, and 34% received a neutral score.
The music diaries were analysed by the School of Psychology at Keele University. Music psychologist John Sloboda was particularly interested in the positive ratings of background music:
"We are all exposed to an hour of music we haven't chosen every day," he said, "but Mr Barenboim is too pessimistic. What the research tells us is that, although it is an enormous amount of music, it is not all bad, and in fact some of it really helps people get through the day."
Total Chosen Music:
637 hours, 12 minutes and 54 seconds - 1313 episodes
Average Chosen Music Per Person:
166 minutes (2 hours 46 minutes) - 5.7 episodes (29 minutes per episode).
Time per person ranges from zero (2 people) through to 8 hours 32 minutes (1 person).
Total Non-Chosen Music:
291 hours, 11 minutes and 17 seconds - 1229 episodes
Average Non-Chosen Music Per Person:
76 minutes (1 hour 16 minutes) - 5.3 episodes (14 minutes per episode)
Time per person ranges from zero (14 people) through to 12 hours 57 minutes (1 person)
Thus the average respondent hears music for 242 minutes per day (just over four hours), and hears 11 separate episodes.
The number of chosen and non-chosen episodes is roughly the same (5 each), but the average duration of chosen episodes is twice as long as that for un-chosen episodes.
(as judged by two BBC researchers - note that this is a subjective judgement based on interpretation of a wide variety of remarks - best guess)
Thus, MOST non-chosen music is not rated negatively, and over a quarter of it is rated positively.
Below are some pointers as to what kind of things make these non-chosen experiences positive or negative, drawn from a range of contexts in people's everyday lives.
Negative
Bus: Muzak -part of a fairly new TV screen on the bus carrying advertising etc. "Exceedingly irritated, Sounds are hideous. Don't know if I would like it any better if sounds were more pleasing aesthetically: good blues? Decent jazz? High class pop? Is not so much the style (though it's not to my taste) of the music as the awful quality of the sound. Affronted that this is perpetrated corporately. But have to admit I still haven't got round to writing to bus company..."
Shop: very loud recorded pop music: "Awful. Worst music experience of the day. Left shop without buying anything. Went into shop next door where there was no music and bought £70 worth of clothes"
Telephone: Unknown ambient muzak: while on hold with O2 for 5 minutes. "Had no choice to listen to this corporate ident rubbish. Just washes over you, but that's what it is designed to do"
TV: background music in documentaries, behind continuity presenters and even breaking news: constant music, not chosen, negative, Channel 5/BBC2/Channel 4: "Even when someone read out a breaking news story about a court case involving a dead baby, there was a jaunty tune behind it."
Radio: Background pop on one of those VERY annoying trailers on Radio 4: 15 seconds. "Drew attention to the trailer, but put me off listening to the programme it trailed."
Music from other people's cars: "bom bom bom from a passing car, stereo turned up loud (person in bed): I hated it and became a Grumpy Old Man."
Computers: Windows start up noise on husband's computer: "I listened because of this diary. I don't like it and have silenced my own computers!"
Ring tones: on a train: tried to ignore the blasted thing: "annoying, intrusive, jarring and tinny"
Positive
Shop: A female vocalist singing folk type music: "I quite liked the music which was appropriate to the hippy type shop."
Restaurant while eating: Murder on the Dancefloor, Sophie Ellis Bextor, James Taylor: "All tracks I like, nice and clear, good accompaniment to my soup!"
Busker: Electric guitar music, on the Underground: "Liked it - Buskers on the underground are great - nice echoes"
Underground: Beethoven symphonic music over the tannoy: "I have got used to it now but it still makes me smile that someone in my local tube station plays loud classical music over the tannoy most nights and occasionally in the morning. I love it."
Outdoors: Bird song in morning while walking to the gym: "Beautiful morning and glorious bird song can do nothing but make one feel good"
In a pub: Sinead O'Connor Nothing Compares To You, couldn't escape from listening: "Frustrating because the nature and familiarity of the lyrics kept sucking me in, so that although I was having an interesting conversation I would find myself getting distracted by lyrics, which prompt sense of arousal or yearning"
Radio: Radio 4 theme to Woman's Hour drama, Pink Floyd Wish you were Here: "Quite liked it. Sort of sentimental. Took me back a bit. Sorry when it ended and thought about playing it from my collection"
TV: Instrumental background music - contemporary, small scale - TV cookery programme "Not objectionable, suited the intimacy of the programme" (but these kinds of comments are much less frequent)
Ring tones: on the bus, Mozart Symphony no 40: "Amusement, especially since it went on long enough to identify the tune. Surprised it wasn't the usual pop tunes or ring tones. Brought back memories of "drop the needle" exams in Music History"
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