Product Testing (Primary Research) – Thursday 1st May 2014
Now that the main bulk of the product is finished I felt I needed to test its effectiveness based on my research into creating the songs. My product testing is be based on previous research into emotional responses to music as you can see in an earlier blog post. The ‘circumplex model of emotion is a theory that splits recognisable human emotions into 4 sections and how they occur, which formed the main basis of my product testing. I began by inviting groups of friends to my flat and asking them to each fill in a brief survey in which they would mark their particular emotional states out of 10, 0 being not feeling that emotion at all, 10 representing feeling that emotion to the highest degree. The emotions the subjects rated are the ones that are featured on the circumplex model of emotion. By doing this I was able to fit each individual into the models 4 emotional states: High arousal/positive impact, High arousal/negative impact, low arousal/positive impact and low arousal/negative impact. I then asked the groups to sit through and listen closely to my product in silence so each of their emotional states would only be affected by the music. Afterwards I would simply ask them to fill out the same survey. By doing this I was able to analyse the emotional state of the test subjects before and after listening to my product. If the majority of the subjects showed emotional change towards the positive impact sections of the circumplex model like my product was intended to do, then I could deem the product a success. Below is a screenshot of the survey the subjects were asked to complete. You can find the full version as a link in my supporting materials section of this blog.
For my research I collected 20 sets of results from 20 different friends and members of family to ensure I encompassed a wide range of material and was able to make solid judgement on my final results. I then plotted my results on a radar graph showing the survey before listening and the survey after in different colours so it was easy to differentiate between the two. As you can see by the examples below, the blue shows the survey results before listening to the product and the red after.
You can see an obvious shift towards the positive emotional sections of the circumplex model from blue to red. I found that out of 20 test subjects, 17 of them showed a shift into a more positive emotional state where as the remaining 3 either remained in a similar emotional state or moved towards the negative emotional sections of the model. This could be down to a variety of factors from entering the test in a particularly bad mood, to personally disliking the style of music they were listening to. However as 85% of test subjects showed a positive emotional response to my product, I would like to deem my research and product as successfully. Based on this, I feel that my work is now ready to be submitted ready for my academic deadline and my clients deadline as well.
Mastering Research & The Loudness Wars – Saturday 19th April 2014
Upon reaching the mastering stage of my audio project I came to the realisation that more consideration would have to be put into the process than first thought. Through research into mastering I found that I would have to make a choice between mastering my songs loud to compete with other commercial music in the Reserve Lounge at the sacrifice of dynamic range, or master the songs to feature more dynamic qualities yet risk customers loosing interest due to my work being perceived as quieter than other releases. To understand the reasoning behind this we must first understand exactly what mastering is and what this entails.
“Mastering is the last creative step in the audio production process, the bridge between mixing and replication (or distribution). It is the last opportunity to enhance sound or repair problems within an acoustically designed room, under an audio microscope.” (Katz, 2007. p12)
Mastering, often referred to as ‘The Black Art’ in simple terms is the process that gives recordings a polished, cohesive and professional sound, best described as “Photoshop for audio” by mastering engineer Ian Shepherd (2010). Mastering audio commonly consists of 3 different creative techniques to help create a professional sounding track: EQ, compression and limiting, when each process is used subtlety they tend to make a huge overall difference, but at the same time the overuse of just one of these can have a detrimental effect on the audio. The most commonly abused technique is compression. Compression is a technique that takes the loudest and quietest parts of a song and reduces the difference in dynamic range between them. This technique can be utilised in a varied number of different circumstances, from smoothing out the peaks and raising the quieter parts of a vocal take so that it sits consistently within the mix and remains audible, to adding extra punch to a kick drum or bass guitar or even in the mastering process to give the perception of power and punch. Like anything in the audio processing world the sensible and subtle use of this technique can have some extremely positive and rewarding effects on a final mix or master. Unfortunately this process can also warrant some negative implications if used incorrectly. The term hyper-compression is used to describe the excessive use of this tool and how it is utilised to push the waveforms of music closer to the 0dBFS (decibels to full scale) limit to make the song sound louder. Unfortunately through doing this you sacrifice dynamic range, therefore erasing the light and shade of the song. Everything tends to hit you at the same level in a wall of sound throughout the song rather than alternating between loud and quiet which in turn, can cause a fatiguing effect on the listener. The main reason for the use of hyper-compression is a desperate attempt for the artist’s track to be louder than their competitors. This all stems from the ‘Louder is better’ theory, in a way that the louder something is, the more frequencies our ears can detect within that audio, giving an improved listening experience. However loudness is a completely subjective effect, in other words, the loudness of a sound is completely dependant on the person experiencing it. Unfortunately not everyone believes this, Record labels and artists have been pressuring mastering engineers into adopting the ‘louder is better’ concept.
“Every Year CD’s seemed to be getting hotter. When a new loud benchmark was reached, somebody else figured out a way to go even louder. It was nothing less than a Loudness War.” (Milner, 2010, p. 243)
The concept of the Loudness War has a dramatic effect on the way music is mastered in the modern age, and now i must face the same choice. Due to the vast dynamic qualities of the music I have written for my client and the way it is designed to effect its listeners emotionally and subconsciously, It is important that it is mastered to enhance these dynamic qualities, rather than crushing them. Mastering these tracks too loud could cause a fatiguing effect on its listeners and cause the Reserve Lounge to loose customers, the exact opposite of what the project was originally intended to do. However at the same time, for music to be considered quieter than its competitors is considered commercial death, meaning my product will have to be perceived at the same loudness as the other commercial releases in the Reserve Lounge’s playlist. Luckily, upon investigation of the Kaleidovision music playback system that the rooms audio runs from, I found that it featured a loudness normalisation option, similar to the iTunes soundcheck function. Apple’s popular media playing software ‘iTunes’ introduced the Sound Check feature in 2002 within its software and hardware devices. The utilisation of this facility was to bridge the gap between volume changes when listening to tracks in shuffle mode.
“The idea behind Sound Check is essentially avoiding the annoying (and potentially even dangerous) volume changes that can occur if you play list moves from, say, a quiet jazz ballad into a full on screaming metal track.” (Robjohns, 2014, p. 23)
Sound Check mode uses a loudness normalisation algorithm to calculate the louder songs and compare them to the quieter songs and brings them to a similar playback volume. The reason this feature closes the question of how to master my work for the Reserve Lounge is because it eliminates the need to hyper-compress commercial music as the iTunes Sound Check feature will use its algorithms to adjust the playback volume accordingly anyway. “All music will be standardised to an average playback level, so the “loudness” of your music will have no effect on its playback volume” (Shepherd, 2012). This also means that no matter how dynamic or potentially quiet my product is mastered, it will still be played at the same level as the other commercial releases within the Reserve Lounge playlist. My next post will include a walkthrough of how I will master my music and will include comparable audio samples.
Sources:
Katz, R. (2007) Mastering audio. 2nd edition. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Focal Press.
Shepherd, I. (2010). What is Mastering?. [online] Available at: http://productionadvice.co.uk/mastering-as-photoshop/ [Accessed: 19 April 2014].
Milner, G. (2010) Perfecting Sound Forever. First edition.London: Granta.
Robjohns, H. (2014) The End Of The Loudness Wars. Sound On Sound, Volume 29, (Issue 4)
Shepherd, I. (2012). The best loudness metering plugins money can buy – and my favourite alternative (for only 9 dollars !). [online] Available at: http://productionadvice.co.uk/the-best-loudness-metering-plugins-money-can-buy/ [Accessed: 19 Apr 2014].
Music Licensing & Copyright (Research) Saturday 15th March 2014
Weather you have produced a recorded piece of music or even composed a song in the form of sheet music it is important to consider copyright law and look into licensing your work. In this instance I will be producing three pieces of recorded music to be played back in a public space and will need to consider the appropriate licensing agreements to coincide with copyright law.
So first its probably best to briefly explain what copyright is. The term literally means the ‘right to copy’. This commonly comes in two forms: Copyright protection and copyright registration, two terms that should not be confused. Copyright protection is automatically gained when a piece of work is written or recorded.
“When you create a piece of music and place it in a fixed form (written down as sheet music and/or recorded onto a CD or other tangible media), you automatically have copyright protection. In other words, you own the copyright to that musical work.” (Davis, 2013. p. 7)
Registration for copyright is not required however it is often advised as it gives you official proof of the ownership of your work should a dispute ever arise. It is also important to note that when registering for copyright you should know how to differentiate between ‘underlying work’ (Sheet music or documentation) and ‘actual recording’ (Physical CD or alternative method). For example if your license covers the underlying work then others can record this work (With permission) and then obtain a licence for their recording meaning that they will also gain royalties for your music.
“Performance royalties are for the underlying work and are collected on behalf of the copyright owner(s) by Performing Rights Organisations (PRO’s). These organisations collect performance royalties in the form of licence fees from TV and Radio stations and other users of music and distribute royalties to the copyright owners.” ((Davis, 2013. p. 23)
To protect my music from copyright and to attempt to gain the most from my product should it end up being used on a day to day basis by my client I will look to register my music with the Performing Rights Society (PRS). The company allows me to register my music online and then they will collect any royalties on my behalf for the performance of my music within a public space in exchange for a £50 application fee. In terms of my client, his company pays a ‘blanket’ fee on an agreed schedule that covers all music played within the venue. An algorithm is then applied and the fee’s are divided up between the music’s copyright holders. Obviously when delivering the tracks to my client I will explain the conditions of the music being licensed and that if he were to use them in a public space then it would have to be included within his company licence. The use of 3 extra songs wont cost him any money so there shouldn’t be a problem, its just important that any royalties earned from the use of the music are paid to its copyright owner.
Sources:
Davis, J. 2013. The Little Book of Music Licensing. 2nd ed. Online: CreateSpace Independent Publishing.
Brian Eno – Ambient 1: Music for Airports (Case Study Research) – Sunday 9th March 2014
In aid of my project I decided conduct some research into some similar musical endeavours in the hope that i could utilise some similar theories within my own work. I came across ‘Mr Ambient’ Brian Eno’s 1978 album, Ambient 1: Music For Airports.
“Eno picked a building similar to a hospital, the location of ambient music’s conception. Both hospitals and airports are centered on mechanized rituals that are simultaneously in the service of, and often numb to, basic human needs. Eno thus aimed to make a music that would “get rid of people’s nervousness.” (Singer, 2004)
The concept behind Brian Eno’s Music for airports stemmed from Brian waiting on a delayed flight in Cologne Airport, an architectural beauty let down by a poorly selected background music playlist. Eno, saw an opportunity to attempt to write music for public spaces that required the diffusion of stress like airports or hospitals. He wanted to create music that didn’t interfere with human communication and simply sat as background music played back at a low volume. In his mind this would Lull the airports customers into a stress free and relaxed environment, reduce nervousness and ease the perceived length of long delays or check in’s.
“One of the things music can do is change your sense of time so you don’t really mind if things slip away or alter in some way. It’s about getting rid of people’s nervousness.” (Eno, 2009)
Although the theory behind this was completely solid, the execution was not as well received as intended. Although many now regard ‘Ambient 1: Music for Airports’ as a classic album, its brief installation in the Marine Air Terminal in New York’s LaGuardia showed negative results in its customers. Some complained that it caused them to feel unhappy and therefore more un-easy about the concept of flying. Although the installation wasn’t an overall success I still plan on using some of the theories and techniques Eno adopted as a part of some of the more ambient sections of my project. For example: by changing some of the instrumentation to half speed it tends to give a softer sound, creating more of a slow movement that tends to be desirable in ambient music. I hope to utilise these theories and techniques in an attempt to change the concept of time within the ‘Reserve Lounge’, hopefully luring its customers into a more relaxed and stress free state.
Finally, a short interview with Brian Eno on the theory behind ‘Music for Airports’. Enjoy:
Sources:
Singer, L. 2004. Brian Eno / Harold Budd: Discreet Music / Ambient 1: Music for Airports / Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror / Ambient 4: On Land. [online] Available at: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11731-discreet-musicambient-1-music-for-airportsambient-2-the-plateaux-of-mirror-with-harold-buddambient-4-on-land/ [Accessed: 9 Mar 2014].
Eno. B. Interviewed by: Sheldon, N. 2009. Brian Eno: A Sandbox In Alphaville By Lester Bangs. [online] Available at: http://www.noahsheldon.com/news/archives/643 [Accessed: 9 Mar 2014].
Emotional Response to Music (Research) – Thursday 3rd March 2014
Its all well and good being able to create music to a set brief like I am doing for my client but how do you know if your music is really giving out the right message or if its emotionally effecting people in any way? Usually with popular music, its structure and style relies heavily on market research leading up to a musical production and then when it comes to the release, its success is entirely judged by its consumers. However, with designer music it’s a little different. As designer music is developed to evoke a particular mood it can be put through testing and then tweaked based on those test results until the large majority of participants show the emotion the music is attempting to convey.
“In the study of music and emotion, a central aim of psychology is to understand the mechanisms that intervene between music reaching a person’s ears and an emotion being experienced or detected by that person as a result of hearing that music. Other important aims involve understanding the roles of emotion in composing and performing music.” (Juslin and Sloboda, 2001, p. 72)
My particular assignment involves composing and producing 3 pieces of ‘designer music’ to be used as background music in a VIP in Lincoln’s largest nightclub. These pieces of music have to adopt some forms of music psychology in the sense that the compositions must attempt to inflict particular moods on the rooms customers. The ‘circumplex model of emotion’ is a model and theory depicted in Juslin and Sloboda’s book ‘Music and Emotion’. It is a theory that splits recognisable human emotions into 4 sections and how they occur. This proves a useful tool for my work as i can see what categories certain emotions fall into so i know which section to direct my music to or even attempt to accommodate other similar emotions in the spectrum within my product.
(Juslin and Sloboda, 2001, p. 78)
In respect of the circumplex model of emotion, i should be looking to aim for the segment named ‘low arousal, positive affect’ which accommodates such emotions as ‘Serene’, ‘Relaxed’ and ‘Calm’. There is also some room for manoeuvre within this theory as my product should be able to reach the ‘high arousal, positive impact’ section as these emotions tend to develop from the low arousal, positive affect section. As long as my music does not bring its consumers into the negative sections by showing emotions like depressed or fatigued my product should be a success. So going back to the original question: How do we test the emotions that a piece of music inflicts on its consumer?
“The most basic observations arguably come from studies that use self-reports. These studies have yielded evidence that people experience emotions while listening to music, and that they perceive music as expressive as emotions.” (Juslin and Sloboda, 2001, p. 84)
By utilising this commonly used experiment I can gather a group of subjects to document their current emotional state before and after playing them my product within a controlled environment. By simply asking a group of participants to all fill in brief forms asking them to select their current emotional state individually both before and after my ‘designer music’ is played to them I can gauge how effective my product has been in evoking positive emotions within its consumers. Also I can take these results and use them to tweak various sections of my product that may not provoke the intended emotions, or exaggerate certain aspects of the music to give stronger positive emotions where before they may have been lacking. For this I plan on testing a total of around 30 people consisting of students, adults, audio professionals and my personal client when the product is completed. I will post the results and any supporting materials from the experiments as soon as i have confirmed a date and executed the tests.
Sources: Juslin, P. N. and Sloboda, J. A. 2001. Music and emotion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Genre Collaboration (Research) – Wednesday 26th February 2014
Following my previous research into the ‘designer music’ genre I have decided to incorporate this genre into my music for the ‘reserve lounge’. The only issue is that this particular genre is heavily influenced by ambient music which can cause listeners to loose interest if they are not in the right frame of mind. The music is not a key factor in drawing the clientele to the ‘Reserve Lounge’, at this point the music is usually at a quiet level, more as background music than anything else. My plan is to incorporate ambient music with another genre in an attempt to retain the customers attention on the music in the room, hopefully bringing it forward as almost an ‘identity’ for the VIP room itself. Obviously a careful selection of genre collaboration is required so that each genre compliments the other and doesn’t clash. Through collaboration each genre can then explore an additional audience that it wouldn’t usually appeal to through its collaborative partner and visa versa, allowing them to potentially reach a wider audience than what would be possible on its own.
“I just feel like when you collaborate with somebody, especially in this day and age where music is so fickle and people always want to hear new things, I think the more and more creative and the more far-fetched you can make your collaboration the better” (Daniels, 2013)
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‘Downtempo’ is a predominantly electronic based, laid back music genre. It shares similar influences to ambient music with the exception of a groove or beat, bringing a more uplifting feel to the genre. These beats are often constructed from loops or electronic drum samplers and are usually mixed less prominently than other electronic music genres like dance or dub-step. Downtempo also encompasses other varieties and genres of music within itself, occasionally including jazz, funk or reggae influences, meaning flexibility when it comes to the composition of songs within this style.
“Due to the relaxing and often sensual or romantic feel of most downtempo music, along with the absence or minimal use of lyrics or vocals, it is a popular form of background music in ‘chill out rooms’ of dance parties, many alternative cafes, and is often marketed as being good music for lovemaking”. (Last.fm, 2013)
The combination of both ‘designer music’ and the ‘downtempo’ genre in theory should prove a perfect musical collaboration to create an identity for the ‘Reserve Lounge’ and help create a relaxing, tension free atmosphere for the customers within the room. My next stem of research will involve looking at the characteristics of both genre’s in more depth so i can use them both as a reference when producing my own music for my client.
Sources:
Daniels, C. 2013. Tinie Tempah wants Arctic Monkeys collaboration. [online] Available at: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a522037/tinie-tempah-wants-arctic-monkeys-collaboration.html [Accessed: 26 Feb 2014].
Last.fm. 2013. downtempo. [online] Available at: http://www.last.fm/tag/downtempo/wiki [Accessed: 26 Feb 2014].
Genre in Music Psychology – Thursday 20th February 2014
My first essential leg of research involves looking at the effect various genres have on the human mind in an attempt to select the correct genre’s to base my music around. Each different genre of music effects us all in different ways, a style of music that one person finds pleasing to the ear may prove completely intolerable to the next person. Various experiments have been conducted over the years to analyse the way certain musical genres effect the human brain by measuring emotional responses related to the subjects mood and mental clarity:
“This study investigated the impact of different types of music on tension, mood, and mental clarity. A total of 144 subjects completed a psychological profile before and after listening for 15 minutes to four types of music (grunge rock, classical, New Age, and designer). With grunge rock music, significant increases were found in hostility , sadness, tension and fatigue, and significant reductions were observed in caring, relaxation, mental clarity and vigor. In contrast, after listening to the designer music (Music designed to have specific effects on the listener), significant increases in caring, relaxation, mental clarity and vigor were measured; significant decreases were found in hostility, fatigue, sadness and tension. The results for new age and classical music were mixed. Feeling shifts among subjects were observed with all types of music. Designer music was most effective in increasing positive feelings and decreased negative feelings. Results suggest that designer music may be useful in the treatment of tension, mental distraction, and negative moods” (Mccraty and Barrios-Choplin et al., 1998, pp. 75–84)
Baring the results of this experiment in mind i plan to create my own ‘designer music’ in an attempt to release feelings of tension and mental distraction within the ‘Reserve Lounge’. By lowering these negative feelings within the brain it should cause the customers to fall into a more relaxed mental state, therefore spending longer in the room and spending more money within it. Dr Jeffery Thompson specialises in creating music under the alias ‘The relaxation company’ to invoke certain moods on his listeners and was the key focus for ‘designer music’ in the aforementioned experiment. After personally analysing some of his work I found that a pattern of techniques were used throughout his work. The use of pad synths and low frequency drones feature heavily, mixed with recordings of assorted spaces within nature itself. Using recordings of wind rustling through trees, birds within their natural habitats and streams creates almost like a backing track ready for him to lay extra instruments and melodic patterns on top. The track ‘Deep Relaxation One’ from the ‘Brainwave music system’ collection is the best demonstration of these techniques. As well as this he also utilises the scientific theory of ‘Binaural beats’, a set of auditory brain responses based on different frequencies entering the ears. The left and right frequencies, varied between 1 and 30Hz are used to create an auditory stimulant within the brain proven to increase productivity, relaxation, mental state etc. depending on its application:
For example, if a pure tone of 400 Hz is presented to the right ear and a pure tone of 410 Hz is presented simultaneously to the left ear, an amplitude modulated standing wave of 10 Hz, the difference between the two tones, is experienced as the two wave forms mesh in and out of phase within the superior olivary nuclei. This binaural beat is not heard in the ordinary sense of the word (the human range of hearing is from 20-20,000 Hz). It is perceived as an auditory beat and theoretically can be used to entrain specific neural rhythms through the frequency-following response (FFR)–the tendency for cortical potentials to entrain to or resonate at the frequency of an external stimulus. (Thompson, 2007).
I plan to experiment with this concept personally within the music i will be creating for the ‘Reserve Lounge’ to aid the listeners into a relaxed state in addition to using some of the alternative techniques in production used by Jeffrey Thompson in his music. Despite the apparent effectiveness of these techniques I feel that they may not have such an adverse affect on a younger generation of customers (Usually within the room on the clubs student nights). To accommodate their needs and to keep my music interesting to the varied age ranges of the customers I will have to look into some sort of genre collaboration method. In the end I want to create something of a hybrid, a mix of genres that is more unique to the ‘Reserve Lounge’ itself, a quality that appears to be necessary in my clients eyes as well.
Sources:
Mccraty, R., Barrios-Choplin, B., Atkinson, M. and Tomasino, D. 1998. The effects of different types of music on mood, tension, and mental clarity. Alternative therapies in health and medicine, 4 (1), pp. 75–84.
Thompson, J. 2007. Acoustic Brainwave Entertainment: Binaural Beats. [online] Available at: http://www.neuroacoustic.com/entrainment.html [Accessed: 24 Feb 2014].