Brian Eno – Ambient 1: Music for Airports (Case Study Research)

Daniel Mitchell Case Studies

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 Responses to Music (Research)

Daniel Mitchell Mood Testing Research

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)

Daniel Mitchell Genre Research

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)
.

‘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 (Research)

Daniel Mitchell Genre Research

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].

Client Meeting 2 – Monday 17th February 2014

Daniel Mitchell Client Meetings

Today I attended my second client meeting of the project with John to discuss the details of the rooms sound system and how this could affect the final product as well as a discussion of the projects context and how this fits within the business model. The sound set up of the ‘Reserve Lounge’ is particularly important as understanding its parameters will allow me to evaluate its limitations and how this affects the product. Also by understanding the context of the assignment I will be able to apply specific techniques to achieve a professional product within this context. After speaking to John I have discovered that the ‘Reserve Lounge’ features a stereo sound system installed by Kaleidovision, a company specialising in digital installations for retail spaces.

The installation consists of 4 JBL 12 inch speakers hanging from the ceiling at each corner of the room accompanied by 2 JBL sub-woofers to the left and right sides in the centre of the room, all linked to a digital Kaleidovision system running as an interface on the ground floor of the club where songs can be added, changed and put into playlists depending on the time of night and the atmosphere needed to extend the amount of time the customer spends within the VIP room.

Also within our last meeting there was some speculation of the context of the project. I needed to ensure exactly what John wanted from the product, whether it was an actual sound installation, including various pitches and frequencies made to effect the human mind directly to ensure they spent longer in the room or whether he wanted 3 musical ‘songs’ that helped create a fitting atmosphere for the room. After explaining the difference between the two John decided it was more appropriate to have a product that featured 3 musical songs but including some underlying elements of musical psychology  to attempt to affect the customers mind subconsciously.

Based on this meeting i was able to draw some more objectives in terms of research over the coming weeks. I must begin researching into music psychology to understand exactly what will ensure the customers stay within the room. My key research sources for this particular subject will include: ‘Mystic Chords: Mysticism and Psychology in popular music’ and ‘The Oxford Handbook of music Psychology’ as well as looking at relevant newspaper articles and internet sources. I must also research into the possible limitations of the sound system within the “Reserve Lounge’ as this could have a detrimental effect on my final product and the way it is ‘consumed’ by the rooms customers.