Posts tagged as:

music

Does Music Sometimes Give You Chills?

by mark on May 8, 2011

Not all people feel them. This is article is very interesting:

Who feels chills while listening to music? People “open to experience” (Source: Collision Detection)

I bet this strongly correlates to people who have a need for better quality audio equipment. I know few people who seek out really high quality audio systems for that ultimate music listening experience. They strive to reproduce the most authentic and realistic sound. The put in audiophile headphones, sit, and close their eyes, and completely get lost in the sound.

I had somebody question my need to spend money on high-end equipment many years ago. They said, “I don’t hear that much of a difference.”

I demonstrated, by hooking up a pair of low end speakers that didn’t have that much clarity and had no tightness in the bass, and switched between the to… A… B… A… B…

“I still don’t get it. They sound the same to me.”

So this article about the study linked to above isn’t shocking to me. This person I refer to is the least open to new experiences of any person that I’ve ever met. Been listening to the same kind of music for four decades, been eating the same kind of food for four decades, been partaking in the same activities for over four decades. Present something new to try and the stock response is, “Why would I want to do that? No thanks.”

I wonder about the entire generation of kids being brought up with iPods and their inferior white ear bud headphones. If these kids get chills from listening to certain songs, then they really have to give some higher-end audio a chance. Get a pair of Sennheiser headphones to replace those stock ear bud headphones.

To me, music hasn’t generally been about the lyrics so much as it’s been about the sonic experience. What’s your experience? Have you noticed the difference in what people hear when they listen to music? Does music give you chills sometimes? Do you actively seek out new forms of music (and food, places to go, thinks to try)?

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Playlists Fine-tuned To Your Mood with stereomood

by mark on April 2, 2011

A tweet from @Ramit linked to stereomood, which describes itself like this:

behind every song there’s always an emotion. we don’t know why but maybe that’s why we love music.

so we’ve created a way to suggest songs that follow your feelings: stereomood is the emotional internet radio, providing music that best suits your mood and your activities.

After reading that, I wonder if they have music that fits the mood of people who are averse to using the SHIFT key.

But it’s a neat concept and for people who like to be introduced to new artists that appeal to them, it seems like a great resource, as are the popular Pandora, and Radio Paradise.

Radio Paradise is particularly awesome since I purchased a Roku, because not only do they stream their music to your home audio system, but you get listener uploaded HD photos that go along with the music.

FM? What’s FM?

Do you have a favorite Internet music stream? Let us know in the comments below.

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Hearing Loss Occurs Sooner Than You Might Think

by mark on March 9, 2009

Whether you suffer hearing loss from headphones depends on three things: how loud you listen to music, how long you listen, and what type of headphones you listen with.

Most MP3 players (such as the iPod) come with the earbud style headphones which are placed in the ear, will cause hearing loss faster than supra-aural headphones which rest on the outer ear.

Study: Hearing damage occurs after more than 5 minutes of full-volume listening on iPod earbuds.

The worst choice appears to be the headphones that isolate outside noise by fitting into the ear canal.

Sennheiser PX 100 Headphones

Played at no more than 50% of the maximum volume, none of the headphones appear to cause permanent hearing loss. You can even enjoy constant listening at those moderate levels.

Higher volumes bring the risk of damage, and then listening times also become a factor. If you are going to push the volume up, then you should limit how long you listen.

Recommendations:  Find a good set of supra-aural headphones. I’m a fan of the Sennheiser PX 100 headphones. They are comfortable, light, and sound terrific. Most importantly, don’t play it so loud!

Previously: Famous Rocker Pleads With You to Turn It Down.

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Take Giant Steps Away from the Computer Once in a While

by mark on March 2, 2009

As impressive as a robot playing Giant Steps by John Coltrane might be, it has no soul. It’s clearly not human. We can appreciate the technical merits, however we cannot appreciate it musically. For that we need the real thing as played by a talented human being.

Likewise, while we can appreciate all of the things that computers and technology can do for us in life, but we must remember that they have no soul, and our souls require that we mingle with other souls in order to truly be happy and satisfied. As much as computers and technology play a role in helping us do our work or entertaining us, we need to unplug and just be human sometimes. If we don’t, then how can we be happy or satisfied?

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Famous Rocker Pleads With You to Turn It Down.

by mark on November 8, 2008

Those Loud Headphones Will Hurt your Ears!. WHAT!!? ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?!!

The report said that those who listened for five hours a week at high-volume settings exposed themselves to more noise than permitted in the noisiest factory or work place. Maximum volume on some devices can generate as much noise as an airplane taking off nearby.

The study — from a team of nine specialists on the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks — also warns that young people do not realize the damage until years later. (NYT)

Later in the eighties, I remember hearing or reading that Kerry Livgren (keyboardist/guitarist from Kansas) put out his own PSA of sorts warning of hearing loss and he spoke from personal experience:

A recent occurrence in my life has compelled me to write this letter. It concerns a subject that is relevant to everyone — our sense of hearing.

I have been a professional musician since 1965. I spent years playing in clubs, schools, and all the other types of gigs that musicians do, not counting the myriad hours spent in rehearsals. As the
guitarist-keyboardist for Kansas, I have recorded ten albums with that group, two solo albums, and three more albums with the group A.D. In addition to all that studio time, my ears logged thousands of hours of high-decibel concerts, sound checks, etc., over fourteen years of touring.

I recently completed recording my first instrumental project for Sparrow records, and I was schedules to master it in Nashville. The night before my mastering date I was rudely awakened at 3 a.m. by a loud ringing in my right year. I had experienced something like this before, but never at so alarming a level. It was still there in the morning, so I had to rely on the ears of other engineers and friends at the mastering facility.

When I got home, I went through a battery of tests with doctors and audiologists who told me what I suspected anyway: noise-induced hearing loss. Even though for the last several years I have been monitoring at very conservative levels, my ears seem to have been seriously affected, and the prognosis for this type of damage to one’s hearing is not very encouraging.

Little or nothing can be done about it. Unfortunately, our lives do not have an “Undo” command. If I had one, I would most certainly use it, for in retrospect all those wonderful decibels that were so exciting at the time were destroying the very means I had of perceiving them. Now my career, and other areas of my life, are in question, for deafness destroys a great deal more than just the enjoyment of music. All of these wonderful toys we read about in this publication [Electronic Musician] become scrap metal without a God-given ear to hear them with.

It’s not worth it, my friends. Rock and roll takes its toll. I wish I had listened to my dad in 1965 when he opened the garage door and yelled: “Can’t you turn it down and still enjoy it?”

Kerry Livgren
Georgia

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