muzak
People listen to music for various reasons. Some people use music in order to increase relaxation. Others use music as a form of energy. Music is heard in cars, in homes, at shopping malls, and at dentists’ offices, among many other places around the world. Sometimes, a song gets into your head and you find yourself humming a tune all day long and then you realize that a stranger who had passed you hours ago had been whistling that song, or that you had heard 2 seconds of that song on your radio alarm that morning before pressing the snooze button.
People listen to music for various reasons. Some people use music in order to increase relaxation. Others use music as a form of energy. Music is heard in cars, in homes, at shopping malls, and at dentists’ offices, among many other places around the world. Sometimes, a song gets into your head and you find yourself humming a tune all day long and then you realize that a stranger who had passed you hours ago had been whistling that song, or that you had heard 2 seconds of that song on your radio alarm that morning before pressing the snooze button. This is the idea behind Muzak.
What is interesting about background music is that it is intended to be just that - noiseless noise. The concept of barely audible tunes affecting one’s behavior leads to the question as to whether one’s behavior can be manipulated by another individual without the person being aware of the manipulation. According to the research conducted by North, unobtrusive music selected by store managers, business managers, and companies like Muzak can affect a person’s thoughts and action without the person even knowing.
It is important to understand that Muzak is not simply another term for background music, but the name of an American corporation, and the indicator of something more sophisticated at work. Muzak is scientifically engineered sound - functional music rather than entertainment. It affects those who hear it but does not require a conscious listening effort. The Muzak Corporation call themselves specialists in the physiological and psychological effects and applications of music, and they draw on the use of a programmed environment for applications in offices, factories, banks and shops etc. The key to Muzak’s effectiveness is Stimulus Progression; a system which provides people with a psychological lift. A subconscious sense of forward movement achieved through programming sound in blocks.
Nowadays we have relaxing music, which we use in medicine. More helpful than all kinds of music is classic music by such famous composers as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Vivaldy. Music is everywhere! It’s on television, over radio, in all movies! Can you imagine any movie without music?! Of course not. What if you watch television without sound, what if you see ballet without music, what if you hear voices without melody at the opera?
