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Along Life’s Way
Background
Music: Is Anyone Listening?
By Lois E. Wilson
I love music. Specifically, I appreciate it most when performed by
itself. Then I can focus on each note and inflection. The mood of a
piece swoops one up into the world of the composer and artist. We can
soar within the emotion. I do not have difficulty hearing in this
context.
Often in Hollywood films, TV dramas, commercials, and real-time
broadcasts, the message and plot are lost when background music (I call
it noise) is added. I facetiously wonder if there are too many
producers that know unemployed, striving, starving composers and
musical performers who need their work aired and shared in this manner.
Many of the TV shows like “Forensic Files” and “NCIS” appear to play
the background music at least as loud as the actors’ dialogue. It’s a
battle of decibel levels. The actors usually lose, and so the story
line of the production is lost too. The lack of ability of listeners to
comprehend is increased by the fact that many speakers mumble their
lines. For fans to pay an admission fee to see a film that has no
regard for clarity and advancement of plot seems foolish. Does no one
ever test the final product with appropriate audiences to see if its
message is easily understood? Where are their priorities?
Lately, the background music in commercials is often too loud. I ask
the advertisers: Are you selling the music or your product? Have you
listened to the ad to hear and learn about the qualities of the
product? If its attributes are not clear to the listener, why are you
wasting your money on the ad?
There are two commercials that capture my attention every time. One has
no sound at all. This immediately makes me look at the screen to see
what happened—is my TV broken? Then I see the people in the
advertisement. They are holding up signs that have the selling points
written on them. I easily read them. Clever? Yes, they get to me
through the sense of vision. The newest My Pillow ad has only music for
most of it. I hear the music, look to see who is performing, and find
that it is a commercial.
The overpowering background music has caused me to quit watching some
TV shows. I don’t enjoy an enigma where I have to interpret what is
going on in the drama. And with such poor presentations by certain
advertisers of products and services, they don’t inspire me to purchase
either. I hope the news channels don’t succumb to this background noise
invasion. We want our news to be as clear and true as possible.
Offenders, if you want your message to be heard—let us hear it clearly!
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