If we want to give our present era just one defining characteristic term, it is pollution.
Mankind has managed to bring about climate change by poisoning the atmosphere with the burning fossil resources to support our modern lifestyle. We have polluted our fields, rivers, lakes and the oceans with plastic, unfiltered excrement and other waste. All these phenomena are well known. Yet, there is another of source of pollution, fewer people are aware of: the pollution of noise, be it from cars, railways or planes.
Sound pollution
This noise production seems to be a hardly avoidable consequence of our modern life. However, there is another source of ‘sound pollution’ which even fewer people seem to be aware of – organised noise and ‘music’, produced in sound studios to be used not only in radio and television programmes, but also as background music or ‘muzak’ in hotel lobbies, airport lounges, shopping malls etc.
What makes musical sound, be it upbeat rhythms of pop music or the varied rhythms of classical music, so attractive that they are being used so often?
The human ear is the most vulnerable ‘entrance’ to our brain. You can stop seeing by closing your eyes and you can shut your mouth and nose to stop unwanted things entering your body, but to effectively close your ears, you need special devices which we don’t normally use. Factory and street workers or gardeners use special ear protection to guard against excessive noise from their often excessively loud machines. Many people suffer from the poorly understood Hyperacusis (noise sensitivity), especially those, like soldiers returning from war-zones and ME/CFS sufferers, who are generally hypersensitive.
In Britain the Noise Abatement Society is a charity whose aim is to share a better understanding of what sound is, how it affects us and how we can solve noise problems in a pragmatic and sustainable way.
As pedestrians we often can hear loud rhythms from the sound systems of passing cars, somehow resembling the human heartbeat, but often much faster. Those car drivers are obviously getting feelings of excitement and ‘freedom’ from it, similar to those huge crowds, gathering at open air festivals, where excessively noisy ‘music’ is being blasted through numerous loud speakers, producing ecstasy among the (mostly young) listeners.
Music as ‘organised sounds’
Again, what makes sounds and ‘organised sounds’ – music so attractive? The German political commentator Carl von Ossietzky, writing on Richard Wagner, stated:
“The ear is a willing organ, through the ear the head is most easily betrayed” (Über Wagner, 1933, my translation from German).
He aptly argues that the human brain can be reached the easiest through the ear, thereby influencing our feelings, creating excitement, fear, hope etc. It is no coincidence that von Ossietzky wrote this in his essay on the composer Richard Wagner. More than any other creator of classical music, Wagner wrote his music with the explicit goal of making the listener of his operas, which he preferred to call ‘Festspiele’ (festivals), susceptible to his messages. He explicitly described his music as a “narcotic” with the goal of making the listener bend to his will. Daniel Barenboim, having conducted Wagner at the Bayreuth festivals, later called his music “plutonium” – a deadly poison, but still ”beautiful”. This is not the place to explain Wagner’s use of music to instil feelings of racism, antisemitism and hyper-nationalism, but only to explain my argument about the power of music.
Sounds in the media
In the 20th century radio, television and now the internet have allowed music or ‘organised sounds’ to be used everywhere, from advertisements to ‘serious’ radio and TV programmes. Sounds are being used for the purpose of keeping the listener’s or viewer’s attention or to highlight certain statements. In films about crime and war ‘music’ serves as medium to aggravate the feelings of horror or pain.
Conclusion
In sum, I am concerned about the acoustic pollution of our life, about the deliberate poisoning, blunting or even deadening of our human feelings. For the younger generation this has become just a normal fact of life. But are they aware of the dangers of this acoustic pollution? And how can we all learn to appreciate silence?
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