The Use and Overuse of Music

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Technological advances in society have helped shape classical music. Music has become more and more accessible over the years. Formerly only being heard in concert, Classical music can now be heard over the internet through downloads, videos, mp3s, streaming etc. This means that the audience for the music which was once small has expanded greatly. People stumble across videos on youtube and become aware of music they didn’t realise existed. Radio was developed during the end of the 19th century, creating the first demonstration of wireless communication. During the early 20th century, radio was developed enough to start sending voice signals as opposed to Morse code. On the 7th of September 1992, Classic FM aired for the first time, making classical music accessible for everyone who owned a radio. It also had a big effect on the creativity on music in society. Classic Fm launched a Hall of fame in 1996 (which still runs today). It is ‘the biggest annual survey of classical music tastes in the world’ which lets listeners ‘vote’ for their three favourite pieces by phone, post or online. The top 300 are then counted down over the Easter weekend. The hall of fame is a very creative way of getting people involved in classical music. It lets people express their views and opinions and build connections with people who agree with these views. Groups and fan pages brought to us by the internet, particularly on social networking sites, bring people with similar preferences together creating fan bases. These groups then share their other musical tastes, further boarding other people’s knowledge. Technology has helped people hear classical music more conveniently. The development of keyboards and electric pianos has made it cheaper for... ... middle of paper ... ...ry. I think that it can add quite effectively to it by setting the mood, therefore involving you through emotions. I do, however, agree that if the music was up too loud and making it hard to distinguish between the commentary and music, this could cause problems. Also, if the music is not relevant to the topic, it could detract from the purpose. Background music should be as it is called; in the background and not very noticeable. Prof. Brian Cox said, 'I think that sometimes we can be too responsive to the minority of people who complain. My view is that it should be a rather more cinematic experience. At the end of the day it's a piece of film on TV and it's not a lecture.' I agree with what Professor Cox says. However, if the audience cannot get the information they want from the documentary due to eccentric background music then its purpose is non-existent.

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