Background Music
What is background music and how does it function in our lives? Tom Service tunes in to the background from Muzak to Stimulus Progression, Brian Eno to Mozart Serenades.
Tom tunes into the background, exploring what background music really is; telling the surprising story of the Muzak corporation, and discovering that there's a range of background functions that music can have: from the 'furniture music' of Eric Satie to the Stimulus Progression albums used in Lyndon B Johnson's White House. Daniel Barenboim, Julian Lloyd-Webber and Brian Eno help explain the power of and problems with background music.
Why do we call it 'classical' music?
Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).
Six of the world's most extreme voices
From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?
How did the number 12 revolutionise music?
How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.
Why are we all addicted to bass?
Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.
Watch the animations
Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.
When does noise become music?
We like to think we can separate βnoiseβ from βmusicβ, but is it that simple?
Podcast
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The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service
