In the current issue of my Radio Programming Letter, I wrote at length about “MUSIC, CONVERSATION and THE ILLUSION OF FORWARD MOMENTUM.”
In a nutshell: In response to a subscriber’s query, I said it’s stupid for radio stations to have a music bed playing underneath every jock’s voice every time a jock speaks.
Not surprisingly, my remarks generated lots of feedback.
Mostly along the lines of, “THANK YOU! I’ve been trying to explain this to my PD/consultant.”
But Alex Duffy of Chiltern Radio (UK) attempted to put me in my place:
Dan,
I love reading your newsletter, it’s so often full of useful tips and advice, but I think I can pick apart your argument about using beds…
You said that AMERICAN IDOL doesn’t use beds when the judges are giving their comments. Maybe not, but what about at the end when there are two contestants left and it is being decided which one is going home? I bet there’s a tension bed running in the background! There is here in the UK on X FACTOR, BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT, DANCING ON ICE, and all our other reality TV shows. And the reason these beds are there? A bed can change the mood of what is happening.
Why do we get incidental music in films? When the happy couple finally get together at the end there’s always a happy tune that strikes up in the background — it’s emotive, it’s building on emotions, tugging on heartstrings, and enhancing the atmosphere.
If I’m wrong then I’m wrong, but if that’s the case, then why is there music in films???
First, Alex, thanks for your kind words about my Programming Letter.
But….
I’m afraid you didn’t succeed in picking apart my argument, because I was referring specifically to the practice of always putting a music bed underneath conversational elements — i.e., one or more people talking.
The examples you gave are using sound to enhance the emotional impact when conversation is absent.
If your caller has 10 seconds to come up with the answer to your tough trvia question, playing the “musical clock” adds to the fun and to the suspense.
The only two reality shows I’ve ever seen are THE CONTENDER (Season One) and PROJECT RUNWAY. (Don’t jump to conclusions; my 15-year old daughter loves the show and asked me to watch it with her.)
(It was to her tremendous chagrin that I picked the winner every week. Look for my new line of O’Day Apparel — perhaps O’pparel — to debut next month.)
The climax of each episode of THE CONTENDER was a tightly edited, condensed version of that week’s fight. There was “exciting” music during the fight’s highlights. But when the ring announcer pulled down the microphone to declare the winner, the music came to an abrupt halt.
Why?
Because everyone wanted to hear what he was going to say.
On PROJECT RUNWAY, tension-enhancing music plays at the end of each episode, while two contestants remain onstage…knowing that one of them is about to get kicked out.
No words are spoken. Not by the hosts. Not by the contestants, who stand uncomfortably for what seems like an eternity.
But the music stops immediately before Heidi Klum — the wooden, incredibly famous supermodel I never heard of — says, “Hector? You’re out.”
Because at that the moment, the drama is in the words.
Then why is there music in films???
First: Most music in films isn’t used very well. I’m guessing the percentage of “badly used film music” is approximately the same as “bad radio.”
Don’t take my word for it. Ask any good film composer.
Second: When used properly, the music enhances the emotional response the filmmaker wants to elicit
Third: Just as in radio, many directors use music in an attempt to force the illusion of an emotion the scene is not able to deliver on its own.
The action ISN’T exciting; but maybe if we add loud, pulsating music we can make the audience THINK it’s exciting.
Or….
The tender moment between these two characters plays out completely flat. The actors share absolutely no chemistry. Or they’re not very good actors. Or the dialogue is bad. Or the story is lame. Solution? Bring on the violins!
When it’s used well in movies, music enhances the emotional impact that already exists in a scene.
For a superb lesson in how to use music in movies, watch THE SIXTH SENSE again. There is almost NO music in that film. Very, very little. But when there IS music, it notches up the scene’s creepiness to an almost unbearable level.
Sustaining tension throughout a 90-minute film without resorting to cheap tricks requires a lot of artistry and skill. Even 40 years after it was made, FAIL-SAFE remains what critics would call a “gripping drama.” It’s relentlessly tense.
FAIL-SAFE benefited from an immensely talented director; a good story; a fine script; and a consistently strong cast.
Oh, and one more thing:
It didn’t use a drop of music. Not a single note.
Y’see, when in just a few minutes a nuclear war (started by accident) might destroy Life As We Know It, we really don’t need John Williams to musically yell, “HEY, THIS SURE IS TENSE!!!”
Although — especially in recent years — “incidental music” occasionally is used in stage productions, I’m not aware of any non-musicals that play music while an actor is delivering his lines.
Why should they? They’ve got the actors. They’ve got the audience. It’s an intimate experience.
That’s what makes good (even not-so-good) theatre so exciting: The performers and the audience are collaborating to produce a dialogue between them.
Intimacy.
Y’know, kind of like radio’s biggest strength: the ability to communicate one-to-one.
Comments on this entry are closed.
Dan,
It’s wonderful to see you here in the blogosphere! I’m sure I’m going to enjoy reading your stuff. And I’m adding you to my blogroll in just a moment.
Be well,
Bob
i agree wholeheartedly with the idea of strategic use only of music beds. i try to coach talent to use music beds:
a) when it is appropriate only. (i.e. tension building)
b) when it’s a theme that fits (i.e. talking about a rocky movie and using eye of the tiger)
too often, i hear announcers using beds because someone simply told them “music beds sound cool”. music beds that have no relevance and used without a plan are simply a distraction from what the announcer is saying, in my humble opinion.
I agree with Dan. While we’re at it how about “stupid” sfx? Like the sound of tires pealing out on a dirt road or the sound of someone falling out of a window and landing on a soft awning? Music and sfx should only be used when they enhance the message-not distract from! Vicki
Dan- really- what did you have for breakfast this morning?
Dan,
Josh Tielor, PD of KEGE-FM in Pocatello, Idaho. KEGE is an alternative rock station.
To say the least, your article has brought up quite the conversation within my radio cluster.
It’s my practice on KEGE to use music beds quite often. Almost always. I’m a one-man morning show and it’s not that I don’t have anything important to say, but being one man, it’s nice to have a consistant atmosphere throughout the show. I think that music beds add that. I think they help the show sound better on the whole and tie it all together as a full four hour show.
Now I do feel that there are exceptions to the rule however. We have a station in our cluster that is a Bob and Tom affiliate. Bob and Tom don’t use beds at all. I agree that it makes you focus more on what they’re saying, but there are at least two to four people talking at one time.
Another example is the late & great “Morning Ritual with Chuck Powell” on KEDJ in Phoenix. Chuck had several people on with him and didn’t use beds at all either.
On the otherhand though… let’s talk stricktly about news casts, weather checks and live remotes. These are dynamic elements to any show… is there a need for them here? Do they create a need? As for news… I like to use a produced imaging opener with a short 10 second bed that fades out to nothing under the news guy. With weather I have a completely produced weather shell with a bed under the whole element. And lastly with live remotes… when using the marti or a cell phone the beds sort of mask the “non-studio” sounding audio. That’s good! We also run a timed bed that has a 10 second out-cue marker so we don’t bore people with repetative ramblings. That’s a neccessary evil, i suppose. What are your thoughts on that?
I guess my argument is that if you’re talking for more than 30/45 seconds and/or with one or more person there’s no need for it. BUT for a one man show or for short talkover station promo stuff, especially for voicetrackers, I feel there’s a need for them.
Perhaps it’s a crutch that’s been placed within me and my comfort zone by past PDs that I’ve had, but they just sound good to me. I feel that it makes the station sound tighter and more finished.
That’s my two Lincolns.
~JT
Dear Dan and all other radio friends.
Dan, first of all – welcome. Finally 😉
As for the music beds and talk thingy …
I bet it would be much easier for people to handle this dilemma if the approached music from this perspective – look at music as a language.
And then you will know exactly when to use it and when not.Always ask yourself – does it enhance the spoken words or does it interrupt them?
It’s that simple…
Enjoy radio.
As Chuck Blore says: “Radio is beautiful”.
Warmest wishes from the most passionate Slovenian radio girl,
Lenja
(founder of the RAB SLOVENIA)
You’re right on, Dan! Thanks for taking the stand on this subject. Here in Latin America it’s horrendous how music beds are used. Sometimes to the point that one can’t understand what the jock is saying.
As you’ve stated, there are appropriate times to use music beds and times when they’re not. Good work, Dan!
Allen, Quito, Ecuador.
Bob:
Thanks for the welcome. I’m nervously wondering what dumb blogging newbie mistakes I’ll make, am making, or already have made.
For example:
In my next post, I plan to list the complete credit card information of all my customers and seminar attendees.
Am I supposed to list them alphabetically by the cardholder’s name…or numerically by card number?
Anonymous:
Dan- really- what did you have for breakfast this morning?
I just drink whatever my handlers give me each morning here in my underground bunker at an undisclosed location.
(But every night at 11:02 I’m certain I hear a train whistle. I’m pretty sure that’s a clue. I think it means I’m near someone who likes to play recordings of train whistles.)
Most jocks at one time used music beds early in their carreer as sense of security, and or a pd told them to use them because it would naturally make the jock more colourful and upbeat by having to talk over the music. To find the enhanced reality of your voice early on in your career is tough for most of us.It used to give me the extra half second you needed to move forward with the next thought or next set of words. It’s tough to get rid of them but because at first you feel naked without them, but at the end of the day it’s all about what’s coming out of the speakers. SOme music is cool for specialty shows, but most will go straight to the generic production library and upload a bunch techno/house based pieces or the odd hip hop instrumental…in the end it brings noise or a song people would rather hear the words by the orignal artist to.
Dan–thanks so much for joining the blogosphere! Creating an excellent forum for the sharing of views (using your criteria) is something I truly appreciate. You are on my blogroll just as soon as I can get it added!
Like everything else in life, music under v/o is best when used in moderation. Also, the beauty of radio is that it has never been a “one size fits all” universe–despite what corporate minds determined to dilute what we do may think. The more you pick and choose the way you employ elements in your show, the more interesting it will become, IMHO.
I work with folks who throw a bed under everything they do, which to me translates into, “I have absolutely no confidence that you (the listener) will pay one bit of attention to what I’m saying without this pointless crutch”.
There are obvious situations where a bed makes sense, which may depend a lot on your format and the particular content. But for far too many, a bed is just an excuse for weak and unfocused breaks, assuming the music will keep the listener attentive. I know that at the air talent seminar of yours that I attended (more years ago than I am willing to admit here), you had plenty of examples of bits and content that were incredibly compelling without any other enhancement besides the spoken skills of the talent.
Like every other tool we employ in the effort to capture the attention and interest of our audience, a bed should be used the right way for the right reasons.
Thanks again Dan,
Jim
Dan,
A quick welcome to the world of blogging! As for your first topic….
I agree completely with your viewpoint on the use of music beds. Properly used, music beds can be a valuable tool to re-enforce the message you’re trying to convey. On the other hand, if you’re using beds because you think “they sound cool,” there’s a real good chance the listener and/or client is going to be annoyed by the music (creating a tuneout factor) or they’re going to be too busy “enjoying the coolness” that they totally miss what you’re trying to say. Either way the message is lost in the clutter and you’ve wasted your time and if it’s a commercial, your clients money.
Agree with you–I think music tracks DETRACT from what you are trying to say.
My show is 2-6 PM M-F Format is oldies and I do a lot of talking and humorous news stories and I do not use background stuff or Sfx. I tend to use a ton of jingles because IT FITS the format.
Agree with post that music is a language, and should be used in as such.
My exception is remotes to cover up the crap that’s going on to ‘time’ whomever is talking.
Some do, I do not!
The only time is if a certain theme fits for music.
This one’s back to Josh/92.1 regarding remotes/on location.
You say you use the music beds to mask the fact that you’re not in the studio or are out on location.
WHY would you do that?
Isn’t the whole point of a client buying your time to go to their location/store/event to sound like you’re AT THEIR LOCATION/STORE/EVENT?? Heck, if the point was to have studio sound, just get the jock in production to voice track the whole thing in the studio and have them stand around on site for a few hours. Same effect.
Using music for on location/remote events is just silly as far as I’m concerned. It removes all the background sounds, the atmosphere, the actual feeling that your personality is actually somewhere out of the studio doing something other than sitting IN the studio.
You want a studio sound, tell ’em to buy 60 second ads.
We’ve had clients buy “simulated” remote packages, where the announcer ad libs the spot as if they were there, but it’s all canned in the studio. The results pale in comparison so much they make snow look dark and murky.
By making on location stuff sound studio, you might be killing your effectiveness. Just my take on it anyway.
We don’t run beds under our announcers unless there’s a real purpose for it. It’s distracting from what’s being said and makes it sound like a commercial. And we all know how people can tune out an ad!!
Beds under DJ chatter has a time and place, but I honestly don’t believe it’s under every single word ever spoken.
Welcome to the blogging world Dan!! Good luck.
Hi Dan and keep on bloggin man! Well maybe the music beds and background tracks give more offense when getting older. Fast talking jocks doing the same nowadays to me. Our hearing spectrum, with thanks to the headphone, is getting smaller and irritation is building itself when we cannot understand completely what the man or woman tries to say to us. Another same problems occurs with people blogging and using irritating colors at the background. But should I request myself if I’m really getting old now>? Hans Knot
Here music beds are mostly used by stations aimed to young listeners, and the explanation they give is “it sounds cool”.
We adults are more focused in understanding what we are told, than in the way it sounds.
It makes me remember those posters from the psychelelic days, maybe anouncing the next concert at Fillmore West. It was much more important how the poster looked, than to make its message easily understandable.
In my scripts I use musical courtains or effects at the beginning, and even to change subject, approach or sometimes after an audio clip.
But when an announcer is talking, I hope you can hear what he says, even if you were in your kitchen or taking a shower.
Sorry, I speak too much….
I agree with allen – I can almost never understand latin announcers.
One other comment: the movie example you gave is sort of okay except for one major distinction. Most movie soundtracks are done over a period of months. Decisions are made by the directors, producers, writers, editors, and composers as to exactly what kind of music will be used or not used in a particular scene, or even in just a few frames.
Radio air talent seldom take more than a few seconds to decide on a bed. In fact most of the stations I know of where the A/T are required to play beds under their talk usually only allow a limited number of beds that are hand-picked by the PD and have absolutely no value in furthering emotions or topics.
Beds under A/T talk say one thing only: We’re So Boring We Need This Music To Keep You Awake While We Talk.
Alright then….should a jock NOT talk over the song intro?
Did Boss Radio and Bill Drake do it wrong, and all this time we’ve had variations of this style in almost all music formats.
I agree. This posting may be some added ammunition to forward to Jocks and PDs. Thanks.
Welcome to the Blogosphere Dan!
I agree with Vicki, that says music has to be used to enhance the message, not distract listeners from it.
Content is the king and any PD or DJ need to focus on what we are going to say and how is going to be delivered.
If there’s nothing interesting or entertaining to be said, then let the music be the king!
Emilio Pastrana
KWIZ 96.7 FM
Dan
Thanks for making the move to blogOsworld.
Let’s just talk radio here, movies and visual media are a different deal.
I agree with the statement “THE ILLUSION OF FORWARD MOMENTUM”.
I sincerely believe that most programmers want to create the idea that there is no stop in the action or flow. The listeners are not that dumb. Sometimes there needs to be a break in the barrage of auditory output to let the audience “breathe” but if you want to REALLY keep your audience (and i’m giving away the store here) create a natural flow to the programming (including commercial breaks)that doesn’t assault the ears or intelligence of your audience.
DC Goode
Old Radio Dawg
Dear Dan,
Kudos to you for diving into the deep end. I have a good friend who persistently bugs me to start a blog so you’re a better man than I am Gunga Din.
Regarding music beds…Hmmm where to begin. I agree with you that every spot does NOT need a music bed. Especially if the bed is reflective of the format for that station–can you say “blend in?” Also as I work for a smaller independent station we simply don’t have the resources to consistently match the music with the mood of a spot.
That being said, a good match between music and words can have a most powerful affect. Why else do we buy jingle packages? Also a consistent music bed can act as a mental trigger for a listener even before the announcer or talent says word one.
I suppose you can therefore throw me over onto the “less is more” side of the fence. I would have to agree that music beds are used much too frequently and as many others have noted, often detract from the emotion and power of the spot.
Hi Dan.
Dan as a blogger. That realy surprised me 🙂 Welcome!
As for the music beds: It all comes down to the format, right? Of course the most stupid thing is to ALWAYS use beds. But probably, the more younger audience you try to atract the more music will be needed also under DJ’s voice.
I realy like to use some silent moments even in conversation. It sounds more natural and even ads some aditional drama.
Take care Dan. And of course your blog is in my RSS list 🙂
In addition to dc’s Natural Flow comment…
To avoid assaulting the intelligence of radio listeners, you start by giving people good information and not feeding them lines of cliches and BS…in the ads. Good ad writers within a radio group can help keep listener’s attention and their finger off the dial. People don’t mind tuning in when you’re not annoying them with nonsense and “adspeak”. I’m a new blogger…be gentle with me. 🙂
For the most part, I agree with Dan. When they play an especially cool bed like the Pac-Man tune or He-Man intro, they lose me to reminiscence.
Regarding talking over song intros and outros, that has been a pet peeve of mine since I was 14 and trying to record songs from WSHE (She’s only rock and roll!) in Ft. Lauderdale onto my cassette recorder. Now-a-days, I hate being interrupted during my pretend American Idol audition in my car.
BTW Dan: The mug shot confirms you have a face for Radio!
Jimi in Phoenix
Dan: Music = Language: of course! Being trained in Music Theory/Composition, I take the shamelessy bigoted view that a well-composed piece of music needs no lyrics to sell the song or tell the story. Try that theory the next time you hear some urban/ac and find out for yourself if the selection would stand out in the crowd without lyrics.
However, since I’m in radio (does anybody really think they can make a living in music theory/comp?) I apply the converse of that concept: A well-done piece of talk needs no music to sell the segment, and if you remove the music, would the message stand out in the crowd?
By the way, now that I’m happily (for the PD’s) sequestered in the creative services department after spending 25 years on-air, such arguments now fall into the “easy-for-you-to-say” category, and since I call the shots for the Creative department, it comes down to either arguing with myself or convincing the client, and you know all too well how that goes!
Kevin.
Dan,
Nice to see you blogging and good luck with it!
For what it’s worth, I think beds under jocks are good on some stations, bad on others. One size doesn’t fit all. The art is knowing when, where and how often. Gratuitous beds are clearly a tune out.
Joel Raab
Hello Dan. Thanks for finally starting to blog. I’ve tried to implement many of your suggestions that I have heard at NAB (back as far as around 1999), as well as through books and audio seminars that I have purchased from you. I love them all.
I agree with this article totally. When I was last on-air about four years ago, it drove me nuts that we had to play these cheezy music beds under our voice. I tried to play them as low as possible (other on-air talent played them so loud you could hardly hear them speak over the din).
Instead, I’ve been putting out podcasts since 2005 (Voice-Over Journey, Wayne’s Take on LOST, WTO Fringe, and Tuning In podcasts, and trying to make more money in voice-overs.
Best of luck on the blog. Awaiting your next words!
Wayne
One of the most egregious uses in my local market is the use of 70s and 80s theme songs (mostly TVToons Television’s Greatest Hits library). As bumper music and “let’s play a quiz” on just about every station in the market, its use just screams “I’m a Lazy DeeJay.” Outdated runs of The “Dating” and “Match Game” theme songs mean little to an audience who’s never watched them.
Kia Ora from the antipodes (Aotearoa/New Zealand/Middle Earth/Narnia),
When music is played (or not played)in movies etc. it is specifically chosen for the particular scene. (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid only has music in scenes where there is no dialogue.
I am currently producing advts for a client and am about to go through as much of the cd library as I need to to find the right piece of music to enhance the advt.
and I would have used my name but as I’m getting old now, I seem to have misplaced my Google password. Ah well… It’s me! robatrhema
NB I never use music beds just in case one of the listeners doesn’t hear the incredible interesting and life changing things that I say on air 🙂
Dan’s music advice isn’t that much different than his advice for commercials. I’ve heard and read many examples where he promotes not using any music at all.
One of Dan’s big themes for anything is: “Don’t do things mindlessly, thoughtlessly, lazily.” If you care about your craft, you ask questions like: “Does this music add or detract? Is it better with or without?”
As someone who used to bored-op many weekend remotes, I will add that a thoughtlessly chosen random hip-hop bed DOES help you stay awake during pointless remotes from businesses where remotes shouldn’t be done — like check-loans stores. The remote bed helped with timing too, and I ditched it if something interesting happened. We did dome community events where the host did a lot of interesting on-site interviews — no need for the random bed.
This is a very welcome blog. Reading Dan’s stuff makes me miss the radio biz. To me, that’s quite a feat!
daddy bosco
programmes manager
adom fm
tema, ghana
guess it aint too late to welcome my mentor and guru dan to the blogosphere….
real insightful piece and dissection of the issues surrounding use of music beds…
keep them rolling in, coupled with the newsletters, this is awesome
Hey Dan, bet you’re glad you opened this can of worms :0)
Are there exceptions to your rule? My thinking is… what if your radio station is a 15-24 targeted dance or hip hop station? The audience comes to this station looking for the music they love and the energy, vibrance, basslines and rhythm that this genre of music (and in turn the radio station that plays it) provides.
Many times I’ve been at traffic lights or in a car park and have overheard young people listening to this kind of station, and if the presenter is short and punchy in their style and the information they provide, they keep listening as the energy of the music keeps on flowing behind the jock – like a DJ at a club. I get the impression that a) it feels like the music doesn’t stop, and b) the audience might feel that the next song is about to start.
I wonder what your thoughts on this are.
Chris Thorpe:
I get the impression that a) it feels like the music doesn’t stop, and b) the audience might feel that the next song is about to start.
Ah, but for the listeners the music DOES stop — that is, the music that they tuned in your station to hear.
They can tell the difference (even in the UK, Chris!) between “the music I came to this station to hear” and “the stuff they play while the DJs chatter away.”
If you just played those intensity beds as songs, with no DJ chatter, would your listeners continue to tune you in?
Or might they appreciate that “song” less than the ones on your playlist?
Just signed-up for the Dave Foxx imaging teleseminar. Looking forward to it. It’s always good the hear how other production master’s “do their thing”. Dave is always great…
Recently on a cross country trip I listened to a lot of radio stations. Sounded to me like a lot of production people need this teleseminar.
Mike Carta
Super Sweepers
The most listened to radio personality of the past 15 years is Rush Limbaugh.
While he takes phone calls, he also does 15-20 minute monologues with no music whatsoever. Yes, he uses bumpers and has the occasional theme music for his “updates,” but overall, no music, just Rush.
He reaches his audience because what he says is important to them. Obligatory music bed, not required.