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Monday, 10 March 2014

Individual feature analysis: BBC's "Sad Music"

Sad Music by Helena Merriman is a BBC radio feature in which why people listen to sad music is tried to be figured out.
At first it may look as a simple editing, because it only contains people speaking and music. However, with its simplicity creates a great atmosphere in which the listener is immersed. It speaks about feelings everybody has experienced, so it creates sympathy in the listener.

The feature begins with ordinary people testimonies; for instance, "I listen to sad music in order to cry". Thus, the listener feels it could be him or her who is speaking.

It is interesting that all interventions are, besides brief and clear, very short -no longer than a minute- and, in the longest ones, there are pauses which are filled with the music which was on the background. The music below is slow and sad, in harmony with the speeches. For example, a pshycholoy professor speaks about different periods of music history and the music played is like the music mentioned by him.

There is a scientific approach with a music producer and professors explaining how sad songs are made. With this, the hearer gets curious about it and satisfies its curiosity while listening. The first one is an interview, which makes it more interactive and dynamic.
Another way to make it dynamic and compelling to the audience is, between the professors' intervention, inserting some listener's statements about their favourite sad song or why they enjoy listening to them.

At the end of the programme, the presenter summarises all testimonies and theories and then introduces a slow piano piece, letting the listener enjoy it and reflect about what they've heard and their own sensations.



1 comment:

  1. Interesting choice, good analysis. What's the hearer? Where's the LISTENER?!

    ReplyDelete