The event atmosphere.
Part 2: Hearing

We have already talked about vision and its role in the creation of the desirable atmosphere on your event. You can find this blog post here. Today, I am going to share with you some insight into the event sounds. You will know why sounds and music are important and how to exploit them in your purpose. We also will have a special guest who helped me to write the part about event music. So, grab a cup of tea or coffee and let's travel to the world of sounds!

Close your eyes for a minute, and I am going to let you listen to the sounds of surf and the cries of seagulls. Nine out of ten, at that moment, you imagined a seashore, golden due to the sunlight... And now the sounds change. Now, you hear people talking, tableware chiming and calm music playing. Do you feel yourself in a restaurant?

This is not a coincidence. It seems to us that we do not pay attention to background sounds, but in reality, it is not the case. If you have once experienced strong emotions in some situation, then the accompanying sounds got literally recorded into your brain. There are good chances that when you get into a different situation but hear the same sounds, you are going to remember your emotions. Considering this, it is very important to tune correctly the sounds of your event.

The life of each one of us has begun with music. And it is not a romantic metaphor. The music follows us indeed from the first seconds after our coming to the world.

The first sound that every infant hears is the heartbeat of the mother caressing the newborn against her chest with love. This rhythm defines the pulse of our entire lives; this music counts our happy moments and losses. All the most popular hits are written precisely in the tempo of 60 bpm because they match the rhythm of the life itself.

Many philosophists and scientists were discussing why music has such an influence on the human and even until now, they have not come to the common opinion. The art of music on its own does not bear today any practical meaning and appears, at first glance, to have been created solely for entertainment. But if we look a bit deeper, then many discoveries tell that music used to be the early form of communication between people. Some modern leitmotifs carry emotional codes of our ancestors even nowadays. For example, choppy uprearing sounds emotionally lift up, while long descending sequences relax.

It means that the certain sound constructs contain universal sense, which adults and children of any nationality interpret the same way. Therefore, we can confidently say that music is the language that does not require any translation and helps to establish an emotional link to any person on the Earth.

That is why it is so important to pay special attention to the musical environment at your celebrations, for example, at a wedding ceremony. Here, music is not just an audio background that fills the pauses between words. It is the best instrument that will help to softly tune the guest and the newlyweds on the needed wave, to create an atmosphere of love and family warmth.

And imagine you will happen to hear that very song that the groom and the bride had their first dance with. Even after many years will have passed since the celebration, a heady cocktail of emotions and memories is going to fill your body with warmth and give you again the feeling of the holiday.

Audio notifications are a convenient way to announce to your guests that something interesting is about to happen. Do you remember the bell at your school? A notification sound should stand out from the ambient sounds, be reasonably loud but at the same time, mustn't frighten the participants of the event. Besides, it is also a part of your event and sets the tone. What does the notification sound like, which invites your guests to join the celebration? :)

Just a small hint to planning sounds and music for your event. Close your eyes and try to imagine what you want to hear during your event. It is wise to check beforehand the venue and listen to the sounds of the place when it is empty. Are there noises? How the acoustic works? Listen carefully.

Next time, we will talk about the role of other human senses (haptic perception, olfaction and taste) in unique event atmosphere.

The previous post about vision and the event atmosphere is here.