Radio music for mood

Apart from the immediacy of its news reportage, I enjoy radio for the music it offers. For me it gives the novelty of a new, unexpected repertoire, rather than the routine replay of familiar works from my own collection.

Were I to amass a collection large enough to satisfy all of my music interests, it would have to be giant. I walk very wide musical pathways, from Mozart to Madonna, from Bach to Beatles, from Verdi to Vangelis. My trend is towards classic, but that is just a reflection of the liking of intricate structure mixed with subtlety of style plus a swig of history.

My preferred genres change as the mood moves me, from jazz, to rock, to classic, to country, to electronic; from the massive power of a lusty symphonic work to the delicate subtlety of a string quartet; from the moving inspirational power of a panoramic piece; to the reflective reverberation of a Gregorian chant; from the plaintive emotive melody from a solo girl’s voice; to the raucous roar of a massed choir.

For me, music generates a frame of mind - contemplation, motivation, exhilaration, peace, pace, perfection, promise – the mirror of my present feelings, or the creator of new ones.

I count among my friends, a very long-time radio professional who would understand intimately the thinking behind presenting a musical work on air; the number of factors affecting not only what is played, but when, and often where. He is someone who really understands the subtle art of programming, unlike many persons claiming that skill, and puts that art into a practical form. Even though he does seem locked into jazz!

Breakfast is not the time when most people want to hear opera, nor does a summer day’s ending with the glowing red sun settling peacefully below the sheen of a wide lake lend itself to heavy metal rock or grunge.

This is why I shudder when, while enjoying a pleasant weekend morning’s sunlit sparkle on the leaves, my mood choice of classic instrumental performances playing on the radio, sometimes accompanied by the twittering of birds, a principal offender - NSW ABC’s Classic FM - unleashes what I term its “Saturday Morning Sopranos”.

The mood of tranquil, apposite music is shattered by the pretentious performances of a shrilling soprano, or the finicky formality of a tremulous tenor!

I suspect some collaboration within the Sydney radio classical programming fraternity, for when I switch to another classic FM station, seeking some music more appropriate to the time of day, up comes almost a replica record!  Is there something that seems to get into the psyche of programmers and presenters that forces them to play some music at the wrong time of the day? Or is this just my musical taste of the moment coming to bear?

There is a time and a place for every piece – the trick is to know what, and when, and more importantly, when not.

Would you perform Gilbert and Sullivan at a funeral? Would you mix Verdi’s Ring Cycle with your breakfast coffee? Would you have a bagpiper play background music to a surf carnival?

This is one factor that makes film scoring such a demanding, yet rewarding process - the music just has to be right for the job.

I realise that being able to see precisely the scene being scored, or hear the emotions being conveyed helps selecting music for visuals, but radio broadcasting should not suffer by failing to recognise what NOT to play.

Would Bernard Hermann have written the shower-scene stabbing music from Psycho as the title music for I Love Lucy?

Radio has the benefit of designing programme blocks to suit a particular style. In these, the music is chosen with a specific, or hypothetical, audience in mind. Listener survey data gives a good indicator of the kind of people attracted to different kinds of programmes at various times, their socio-economic profile, and their general psychographics.

If this is coupled with a sound (no pun intended) gut feeling and showmanship, the right music can work for that audience. Where some formats come to grief is when they try to be all things to all people. It won’t always work.

My belief is that unless a clear style of music format is envisaged, it is better not to attempt too radical a shift between individual items of content, so that the listener can settle in to a particular genre, and not have to hunt down other stations for listening satisfaction. That is, unless the station is deliberately promoting a time zone as unpredictable in music style, so that vast change becomes the norm, in which case it may be a very successful arrangement.

Unfortunately, my preferred classic music station does not follow this format deliberately. I suspect it often runs playlists without prescription, or the feeling of showmanship which guards against playing the wrong thing at the right time. On the other hand (or ear), there are times when the presentation is just brilliant, with a rich consistent style, which makes my listening a pure joy.

If I had a thorough prescription for effective music programming, I would have tried to take that path in my early days in radio. And made a fortune from it! 

I didn’t, and elected drama, then later news and current affairs, and advertising as my passion. It worked well for me, yet at times leaves me critical now of the medium in which I cut my teeth. Fangs very much to it.