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Dec 10, 2009 | 10:49 am

#5

mbstone

Join Date: May 2003

Location: GEG

Programs: Motel 6 Club Avoir Le Cafard

Posts: 5,027

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnde

Makes sense. Put a C-note in and a c note comes out.

^

“The first thing we heard was the sound of countless rows of slot machines all chiming in a very specific musical interval -- that of an open fifth. This particular interval played with constant repetition, as happens in a casino, easily captures the attention of the ear and can be very hypnotic. Every time someone won at a given machine, that machine added another note -- a major third --- which combined with the open fifth to create a pleasant-sounding, full chord of music. It seemed like the machine was chiming in to help celebrate the gambler's good fortune!

But the truly astonishing part of this experience occurred when we went into the casino dining room, just beyond the main slot machine area. We could still hear the machines hypnotically chiming away, but now there were also pop songs being played over the dining room sound system. Lou thought, "Well, this is going to be interesting. Surely some of these songs are going to conflict sonically with the sound of the slot machines." But none of them did. Why? Because every song played was either in the same (or closely related) key as the slot machines. (Each was either in the same major key or in its relative minor.) The entire time we were there, not one song was played that didn't musically match the slot machines.

The tempo of the songs in the casino dining room also changed in interesting ways. The most relaxing tempo is considered by many to be 60 beats per minute -- roughly the pulse of the adult human heart at rest. Most of the casino music was between 54 and 70 beats per minute, but only for a certain length of time; the casino wanted people to feel relaxed, but not for long enough to quit gambling. So after about 35 minutes, the tempo increased to between 80 and 124 beats per minute; still a very pleasing range, but obviously more upbeat. Musically we were being gently prodded to leave the all-you-can-eat buffet and get back to the slot machines.”

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