Tests carried out for a recent UK TV programme called The Secret Life Of Buildings have produced further evidence that open plan layouts create massive distraction, damaging productivity. The Channel 4 programme’s presenter, architecture critic Tom Dyckhoff, wore a cap that measured his brainwaves while trying to work in an open plan office. The scanner revealed intense bursts of distraction. Dr Jack Lewis, the neuroscientist who conducted the test, said: “Open plan offices were designed with the idea that people can move around and interact

Researchers from the University of Jyväskylä say that making music can alleviate the symptoms of clinical depression by helping people to express their emotions and reflect their inner experiences. Their findings are published in the August issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry. The research team, led by Professor Jaakko Erkkilä and Professor Christian Gold, recruited 79 people aged between 18 and 50 years old who had been diagnosed with depression. 33 of the participants were offered 20 music therapy sessions, in addition to their

Nokia used an innovative crowdsourcing competition to find a fresh version of Nokiatune, the world’s most-played tune (at 1.8 billion times every day!). The Sound Agency’s Chairman Julian Treasure was honoured to be one of the final-stage judges after more than 4,000 entries from 68 countries had been whittled down to a top 10 – the five most-liked in the public voting, plus five selected by a panel. Seven versions of the iconic Nokiatune melody (originally a fragment from Gran Vals by Francisco Tárrega) have

Noise can cause damage to health that goes way beyond the ears according to recent research. The world’s first comprehensive report on the health effects of noise, published by the World Health Organisation and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre Western European, found that excessive noise can cause a range of illnesses, the most serious being heart disease due to raised blood pressure and blood-borne concentrations of stress hormones and fatty materials. This can accumulate over time (even when people are asleep) and can eventually

It seems it’s not only humans who can benefit from music therapy: a Tuscan wine grower has found his vines responding to the sounds of Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi and Mahler. When Carlo Cignozzi began restoring a Montalcino farmhouse and planting a new vineyard called Al Paradisio di Frassina, he intuitively felt that playing music to the vines would benefit their growth. His early efforts attracted the attention of Amir Bose, who personally supplied the large network of weather resistant loudspeakers required to cover thew whole

The crashing waves of Dorset’s Chesil Beach have been competing with the noise of traffic in London’s Euston Road thanks to American sound artist Bill Fontana. The project was “an experiment in perception” of the sound of both water and traffic. “Most people really don’t pay attention to the sounds around them. I wanted to create an art form that challenges that,” Fontana said. “To change the context in which you hear something, you change the meaning of it.” The sound was broadcast from September

Neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are offering hope to sufferers of tinnitus – a constant, often high-pitched ringing or buzzing in the ears that can be annoying and even maddening, and has no current cure. The condition afflicts more than 10 percent of the US population: that’s over 20 million people! One tenth of these have serious incapacity from the condition. Their new findings, published online last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest several new approaches to

A survey of UK surgeons has found that 90% listen to music while they operate, with half choosing rock music, 17% favouring pop music and 11% classical music. The majority said music helps create a “harmonious and calm atmosphere”, while a third said the music prevents them from getting bored. Plastic surgeons were the most likely to listen to music, and ear, nose and throat surgeons the least likely. The survey was conducted to celebrate the release of the latest series of the hospital drama

In our July newsletter we talked about the potential dangers for pedestrians and cyclists arising from electric cars being too quiet. It’s clear that there these cars need added sound, but what sound? Fans of the film Blade Runner will be excited by Nissan’s recent announcement. The Nissan Leaf electric car set for release next year will emit a “beautiful and futuristic” noise similar to the sound of the flying cars, or ‘spinners’, that purr around the smoky 2019 dystopian landscape in Ridley Scott’s classic

The first ever audio branding congress is being held on November the 14th in Hamburg at the very unusual venue Dialog im Dunkeln (dialogue in the dark). The venue has quite a few rooms that are completely black and is designed to improve your understanding of senses other than vision. ABC is being organised by Cornelius Ringe, Kai Bronner and Rainer Hirt who are authors of publications on audio branding. After the one day congress there will be a meeting of a possible association of