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Health

Healing Harmonies

January 13, 2021 by Jodi Krangle Leave a Comment

When you close your eyes and think about being in a hospital, what do you imagine hearing? Are the sounds soothing, or do they make you tense up with even more anxiety? Hospitals aren’t usually relaxing places, and they don’t always sound very relaxing either. Heart monitors beep, respirators pump, and voices murmur in the background or occasionally ring out over the intercom.

They can be surprisingly loud too. The nighttime background noise at a hospital can sometimes reach over a hundred decibels, louder than a chainsaw. A National Institute of Health study in 2009 recognized noise as a hazard to patients; sleep deprivation weakens the immune system, which has a direct effect on mortality rates. Hospital noise isn’t just annoying, it can be dangerous.

Some hospitals are working to change that. Apart from lowering the noise, they’re also focused on weaving it into a healing soundscape that harnesses the link between music and the human body. You can check out my blog for a short but insightful video by electronic musician Yoko Sen about how her experience as a patient inspired her to help create a more melodic ambiance:

Last year Aalto University won the International Sound Award for Soundscapes and Ambient Sound for its own work in creating an innovative series of ambient soundscapes for New Children’s Hospital in Helsinki. Each floor has a unique and constantly changing theme, from the ocean on the first floor all the way up to space and the stars at the top, and is designed to help put children at ease, taking their thoughts away from the hospital and into an imaginative journey filled with natural sounds and delicate instruments.

There’s a link on my blog to a presentation video by the project’s director, composer and lecturer Antti Ikonen, as well as a link to an interactive demo of each of the nine soundscapes so you can hear them for yourself:

https://international-sound-awards.com/media/ISA2019/2019-1037_New_Childrens_Hospital_Soundscape_KB.mp4
https://newchildrenshospital.aalto.fi/

The idea that sound can play such an important role in healing has been around for quite a while now. Music therapy as we know it today got its start soon after World War II, when musicians visited hospitals to play for veterans. Doctors and nurses started to notice that these visits made a very real difference in their recoveries. They began to incorporate music into the idea of creating a “healing environment” where each aspect of the hospital setting, both visual and audio, plays its own part in helping the patients.

Florence Nightingale wrote in 1859 that carefully controlling the lights, colors and sound in a patient’s room could help them recover more quickly, and in 2013 Brian Eno credited her for inspiring his own “Quiet Room for Montefiore”, an immersive audio project at Montefiore Hospital in Essex. A few years later the “Healing Soundscapes” research project at Hamburg University began, uniting music therapists and composers to find new ways of improving the well-being of hospital patients.

There’s no doubt that sound can have a very real effect when it comes to health care. One study in 2016 showed that listening to just fifteen minutes of music before surgery reduces a patient’s anxiety, while another study found that creating an immersive natural soundscape is more relaxing and effective than simply masking the background noise. These nature sounds significantly reduce your cardiac stress markers and cortisol levels, and, for some patients, lower stress can make a literally life-or-death difference.

Most of us probably aren’t ever going to find ourselves looking forward to a trip to the hospital. But for the children at New Children’s Hospital, as well as a growing number of hospitals all around the world, soundscape and audio design are helping transform that clamoring background noise into a soothing melody.

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Filed Under: Health, Music Tagged With: audio design, Brian Eno, Florence Nightingale, healing environments, hospital ambiance, hospital sounds, International Sound Awards, music therapy, New Children's Hospital, soundscapes

This Might Make You Uncomfortable

December 11, 2019 by Jodi Krangle

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It has to do with certain triggers, usually having to do with sound or sight, giving you “tingles in your brain”.  It may seem like a strange reaction to have while hearing unintelligible whispers, someone using a marker on a pad of paper or seeing someone use a makeup brush to caress your “face” (when the face is the camera). But it’s very real!

And interestingly, music in this particular context, seems to take away from the experience, rather than add to it.  In Duncan Geere’s article about this phenomenon in Science Focus: https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/asmr-more-than-a-feeling/ – one of the scientists he questions has this to say:

“We’re interested in things like whether particular settings might be helpful, or particular object interactions,” explains Davis.

“[The results] were actually a bit of a mix. But the one thing that was really clear and surprising is that people didn’t like background music. That to me is really odd, because we use music all of the time to enhance a mood that you’re trying to experience. That doesn’t seem to work for ASMR. It seems to distract from the sound of an object being interacted with.”

Huh.  So the two types of sound, don’t seem to go together. Our brains are strange.

In my own deep dive into this topic however, I actually did experience these “brain tingles”.  I first heard about ASMR when IKEA used it in one of their commercials.  It’s included below.

When I first saw and heard this video, I have to admit, it kind of creeped me out.  I didn’t understand why the woman’s voice was so whispery-soft, and I truly didn’t understand what the attraction was to all those sounds of sheets being stroked, pillows being squished and desk lamps being tapped with fingernails.  I didn’t get it.  And at the time, I didn’t particular want to explore what it was all about.

In my research into sound and the science of sound, ASMR kept coming up – again and again.  And now that I’ve experienced what it actually IS, I’m impressed by what they put together.  (And if you watch the video, read the comments below.  They’re hilarious!)  While I didn’t mind the voice they used, she was a bit louder than I was expecting for this particular genre.  Of course, I get that she had to talk above a whisper so that she could be understood.  She was, after all, there to sell a product. And that meant you had to hear what she was saying.

I’m not sure it works as true ASMR as a result, because you have to concentrate too much for it to really be as relaxing as it should be.  But as an example of how this could be used for a different kind of advertising experience, it’s not half bad.  If you get it.  Seeing as they’re trying to appeal to college students, I don’t think that’s a bad bet.

I’ll also point out that the pops and crackles of lips smacks and tongue movements from a voice being that close to a mic, would be a nightmare for most voice over.  But for ASMR?  The intimacy of it is supposed to be relaxing. That’s the point.

One of the best “performers” of this that I’ve seen while going down the rabbit hole of YouTube, is Gibi.  I’ll link to one of her videos in my blog & show notes so you can have a look and a listen. But I’ll admit, I’ve subscribed to her channel.  In this video (the link is below), she collaborates with a couple of other performers so you get a good overview of a bunch of potential triggers from different performers with slightly different styles:

ASMR | Tingle Immunity Treatment Test | Ft. Goodnight Moon & Marno ASMR – YouTube

For those of you that have been following my blog here, you know I’m a gamer.  Gibi even did a video where she interacted (the video was about wood tapping and scratching) with a product from Wyrmwood! (They were a sponsor for this video. And she promoted them perfectly for her audience.)

And if you’d like to know more about this from Gibi herself (and, coincidentally, actually hear her real speaking voice – which I admit, I was curious about), have a look at the video I’ve linked to from a YouTube channel called Rooster Teeth. They had her on the show as a guest and asked her a bunch of questions that she very intelligently answered.

It’s a very interesting conversation, on a whole bunch of levels, and I highly recommend you watch it.

Ultimately, you have to decide if this works for you.  If not, it might make you very uncomfortable.  If it does work for you, watching these videos might well be the most relaxed you feel all day.  You’re welcome.

December 02, 2020 Edit: Gibi just added a video called “New to ASMR?” – that I think those of you who haven’t really experienced this before, will find SUPER helpful.  Check it out here:

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

Filed Under: ASMR, Audio Branding, Health Tagged With: asmr, audio, calming effects, mental health, physiological response, sound science, sound triggers

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Voice Over

August 25, 2017 by Jodi Krangle

The production company behind these commercials does such wonderful work that it’s always a pleasure to voice something for them.  I’ve been working with them on the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital spots for some time now and I love everything they produce.  Here’s just one (outstanding) example:

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/▶-Fighting-for-Sophia-Childhood-Cancer-Survivor-at-Joe-DiMaggio-Childrens-Hospital.mp4

Filed Under: Health, Hospital, Voiceovers Tagged With: children's hospital voice overs, hospital voice overs, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital commercial, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital voice over

Voice Overs for Dayton Children’s Nurses

August 25, 2017 by Jodi Krangle

This spot is a bit longer than your typical commercial.  It’s also incredibly moving.  The cinematography and concept are top notch and watching this always brings me really close to tears.   In the end, that’s why I do what I do.  To move someone.  The production company did their part.  I certainly do my best to do mine.

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Our-Very-Best-Dayton-Childrens-Nursing-now-Magnet-recognized.mp4

Filed Under: Commercial, Health, Hospital, Narration, Voiceovers Tagged With: Dayton Children's Nurses commercial, Dayton Children's Nurses voice overs, health care commercial voice overs, health care voice overs, hospital commercial voice overs, hospital voice overs, narration for health care, narration for hospitals

Shoppers Drug Mart Commercial Voice Over

August 25, 2017 by Jodi Krangle

Anthems are a lot of fun to do.  This Shoppers Drug Mart voice over commercial was for the Life Brand at Shoppers Drug Mart, a Canadian drug store chain similar to CVS or Walgreens in the States.  I love how whimsical this turned out.  Thanks to the folks at CORUS in Toronto for their beautiful work.

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/▶-Shoppers-Drug-Mart-Life-is-Good-EN.mp4

Filed Under: Commercial, Health, Voiceovers Tagged With: female voice actor for commercial, female voice actors, female voice talent, professional female voice actor, professional female voice talent, shoppers drug mart voice over, tv voice overs, voice acting, voice actor, voice over artist, voice over talent, voice overs, voice overs for videos, voice talent, voiceovers

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