Hello everyone
I'm Brenda, from the infrasound team. I'm glad to hear our project has captured your interest. You can now read a summary of our research methodologies and results on our website www.infrasonicmusic.co.uk.
Very briefly, in answer to some of your comments and queries:
In our results, we partialled out responses from people who were aware of the infrasound. Our results tell us infrasound boosted strange experiences, even among those who were unaware of its presence.
This was a double-blind test in the sense that neither the audience, the performer nor the presenters knew where the infrasound was present. The person switching the infrasound source on and off was isolated from the rest of us until the end of the experiment.
We ran two identical concerts back to back. The only thing that differed between the two was the placement of the infrasound. This counterbalancing enabled us to rule out the effects of priming and suggestion - which were clearly going to be significant. Many radio shows picked up on the ghost connection before the performances - this sparked a lot of interest and enabled us to get 700 attendees. That's why the counterbalancing was essential.
Yes - the largest organ pipes produce infrasound. Infrasonic organ pipes have been around for at least 400 years (judging by the work of Michael Praetorius, ancient cataloguer of musical instruments). Opinion is divided regarding the utility of these pipes. Some people say they do nothing special - others say they add a sense of 'awe' to the music, particularly in apocalyptic, sacred works (e.g. the works of Olivier Messiaen). That's why we wanted to put infrasound to the test.
On our website, you can see some spectral plots from the National Physical Laboratory. These show the sound spectrum in the room, with and without infrasound present, during one of the pieces. Similar plots exist for other pieces. Our pipe produced infrasound at 17Hz. We were careful to keep it at a level that was on the cusp of perception, when the music was also present. That's around 85-90dB.
The ghost connection relates to some fascinating research by physicist Vic Tandy, Coventry University.
Although some newspapers suggest otherwise, we haven't attempted to explain away God or ghosts. But we have come up with some pretty good evidence that infrasound can create strange experiences in a group of listeners. Maybe the way people interpret these experiences depends on context. In a church or cathedral, these feelings might be associated with a sense of awe, in a spooky-looking place, a sense of unease and in an open-plan office, an overwhelming feeling that it's time to take a sickie.
I hope you find this interesting. I love the website by the way. Long live slashdot.org
Brenda Bach
Slashdot Mirror
Hello everyone I'm Brenda, from the infrasound team. I'm glad to hear our project has captured your interest. You can now read a summary of our research methodologies and results on our website www.infrasonicmusic.co.uk. Very briefly, in answer to some of your comments and queries: In our results, we partialled out responses from people who were aware of the infrasound. Our results tell us infrasound boosted strange experiences, even among those who were unaware of its presence. This was a double-blind test in the sense that neither the audience, the performer nor the presenters knew where the infrasound was present. The person switching the infrasound source on and off was isolated from the rest of us until the end of the experiment. We ran two identical concerts back to back. The only thing that differed between the two was the placement of the infrasound. This counterbalancing enabled us to rule out the effects of priming and suggestion - which were clearly going to be significant. Many radio shows picked up on the ghost connection before the performances - this sparked a lot of interest and enabled us to get 700 attendees. That's why the counterbalancing was essential. Yes - the largest organ pipes produce infrasound. Infrasonic organ pipes have been around for at least 400 years (judging by the work of Michael Praetorius, ancient cataloguer of musical instruments). Opinion is divided regarding the utility of these pipes. Some people say they do nothing special - others say they add a sense of 'awe' to the music, particularly in apocalyptic, sacred works (e.g. the works of Olivier Messiaen). That's why we wanted to put infrasound to the test. On our website, you can see some spectral plots from the National Physical Laboratory. These show the sound spectrum in the room, with and without infrasound present, during one of the pieces. Similar plots exist for other pieces. Our pipe produced infrasound at 17Hz. We were careful to keep it at a level that was on the cusp of perception, when the music was also present. That's around 85-90dB. The ghost connection relates to some fascinating research by physicist Vic Tandy, Coventry University. Although some newspapers suggest otherwise, we haven't attempted to explain away God or ghosts. But we have come up with some pretty good evidence that infrasound can create strange experiences in a group of listeners. Maybe the way people interpret these experiences depends on context. In a church or cathedral, these feelings might be associated with a sense of awe, in a spooky-looking place, a sense of unease and in an open-plan office, an overwhelming feeling that it's time to take a sickie. I hope you find this interesting. I love the website by the way. Long live slashdot.org Brenda Bach