Noisy background music in documentaries

[Rose65]

I must say it is really does get to me. Watching a documentary only to become aware that the music which is supposed to be subtle and in the background becomes deafening!
Slightest sad bits it is like Liberace begins pounding on the piano, a dramatic racket involving drums rachets up to announce drama, violins for tragedy. Often all this distracts completely from the presenter or narrator, drowning them out.

I may be a grouchy old woman but is it just me that just doesn't like essentially being told how to feel? Or am I too sensitive?

I think whoever chose the background music, a hard job I'm sure, has failed if we become too aware of it. Just like if we become aware of extras in acting scenes, they have failed in their purpose.

 

[Mike]

Write to the TV company Rose, the one who broadcast
the noisy programme.

There should be somebody talking all through the film,
telling us about the picture that we are looking at, as the
name, documentary suggests, documenting, with no space
for music.

Mike.

 

[Rose65]

Write to the TV company Rose, the one who broadcast
the noisy programme.

There should be somebody talking all through the film,
telling us about the picture that we are looking at, as the
name, documentary suggests, documenting, with no space
for music.

Mike.

Well, it's more a general trait I see and I find it irritating.

 

[Mike]

Well Rose, if nobody writes to complain, they will consider
that it is acceptable and keep doing it, same goes, if they
don't get enough complaints.

Mike.

 

[Timewise 60+]

I agree! I have to wear hearing aids and when the background music is loud, I actually cannot understand the comments being made. So I turn the channel...this happens frequently when I watch TV

 

[Michael Z]

Background music is a fine art. And is costly if done well. So the low budget shows will have low budget background music.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I've noticed the unsubtle, loud music blurring the narration in documentaries, too. There's a series "Ariel America" where that happens a lot. I have a good audio system and the music sounds great, but it's way too loud. Music is noise, when you come down to it.

 

[bobcat]

Oh good. It's not just me. It drives me up the wall when the background music interferes with the actual content. I've even encountered it on youtube where people have background music that is so distracting that I just give up on watching the video.

 

[911]

I must say it is really does get to me. Watching a documentary only to become aware that the music which is supposed to be subtle and in the background becomes deafening!
Slightest sad bits it is like Liberace begins pounding on the piano, a dramatic racket involving drums rachets up to announce drama, violins for tragedy. Often all this distracts completely from the presenter or narrator, drowning them out.

I may be a grouchy old woman but is it just me that just doesn't like essentially being told how to feel? Or am I too sensitive?

I think whoever chose the background music, a hard job I'm sure, has failed if we become too aware of it. Just like if we become aware of extras in acting scenes, they have failed in their purpose.

Yes, I agree. I watch a lot of documentaries on the History, Military and Smithsonian Channels and anything that David Attenborough hosts. He gas the very best animal videos of anyone. Of course today with all of the new technology, the videos are much better compared to the days of “Marlin Perkins, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.”

 

[JustDave]

How is your hearing? Before I realized I needed hearing aides, one of the most disturbing things I noticed was background music in movies overpowering the dialog to the point where I didn't know what was being said. I blamed Hollywood, and they may be partly responsible, but the biggest problem was in my hearing. Human speech is an intricate combination of frequencies that must be heard and made to form words and sentences. If you can't hear all the frequencies you end up losing out, especially in human communication. Music is less affected, at least it is for me, but it is still compromised somewhat. The way I experience this is that I don't enjoy music as much as I did. It plays a smaller role in my life, but speech? I can't do without understanding what people are saying. That bothers me. I end up responding inappropriately without my hearing aids, and become that quintessential geezer that doesn't know what's going on, and feeling like an idiot when someone asks a question, and all I can say is, "Yes," feeling like I've got a 50% chance of looking like I understood.

 

[Rose65]

How is your hearing? Before I realized I needed hearing aides, one of the most disturbing things I noticed was background music in movies overpowering the dialog to the point where I didn't know what was being said. I blamed Hollywood, and they may be partly responsible, but the biggest problem was in my hearing. Human speech is an intricate combination of frequencies that must be heard and made to form words and sentences. If you can't hear all the frequencies you end up losing out, especially in human communication. Music is less affected, at least it is for me, but it is still compromised somewhat. The way I experience this is that I don't enjoy music as much as I did. It plays a smaller role in my life, but speech? I can't do without understanding what people are saying. That bothers me. I end up responding inappropriately without my hearing aids, and become that quintessential geezer that doesn't know what's going on, and feeling like an idiot when someone asks a question, and all I can say is, "Yes," feeling like I've got a 50% chance of looking like I understood.

Actually that is a great point! I don't have good hearing but gave up my hearing aids during the pandemic, feeling I can manage. I am surprisingly sensitive to certain noises but it's hard to hear others. Maybe my hearing is therefore distorted. I use subtitles all the time but find music background seems abnormally loud.

 

[hawkdon]

It seems the producer's of shows cannot stand a void, so they
fill it with music...or what passes for music...I get very frustrated
with it.....

 

[Pappy]

All the above…ditto. Drives me nuts. My hearing aids make it worst.

 

[JustDave]

Actually that is a great point! I don't have good hearing but gave up my hearing aids during the pandemic, feeling I can manage. I am surprisingly sensitive to certain noises but it's hard to hear others. Maybe my hearing is therefore distorted. I use subtitles all the time but find music background seems abnormally loud.

For me it was getting progressively worse, and grasping at straws I had my hearing checked. I was not hearing well at the higher pitches. About the time it was reaching this point, I went to see the third Christian Bale Batman film at the theater. Halfway through, I walked out in frustration because I wasn't understanding the dialog. I was fuming on the way home at Hollywood, because the music was too loud. I've read since then that as hearing deteriorates, we lose the ability to sort out critical parts of what was slowly becoming a jumble of background noise mixed with the necessary "noise." This was exactly my experience.

Although, I still think Hollywood does a lot of junk stuff like dramatic music and shaky-cam that is supposed to increase the effects, but for me is more of a distraction. That may be just my impression, because I don't hear a lot of others with the same complaint.

 

[Mizmo]

All the above…ditto. Drives me nuts. My hearing aids make it worst.

Ditto, ditto, ditto, and also irritating is the canned laughter in some of the comedy shows......grrrrr

 

[dobielvr]

I've seen many complaints on FB for a lot of the crime shows I watch regarding the background music.
ABCs 20/20 in particular.

I've had to change the channel at times, it just ruins the whole show.

 

[SmoothSeas]

that's why the back button was invented...

if the content provider persists, I unsubscribe.

shame, 'cause I do so enjoy documentaries!

 

[Packerjohn]

I must say it is really does get to me. Watching a documentary only to become aware that the music which is supposed to be subtle and in the background becomes deafening!
Slightest sad bits it is like Liberace begins pounding on the piano, a dramatic racket involving drums rachets up to announce drama, violins for tragedy. Often all this distracts completely from the presenter or narrator, drowning them out.

I may be a grouchy old woman but is it just me that just doesn't like essentially being told how to feel? Or am I too sensitive?

I think whoever chose the background music, a hard job I'm sure, has failed if we become too aware of it. Just like if we become aware of extras in acting scenes, they have failed in their purpose.

No Rose65, you are not a "grouchy old woman." You are a very smart woman. I understand you very well. Actually, I have observed the same thing. Those stupid shows are so bad that I just shut them off.

From time to time, there have been suggestions right on this Senior Forum to look at this video or that video. I have followed their instructions but the video is full of very loud music so bad that I cannot understand what the guy is saying. It is like someone in a mental asylum made the show.

Two days ago I went to our local Costco store to have a problem with my hearing aids fixed. The guy said they are "swamped" and he made me an appointment to come back in 1 week. Sure, they are swamped. With all the loud motorcycles, traffic and terrible music on movies and films, many folks are going deaf.

The makers of hearing aids are laughing all the way "to the bank" and they are smiling all the way back.