A decibel is a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound or the power level of an electrical signal by comparing it with a given level on a logarithmic scale. Basically how loud or soft a sound is. Decibel meters are machines used to measure these units. Over half of Barcelona’s population is subjected to noise levels over 65 decibels during the entire day (0800-2200 hours) which explains why locals have to shout to make themselves heard. It also explains the rule of no noise after 10pm! As a music school that works with sound and music, we are aware of how vital it is to be mindful of the effects of sound.
One of the greatest benefits that a person feels from sound is relief from stress. Sounds are used in sound therapy, meditation, and in many locations to promote a peaceful setting. The soothing sounds help to re-tune your brain to cope with stress better by replenishing brain energy with high-frequency sound. Many people use sound therapy and music to get relief from chronic headaches and migraines, and music is proven to improve your mood, as well as your quality of life.
Normal conversation is about 60 dB, a guitar played loudly somewhere around 80 dB, a lawn mower is about 90 dB, and a loud rock concert is about 120 dB. In general, sounds above 85 are harmful, depending on how long and how often you are exposed to them and whether you wear hearing protection, such as earplugs or earmuffs.
So let’s sound it out:
-9dB The world’s quietest room, at Orfield Labs in Minneapolis, is so silent you can hear your internal organs. The longest a person may stay in the room is 45 minutes, as zero sound does strange things to the mind, causing hallucinations and schizophrenia.
44dB Birds singing.
The loudest purr by a domestic cat is 67.8 dB and was achieved by Merlin, owned by Tracy Westwood (UK), at her home in Devon, UK, on 2 April 2015. Merlin is 13 years old.
70dB The average volume of an opera singer singing fortissimo (loudly). French tenor Avi Klemberg hit a reading of 109dB, his personal best, in 2010 on Scottish TV show The Hour.
80dB Chamber music concert.
105dB How loud Jaime Vendera sang (at the right frequency, 556Hz) to shatter a wine glass — recorded and confirmed on Mythbusters.
110dB The noise inside a video arcade. This is also the average for a symphony orchestra, though it can get louder.
113.1 dB The loudest bark in the world, according to Guinness World Records, set by Charlie the golden retriever from Adelaide, Australia.
115dB A baby crying.
118dB The sound in a cinema.
121dB; The loudest voice in the world (says Guinness World Records), belonging to Annalisa Flanagan, an Irish primary school teacher.
127dB; The volume, give or take a decibel or two, of a vuvuzela (if expertly blown). The referee’s whistle blasts at 121 dB.
129.5dB The last officially recorded measurement for ‘Loudest Band in the World’ (metalheads Manowar) by Guinness World Records in 1984. It stopped including the category because of hearing damage caused by record seekers.
137dB Measured at a Leftfield concert at London’s Brixton Academy in 1996. It caused chunks of plaster to fall on the audience from the roof.
The loudest drummer in the world is Col Hatchman (Australia) who hit a peak reading of 137.2 dB during a gig with his band, Dirty Skanks, at the Northern Star Hotel, Australia, on 4 August 2006.
The world’s noisiest land animals are the howler monkeys (Alouatta) of Central and South America. Once in full voice they can be heard clearly up to4.8 km (3 miles) away. Their howl measured at 140 dB.
The loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium is 142.2 dB and was achieved by fans of the Kansas City Chiefs (USA), at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, USA, on 29 September 2014.
150dB A jet taking off, if you’re standing about 25 metres away from it.
172dB A shot from a 0.357—calibre revolver.
Not only did it cause serious damage to the island, but the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 created the loudest sound ever reported at 180 dB. It was so loud it was heard 5,000 km away.
188dB Blue and fin whales emitting a sound underwater that can kill other marine creatures.
From Documentaries to Mockumentaries, Dramas, Comedies, and Musicals, we cannot deny that music and musicians make great topics for movies. Stories of our favourite stars working their way to the top, with often many a stumble on the way up, to inspirational looks into what makes music an important part of our lives!
How often have you gone out and bought a movie soundtrack or perhaps even waited for the credits to see who wrote the music. Music and sound play play a critical role and is often what binds a movie together. Violins creaking and screeching indicate murderers lurking behind a door, about to pounce on unsuspecting victims. Evocative music can carry a film, lead you through the story, and stay with you for days. We can look into history changing soundtracks such as Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” in another post, but today we have rounded up a list of 50 movies about music or musicians that you can add to your movie list.
An innovative and revolutionary animated classic from Walt Disney, combining Western classical music masterpieces with imaginative visuals, presented with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The eight animation sequences are colorful, impressive, free-flowing, abstract, and often surrealistic pieces. They include the most famous of all, Paul Dukas’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” with Mickey Mouse as the title character battling brooms carrying endless buckets of water. Also included are J.S. Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”; Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite”; dinosaurs and volcanoes in Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring”; the delightful “Dance of the Hours” by Ponchielli with dancing hippos, crocodiles, ostriches, and elephants; and Mussorgsky’s darkly apocalyptic “Night on Bald Mountain.” —Tim Dirks
Nicky and his friends find that their youth club is in danger of being flattened to make way for a new office block unless they can come up with £1500 to pay the new owner, the ruthless property tycoon Hamilton Black. To help raise the cash, Nicky records a song and his friends broadcast it via a pirate radio station, touting him as “The Mystery Singer” – the plan works and interest in their up and coming show is heightened by this new but unknown heart-throb. But Nicky has an even bigger secret and one that he cannot share, even with his girlfriend Toni. — Rhino
An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000. – Dan Hartung
Pink Floyd filmed playing live in an ampitheatre in Pompeii. Several tracks from ‘Meddle’ as well as earlier LPs are included. Also includes interviews and clips of the band working at Abbey Road studios on what would become their landmark ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ release. — Scott Butler
In Berlin in 1931, American cabaret singer Sally Bowles meets British academic Brian Roberts, who is finishing his university studies. Despite Brian’s confusion over his sexuality, the pair become lovers, but the arrival of the wealthy and decadent playboy Maximilian von Heune complicates matters for them both. This love triangle plays out against the rise of the Nazi party and the collapse of the Weimar Republic. — Jwelch5742
Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie is a television documentary film about the musician David Bowie, made by Alan Yentob for the BBC’s Omnibus strand. It was first shown on BBC1 on 26 January 1975. It was filmed in 1974 when Bowie was struggling with cocaine addiction, and the documentary has become notorious for showing his mental state during this period.
This film is an excellent biography of Woody Guthrie, one of America’s greatest folk singers. He left his dust-devastated Texas home in the 1930s to find work, and discovered the suffering and strength of America’s working class. – L.H. Wong
The musical career of rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly is chronicled, from the days when “Peggy Sue” was “Cindy Lou”, a song about his first girlfriend, to the meteoric run of “That’ll Be the Day” up the charts, to his marriage, breakup with the Crickets, reunion with the Crickets, and untimely death. – Jason A. Cormier
The Kids Are Alright is a 1979 rockumentary film about the English rock band the Who, including live performances, promotional films and interviews from 1964 to 1978. It notably features the band’s last performance with original drummer Keith Moon, filmed three months before his death at Shepperton Studios in May 1978. (wikipedia)
The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was insanely jealous of Mozart’s talent and claimed to have murdered him. Claiming to have murdered the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the elderly Antonio Salieri recounts to a priest his dealings with the brilliant composer. Salieri was court composer to Austrian Emperor Joseph II when Mozart and he first met. The Emperor, a major patron of the arts, immediately commissioned Mozart to write an opera in German, rather than the customary Italian. Mozart is childish, arrogant, annoying and brilliant all at once and Salieri is simultaneously in awe and green with envy at his genius. Salieri uses Mozart’s difficult relationship with his father and his guilt over being a bad son to drive him slightly mad and into a downward spiral of ill health, leading to his death. – garykmcd
The band Spinal Tap first appeared in a video aired as part of a 1979 sketch comedy special called “The TV Show”, a project spearheaded by Rob Reiner and Michael McKean. Following this the movie was released as a spoof of a heavy metal band tour. The story follows the British band “Spinal Tap”, known as the loudest band in England on their comeback tour of America. “Hilarious behind-the-scenes footage is combined with faux-concert clips to breathe life into the imaginary group.- Greg Bole”
Biopic of the famed saxophone player, Charlie “Bird” Parker. Addicted to drugs from a young age, Parker suffered the corresponding highs and lows. Supported by his loving wife Chan (Diane Venora), who resisted attempts to have him placed in a mental institution, he continued to play his new style of music, revolutionizing jazz. – garykmcd
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.
Also known as Safe Journey. The journey of the Romany people told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain.
Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim. – Jon Reeves
The true story of Selena Quintanilla-Perez, a Texas-born Tejano singer who rose from cult status to performing at the Astrodome, as well as having chart topping albums on the Latin music charts.—Jojo Mac
After the death of her father, Little Voice, or “LV”, becomes a virtual recluse, never going out, and hardly ever saying a word. She just sits in her bedroom listening to her father’s collection of old records of Dame Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe, and various other famous female singers. But at nighttime, LV sings, imitating these great singers with surprising accuracy. One night she is overheard by one of her mother’s boyfriends, who happens to be a talent agent. He manages to convince her that her talent is special and arranges for her to perform at the local nightclub, but several problems arise.—Lexicon – Perth, Western Australia
A high-school boy is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone Magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour. (IMDB)
Manchester 1976: Cambridge educated Tony Wilson, Granada TV presenter, is at a Sex Pistols gig. Totally inspired by this pivotal moment in music history, he and his friends set up a record label, Factory Records, signing first Joy Division (who go on to become New Order) then James and the Happy Mondays, who all become seminal artists of their time. What ensues is a tale of music, sex, drugs, larger-than-life characters, and the birth of one of the most famous dance clubs in the world, The Hacienda – a mecca for clubbers as famous as the likes of Studio 54. Graphically depicting the music and dance heritage of Manchester from the late 70’s to the early 90’s, this comedy documents the vibrancy that made Mad-chester the place in the world that you would most like to be. —IGB
A young rapper (EMINEM), struggling with every aspect of his life, wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.
After being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn his class into a rock band. A funny and rocking tale for the whole family that showcases Jack Black’s talents.
Mockumentary captures the reunion of 1960s folk trio the Folksmen as they prepare for a show at The Town Hall to memorialize a recently deceased concert promoter.
The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s. The movie won two Oscars.
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash‘s life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
The film charts Walker’s career in music, with a focus on his songwriting, and features exclusive footage of recording sessions for his most recent album, The Drift including a memorable sequence in which Walker oversees the recording of the punching of a joint of pork, for the percussion on the song Clara. Rock legend David Bowie, who often professes to have been inspired by Walker, acted as executive producer of the film. (wikipedia)
A stark black and white profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to commit suicide at the age of 23.
Biopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf’s life was filled with tragedy.
A coming-of-age biographical film about the 1970s teenage all-girl rock band The Runaways. The relationship between band members Cherie Currie and Joan Jett is also explored.
Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey – in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero – brings heartache and torment.
The life and times of the rock band Queen – told in two parts covering in part one the 1970’s and in part two the 1980’s and beyond. Archive footage and interviews with band members help to explain the history of the influential band.
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez. This film resulted in an Oscar win, and world wide fame for Sixto Rodriguez.
Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school’s all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition. A fun fuelled feel-good musical comedy for the whole family.
Follow a week in the life of a young folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles – some of them of his own making. – Production
A promising young drummer enrols at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realise a student’s potential.
In the 1960s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 1980s, he is a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist Dr. Eugene Landy.
Drama and reality combine in a fictitious 24 hours in the life of musician and international cultural icon Nick Cave. With startlingly frank insights and an intimate portrayal of the artistic process, the film examines what makes us who we are, and celebrates the transformative power of the creative spirit. – Pulse Films
The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood. Nominated for an Oscar.
Vox Lux follows the rise of Celeste from the ashes of a major national tragedy to pop super stardom. The film spans 18 years and traces important cultural moments through her eyes, starting in 1999 and concluding in 2017. Starring Natalie Portman, the film looks at the cult of celebrity and the media machine in all its guts, grit and glory. Features the music of Sia.
This intimate, in-depth look at Beyoncé’s celebrated 2018 Coachella performance reveals the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement.
So save or pin this list for future reference and add some compelling musical films to your repertoire. Perhaps you will learn something new and interesting about your favourite musician or your favourite genre of music!
Online learning, with live lessons, like those offered at Shine for many years, has recently grown in popularity due to the current world situation and the need to stay at home due to Covid-19. However this way of learning has great benefits, from the economic, to the flexibility and continuity of classes from anywhere in the world, even if you are not confined or sheltering in your home!
When we take classes from our homes it doesn’t matter what the weather is like outside or if traffic to get to our school is jam packed. Attending a class is as easy as switching on a button, sitting down with a cup of coffee or tea, and getting started with your teacher! Just sit back and enjoy a lesson from the comfort of home. Now there is no excuse for being lazy! And what a joy to laugh and smile with a familiar face while enjoying your favourite hobby!
The current disruptions of the Corona Virus don’t have to break your usual way of life, you can continue lessons unhindered with online classes. Being able to carry on with our normal routine means that our situation at home is more stable, which can help alleviate undue stress or anxiety. No complications, no hassle, just an internet connection, and you are ready to go, and this means that you can stay safe both physically and mentally!
Perhaps you are only discovering the benefits of online learning now, during the “shelter at home” movements, but Shine has been touting the benefits of online study for almost a decade. Ask any of our long-time online students; having the flexibility to continue lessons after a work transfer or move, mean that we can maintain our musical progress. A number of our students came to Barcelona to study an intensive course, and now continue their lessons from their homes, extending and advancing their studies. We continue to cultivate our teacher-student connection. No need to hunt for new teachers or lessons. Online lessons have just made our life easier!
Online classes can be more intensive and focused. Classes through platforms such as Skype, Zoom, among others, create a space of full attention. Without the distractions that may happen in a school environment, because of this students often see great and rapid advances in learning.
Distance means nothing! No matter what country in the world we live or where we move, we can continue taking classes with the teacher we like from anywhere. Classes are not only a source of knowledge for many students but also an enjoyable way to pass the time, and learning online means that you can continue with your hobby from anywhere with an internet connection. This allows a continuity that would not be possible in any other way. Many students take advantage of virtual classes so as not to lose any headway in their studies, when traveling for work or long vacations.
Further benefits to online study include better time management. Many people these days have busy schedules, filled with work requirements, or family life and extra-murals. We tend to rush about and often find little time to practice our instrument. With an online lesson, you don’t have to use your time to move from one place to another. Rather you can make time for practice or being well rested for your class. So much time and energy can be saved, and undoubtedly, the efficiency created by e-learning provides greater comfort and a better quality of life.
Economically speaking, money can be saved on transport, and perhaps these savings can be put towards buying a dreamt of instrument or indeed investing in further learning. Often online lessons are also cheaper for many people, as rates for classes are more competitive.
If you haven’t experienced music lessons online, now may be a good time to encourage yourself to try. Take advantage of the advances in technology to improve your quality of life, manage our own time, save money, and be able to continue with your favourite teacher from anywhere on the planet at any time of the year.
We invite you to try this wonderful experience of learning an instrument from the comfort of your home.
And who said music is also in quarantine? Not us, that’s for sure! The impossibility of visiting concert venues, clubs and cultural centers during confinement will not prevent you from running out of music with so many offers to recreate a concert from home, right in your living room, or even bedroom!
Since Covid-19 became a global pandemic earlier this year, we have had to learn to deal with avoiding interpersonal contact as much as possible and staying home so as not to expose ourselves and others to possible infections. How long will this confinement situation last? What will life be like later? These and many other questions do not yet have specific answers. But what is clear is that we are not alone in this. Music has also come into our lives to save us in difficult times like those we are experiencing. Music is there, always ready to calm us and remind us how lucky we are to have our favourite album to accompany us when we read a book, or have a cup of tea, or just sit and reflect from the balcony.
Perhaps this need to be connected via sound has made the various live music events on social networks so important for all kinds of audiences. And so, without further ado, we present below a summary of the best spaces that have garnered great attention online for their digital concerts:
#Amazon en casa Fest has emerged to raise funds to alleviate the situation of those affected by Covid-19 by organising concerts, with the support of its platforms Amazon Music and Prime Video. You can find the songs of the artists participating in this project in the “Family Music” playlist on Amazon Music, available free to Amazon customers. And if you want to participate in the donation project visit the website: www.amazon.es/cruzroja.
Together at home is another project where musicians give us their voices and talent through live performances from their social networks, such as Chris Martin singing hits from his band Coldplay, or Pink showing us how in addition to singing wonderfully she is learning to play the piano during quarantine. You can access all the performances from YouTube on Global Citizen.
Interactive concerts for the family, including the little ones, such as the Potato Omelette Band, every Thursday at 7pm through personal profiles on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
#YoMeQuedoenCasaFestival is a project launched by Warner Records since March that offers digital concerts by various artists. YoMeQuedoEnCasaFestival – Oficial
Cuarentena Fest, a kind of online appointment between artists and the public from home, which has a very varied program. Since March 16, they have begun to organise streaming performances scheduled between 21:00 and 22:00 in Spain. More than thirty artists come together from their homes to sing for life and hope. All you have to do to get access is connect to the artists YouTube channel or go directly to the concert schedule at: Cuarentena Fest. Instagram: #CuarentenaFestMX del 13 al 15 de abril
For Rock lovers the group Radiohead announced live performances from their YouTube channel. Their first performance on April 9 was with the Live From A Tent In Dublin concert (October 2000) with songs from the album Kid A, one of their most successful albums.
On April 18 you can enjoy the concert dedicated to the work of health personnel, called One World: #TogetherAtHome and sponsored by the World Health Organization and Global Citizen. This event will feature the participation of renowned international figures in today’s music industry, such as Lady Gaga, Elton John and Paul McCartney.
Live events producer Live Nation offers us the opportunity to access live concerts from home with the Live From Home prooject that contains a schedule of concerts by artists from around the world, where music, stories and more are also shared.
Conciertos en casa is another attractive option that works as an electronic music calendar for streaming. You just have to subscribe and you will get the concert program every day.
Jazz fans will have the opportunity to access free streaming performances from home via the Montreux Jazz Festival website. Just follow the instructions, enter a code and you will see everything that is available. Musical performances by Ray Charles, Wu-Tang Clan, Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Deep Purple, Carlos Santana, and many others are included.
As you can see, during quarantine you have no reason to get bored. Just connect to one of the above links and enjoy musical at home. Remember that keeping a positive mind and filling every moment of the day with good music will help you to pass this difficult stage; and you will see how in the end everything will be ok! Check out our article on how music can change your mood!
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Music is a universal language. All of us listen to music from different parts of the world. Without a doubt, music unites us. Many studies confirm that it is valuable for women to play music for their babies while they are pregnant, as the first sensory organ with intrauterine development is the ear. Truly, sound is our first connection with the outside world.
As music grabs our attention, it captivates and stimulates our imagination. We also associate our memories, without realising, with music. Have you noticed how certain songs remind you of events in your past, or how a happy tune from a happy memory can influence your mood? Music reduces stress, anxiety, even physical pain, and is capable of improving moods. Scientists claim that there is a direct link between music and our cardiovascular health.
When we play an instrument we further expand on all the benefits music provides: we improve our cognitive and language skills, we understand and work with patience and we develop our gross and fine motor skills. Through music we are continually learning and exercising our brains.
Playing an instrument furthers this brain activity, it helps us to be more methodical, with the ability to plan tasks and focus. It is a means of expression, by which we connect not only with our feelings but also with an empathetic exterior that helps us to take risks, overcome fears, giving us security and self-confidence. It gives us the opportunity to work as a team, whether in an orchestra or in a group, thus improving our practice, discipline and our hearing.
Children experiment with sounds and noise all the time, shouting with joy and expressing themselves loudly just for fun. Perhaps they are not aware of certain melodies when they are younger, but as they grow older they begin to show more attraction and interest in music. It is important that we give them the space to experiment with music, without forcing them, when they begin to be more sensitive to music. This can be done from home, or with the guidance of experienced music teachers working with children.
Learning and studying music has untold benefits, not just for children but for adults too. Learning a new skill helps us to grow our potential, so why not have fun, learn, and channel your emotions through music.
It is a beautiful road that you will never want to leave!
Learn more about how our brains are affected by music here. And how you can keep your brain young! And discover more on the “Mozart effect”, where studying and learning music, has improved students skills in mathematics, and other subjects!
