Infrasonic - haunted music?
This highly unusual, mass-participation experiment explored the strange psychological effects of infrasound - sensations that may explain why people feel a sense of awe during cathedral organ recitals or a sense of unease in seemingly haunted sites. Venue: Purcell Room, London, May 2002.
Hear some original music, composed for the experiment. Photo: Crown Copyright
Infrasonic (aka Soundless Music) was a carefully controlled psychological experiment that took the form of two back-to-back concerts. These concerts were unusual because some of the music in them was laced with infrasound – extreme bass sound (below 20Hz in frequency).I initiated and led this project which was awarded funding from the SciArt Consortium. Out experiment attracted worldwide media interest and has inspired many other artists and scientists to delve into the murky world of extreme bass sound.
Setting up a dry-run of the experiment. This open rehearsal took place at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Photo: Dan Simmons, NPL
To explore the curious world of infrasound, I put together a team of experimental psychologists, acoustic consultants, composers, a visual artist and a pianist. Our aim was put some claims about infrasound and put them to the test. Of particular interest were its reputed emotional effects. Infrasound is used in sacred music, for instance during cathedral organ recitals, and there is debate about why it’s used. Some people say it adds a sense of awe to the music - it puts a shiver down your spine. Others say that giant infrasonic organ pipes are nothing more than 'an expensive way to make a draught'. Stranger still, infrasound has also been detected at some ostensibly haunted sites (see Vic Tandy, 1998) where it may also be making people feel very uneasy.
According to Tandy, even when infrasound comes from a mundane source, such as a faulty ceiling fan, it can give people such strange sensations, it might lead them to think they’ve been haunted. This was enough information to encourage us all to unleash infrasound on an audience.