Julian Treasure's Study on How Sound Affects Us

Something interesting I came across this week was a TED speech given by Julian Treasure entitled, "The 4 Ways Sound Affects Us." Currently studying business storytelling and brands, I was greatly surprised to find this talk that truly tied in my interest of music with business branding. Julian makes an effort to describe to the audience how any sound affects us and how branders should use that information if they're making a commercial tone.

Julian Treasure has studied the different ways we hear and comprehend music and has broken it down into 4 major parts. By providing auditory examples throughout his speech, he explains how you hear the music and respond to it either physiologically, psychologically, cognitively, and behaviorally. By studying these responses, marketers and brand builders can use this information to work backward if they plan to make a commercial tone for their business. Treasure used the example of the Nokia tone. Almost everybody knows that tone and immediately thinks of Nokia. This company has done a superb job in building that association in the minds of the people. Branders should think backwards and ask themselves, "what emotion do we want to evoke in the consumer's mind?" Doing this will end in a, hopefully, successful tone. Pretty soon, as soon as someone hears that tone, they'll think of your business! This is great for broadcast ads and internet marketing.

I've stated a few times within my blog and in many discussions where I've had to describe the duties of music editors and supervisors, as well as my passion for music, how much music means to everybody and in so many different genres. It's amazing to me how many different emotions music can evoke and in how many ways. Music is tied to memories and experiences, as well. This is why you can sometimes offend someone by saying, "You actually LIKE that song?!" …and why I refrain from doing so. As a music lover, I always keep an open ear out and respect all forms of music. Different things mean great things to different people, it's a very personal experience to listen as we interpret things differently.

It is a music editor and supervisor's responsibility to properly select the right music or sound effect to evoke a certain emotion at the right time. Maybe you're looking for a build up in suspense. In that case, you need to place the music before the impact scene. Maybe a couple reunites for the first time after years of the husband being at war and an orchestra enters just upon meeting up. The right choice of song and style means everything to a scene, even subconsciously. Julian spoke about how waves and bird chirping are seen as calming sounds. These are things you don't even think about when watching a film, but the music editor and supervisors consciously think about all the time to make you feel something and make the scene believable.


Treasure's speech has done nothing but aid my understanding of how sound can affect people. This information will prove nothing but beneficial as I continue in my audio post-production career. I plan to share his speech with others in hopes they, too will learn about how everybody responds to all different kinds of sounds. I highly recommend you watch his TED speech. Even if you're not going into the post field or anything entertainment-based, I bet you'll find what he has to say informative, relatable, and interesting.