The Sonic Art of Radio: Voice, Music, and Silence

The Sensuality of Radio

A large majority of people listen to the radio just for the music. The human ear is naturally musical, and the spoken word is expressive in its melody. All human beings are captivated by music. The musical atmosphere plays a primary role, providing an artistic and beautiful framework. Music is sensual and delights all the senses. Consequently, music is the primary companion in radio programming. However, the sensuality of radio's language is not confined to music alone.

Some experts claim that sound effects have gone out of fashion. What is truly needed is time for the broadcaster's imagination to speak to the receiver's imagination. It's about dramatizing the programming. By incorporating sound effects into our production, we can overcome the myth of the silent, sterile studio—that vacuum chamber where the speaker is often enclosed. This isolated approach is unfashionable, especially for live programs that thrive on audience participation.

Too often, even those well-studied in communication science or journalism are ineffective in front of a microphone. Conversely, many of the best communicators at our stations have never formally studied communication.

The Three Voices of Radio

The seduction of radio is achieved by exploiting all its sonic possibilities through an original combination of its three core voices:

• The human voice, expressed in words.
• The voice of nature and the environment, known as sound effects.
• The voice of the heart and feelings, expressed through music.

Sound effects are used to describe rooms, paint landscapes, and set the scenery for a story. They speak directly to the listener's imagination. Music, the most emotional language, is used to create an emotional climate and warm the heart, speaking primarily to the listener's feelings. The human voice is the most transparent of the three. Among the voices of radio language, the spoken word is what most addresses the listener's reason. It is the generator of ideas. Human speech is the principal carrier of the message and its meaning. It stars in the broadcast, while the other two elements reinforce and emphasize it.

The Power of Silence

In radio, a sudden, unintended silence is known as dead air. These gaps are dangerous voids in communication. A deliberate pause, however, is loaded with meaning. A pause is a tool used to take time, to highlight a phrase or a situation. All emotions are intensified by appropriate pauses that follow or precede them. These calculated silences belong to the rhythm of the broadcast. The different types of silences function like the punctuation system in written language—like commas and periods. Ultimately, silence reinforces what is said.