Music during television programmes

There hardly seems to be a cookery programme on now that doesn't have intrusive,annoying music playing.The same for many documentaries.I find it utterly frustrating. If anyone from the media and TV production ever looks at forums like GN please take note !

I'm so glad we're not the only ones thinking this about the music. When I started this thread, I mentioned Bake Off and Warship as two that we found particularly annoying. This week watching episode 5 of Warship there was hardly any music over people talking and it was lovely, we really enjoyed it as could hear clearly everything they had to say. A real breath of fresh air!

I can nolonger go to the cinema or the theatre without wearing earplugs. For heavens sake why is it so necessary to have the sound so loud.
Last night watching WolfHall at one point there was a continuous loud sound that sounded like someone hitting a metal post with a hammer, horrid. I also find so many dramas seem to be filmed in semi darkness so that, as I have poor vision, I have no idea what is happening. It may be ‘arty’ but no fun if you cannot follow the plot.

What I find annoying is the loud music on films & dramas, over the dialogue. I have to keep asking my husband, what did he/she say? Then he gets annoyed at me. I do put subs on, then I am too busy reading those, btw I have good hearing.
Other bug bear! Is when adverts come on, they are super loud! So much so, we a scrapping around for the remote to turn the sound down.

Try setting tv sound to ‘clear voice’ ! To stop the background music annoyance !

Try setting sound to ‘clear voice’ to stop the annoying music in the background

When the children were young the music often indicated what was about to happen and they would say “bad music” and be waiting for it.

But they still had wisteria repeatedly in view, nanna8.

I'm not sure if you already know this but there are sound bars that you can buy which can enhance diction/the spoken word?

My mother-in-law has a new TV (yesterday) that has an enhance diction setting (not sure it was called that!) - she's going to try it for a week or so. If it's not enough she will buy a soundbar.
The TVs own setting seemed excellent to me.

Reading this thread has made me think about it and I can’t say I’ve ever noticed intrusive music, never use subtitles either, perhaps I have odd ears.

That's why I like walter Presents.. I can just turn the sound off and watch the sub titles.. I can't bear background music on documentaries.. so superfluous

We always have the subtitles on nowadays.

Sometimes though the music is beautiful ( gone fishing with Mortimer and Whitehouse). Although when you hear the whole track you find they have chosen the best bit.

Is this not the ageing process starting to kick in?

I recall when younger that if you were in a music venue,
you could hold a conversation and still have the ability to
erase the music that was being played.

Another agreement from me. Especially when it is inappropriate. I did like the music in Wolf Hall, though, because it was actually Elizabethan. What a good series, the best.

My pet hate is historical series that have modern records and music playing during and in between episodes under the guise of "updating" them. If Im watching something about Catherine the Great or Louis XIV I dont want to hear pop records coming up. I find it really pretentious and trivialising.

Yes, same here, music is totally unnecessary most of the time and far too loud. Subtitles on most of the time and I have good hearing, but most actors now seem to mumble.

Don't get me started on mumbling, suddenly it sounds like everyone has a sore throat and it's impossible to understand a word and add in the music,! I often put the subtitles on but it's hard to read and watch.

I have to put my fingers in my ears at the final blast on the intro to The One Show Very painful.
I once complained about the loud background sound. (is it really music?) I was told you can go into settings on the tv and adjust the sound for speech. I will have to ask a GS.

Why is the “background “ music always louder than the dialogue? I’m watching The Mirror and the Light on iPlayer with one finger on the volume control to shut down the howling high voice which keeps interrupting.

Tbere shoul be a music free option - especially with modern technology I'm sure that would be easy ?

It drives me crazy, music, drumming, piano playing. I want to listen to the programme not boom, boom. Really annoys me and don't understand why it is put on.

Totally agree

I totally agree. It would be interesting to hear from a spokesperson of these companies as to why they do it.

It’s awful,I think they teach that at Film School as it has jumped into everything,same as when they had the faze of everyone walking backwards on travel shows.

I constantly complain to OH about loud background music.
Documentaries especially are irritatingly noisy with loud xylophone music which is sometime so loud that it pierces my eardrum.
I would love to know who to complain to about this.
Is it the TV. companies, also which department?