MUSI3041 Assignment#1 —— Su Yifan

On September 15th, I went to the largest musical instrument store in Asia, Tom Lee music. On my way to the store, I passed by many stores alongside the pedestrian streets; most of them have programmed music, but they are all different and causal. I think the employees' taste is the primary consideration for programmed music in small stores because they have to stay much longer than customers. Besides, employers rarely specify music types, but the style of the music will not be far from the stores anyway. Furthermore, the feelings of salespeople are essential, which determine the service attitude and therefore influence sales.

1. Clothing Shop

The first store I walked into was a fashion women's clothing shop. Foreground music at this store was western pop music and electronic music, which are energetic, dynamic, and finger-popping with a strong drum beat. The music was played by speakers hanging over and covering the ceiling, and the volume was so high that I could barely hear what the salesman said. When I shopped in the store, my heart beat fast to the rhythm of the music. I felt like buying things because of my pleasant mood.

2. Electronic Store

An electronics store lay beside the clothing shop, and the music environment felt totally different. The foreground music was old Cantonese ballads, which gave the store a strong sense of Hong Kong, especially since it was located on an old pedestrian street. I think this store plays Cantonese songs because the owner is a Hong Kong person in his 50s, whose musical aesthetic is more traditional and nostalgic. Notably, the music came out of a bluetooth speaker for sale. Therefore, this store's foreground music had two functions: 1. Create a comfortable shopping environment, 2. Demonstrate the quality of the speakers and encourage people to purchase.

3. Tom Lee Music

After visiting these two shops, my friend and I finally arrived at Tom Lee Music. The first floor was the drums section, with a TV in the middle. The screen showed a concert, and the scene focused on the drummer. The music and the video caught my attention. Sitting in front of the drums and watching the video, I felt like I was on the stage performing as he did. I think this way of playing programmed music kept customers staying here longer, and the longer they stay, the more possibility they will consume.

4.K11

Then we headed to K11. The background music was mainly country music, and the volume was relatively low; therefore, people would not be interrupted when talking. I consider it reasonable to lower the volume in big malls. This is because people have to stay here longer than in small stores, and sometimes even have to do something else except enjoy shopping. Although the music was not as inspiring as the clothing shop’s since the low volume, it still created a joyful shopping environment and motivated people to go window-shopping. Music does move people. I agree that in large-scale malls like K11, music becomes a form of architecture because in some stores in this mall, the music style was still pop music or light music, separating the space into many different parts.

5. Underground Passage

When we left K11 and walked to the underground, the background music played in the underground passage was utterly different from above. It was a grand symphony. Because the path led to underground, the flow of people was very dense, and people were all in a rush. The symphony and the loud human voice produced a unique sense of dissonance. And the farther we left K11, the sound of the symphony faded. People were reminded that they were leaving a magnificent mall and jumping into the crowd.