Recently in The Science of Audio Books Category

Butterfly Ball, The Point: Inspirational Audiobooks

By
Sound Adventures
on July 12, 2009 8:33 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
I'm often being asked about what albums, radio shows and audiobooks were the inspiration for Rockford's Rock Opera.  There are free downloads of Douglas Adam's 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy', Nilssen's 'The Point' and Roger Glover's 'Butterfly Ball' available if you look to some of the web's more murky audio download sites, however, if you like Rockford's Rock Opera I recommend you buy these works from a reputable supplier, listen and enjoy...

... just as I did...

A bit of detail: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is, of course, a classic sci-fi audiobook produced by the BBC based on Dougles Adam's scripts. The Butterfly Ball was written by ex Deep Purple bass player, Roger Glover, and is wonderful selection of story songs inspired by the pictures of artist Alan Aldrich (who also did many pictures of the Beatles songs). The Point! by Harry Nilssen is less well known but is a wonderful hippy story, narrated by the author about a boy called Oblio and his dog, Arrow.

I also have to mention Jeff Wayne's 'War of the Worlds' which I listened to constantly for about a year. There have been lots of other albums of course, including Sgt Pepper and Ogden's Nutgone Flake by the Small Faces, plus The Jungle Book that I've spent many a happy hour with. And I suppose they've all inspired our own aventure in sound, Rockford's Rock Opera. Take a listen - free - and see what you think!

Audiobooks from the BBC

By
Sound Adventures
on April 15, 2009 8:35 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

The BBC recently announced that over 1,000,000 audiobooks had now been downloaded from its website.

The top five most downloaded audiobook titles were Blackadder Goes Forth, The Mighty Boosh, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (great book which we've used a lot in the creation of Rockford's Rock Opera), The Adventure of English: The Biography of English by Melvyn Bragg and The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (not great!).

A BBC spokesperson said, and I quote:

"Sales of audio downloads in the USA are already big news but as with many trends that start in the States we are starting to notice the trend moving over here - as evidenced by our surpassing a million download sales for the first time. We currently sell approximately three and a half times more downloads to US customers but following such a strong year in 08/09 we expect this gap to close in 09/10."

So it's all good news for the lovers of audiobooks... and Rockford's Rock Opera! 

Audiobooks for Tinnitus Sufferers

By
Sound Adventures
on February 2, 2009 5:07 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
This is how I use audiobooks to 'cure' Tinnitus.

As a musician of many years standing, I suffer from Tinnitus - for anyone who doesn't know what that is - it's a permanent ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is caused (mostly) by exposure to loud sound (in my case, far too much loud recording through headphones). If you've ever gone to a loud gig you'll have experienced it yourself, normally when you get home and go to bed and you find your ears are buzzing with abuse. Well, that's just what Tinnitus sounds like but, unlike the the ringing you'll experience after a gig, Tinnitus never goes away. It's with you, always. Morning, noon and night.

It many sound horrible and I suppose it is (Tinnitus is caused by the death of tiny hairs in your inner ear) but, Tinnitus is something, with the right techniques, you can learn to live with.

Firstly, it's terribly important to say that the degree to which Tinnitus affects the sufferer is largely dependent on their state of mind. I certainly don't mean by this that's it's all in the mind. It's not. It's in your head. BUT, depending on how stressed you are does directly effect the extent to which you are aware of, and bothered by, your Tinnitus.

In other words, when I'm relaxed and unstressed I hardly notice it. When I'm tired or fed up it's REALLY LOUD. So, Lesson One. Don't get stressed!!! Easy to say I know!

Next, certain foods certainly make it worse. High protein foods are worse. For me, Cheese guarantees I'll notice my Tinnitus getting louder!

And finally, and most importantly, for this blog. The time when Tinnitus is most noticeable and, perhaps, most irritating is at night. Of course, it's quiet and you're trying to get to sleep so you notice it more. As a result you can't sleep. As a result, you get more stressed. As result the ringing seems louder... and a sleepless vicious cycle is created.

Many Tinnutus help groups suggest listening to music (or even white noise) to reduce the impact of the ringing. For myself, I love audiobooks - just the right mix of sound, brain stimulation and comfort. I often listen to the same audio stories time after time so they become old friends.

I really would recommend Tinnitus sufferers try listening to audio books - A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson is my favourite plus, of course, the brilliant Rockford's Rock Opera audio book! :)

And, before you say, 'that's all very well, but what happens if your lucky enough to have a partner', what will they do?! Well, in my case, I do, and she finds the soothing influence of a great audio story before sleep is just what she needs to wipe away the stress of the day and to launch her into restful sleep. Try it.

So. If you have Tinnitus. Fear not: 

1. Less Stress
2. Less Cheese
3. More audio books (especially Rockford's Rock Opera)

And you'll be OK.

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