bvdd Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 I just came back from Mohegan Sun, a gambling casino in Connecticut. (I dont gamble .. just enjoy the food, drinks, shops, etc.) So I notice throughout the casino areas theres loud synth track playing in the house sound system. No melody, no rhythm, just a single never-ending drone. It sounded like some New Age music Ive heard before. I focused harder and quickly realized it was a C triad. The E note was the weakest with the G being noticeably louder. The root note C was dominant and was in at least several octaves. The timbre of the sound was smooth and easy like a warm pad patch but there was also a definite edge that cut through. Now it gets better. The slot machines were ALL ringing and jingling in that same C chord. I say ALL because I purposely walked around each row listening for any note other C-E-G. Never heard one. Now, obviously this is an intentional attempt to enhance gambling in some way. (I did a Google search on it but struck out) The question is why C ? I know that C corresponds to the root chakra and the color red. The root chakra deals with grounding and survival fight or flight. This implies that casinos chose this music to give people a sense of security and counter their fear of losing money. And there certainly was enough of the color RED around to help out. If this is accurate its an absolutely BRILLIANT strategy. And where else is this idea being implemented? Weve all heard about subliminal messages before, but my hat goes off to the guy who thought this up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 I thought you were going to say something along the lines of "they kept playing things lllllllllike ABBA - 'Take A Chance on me...' or Steve Winwood 'While you see a chance, take it...' I'd never heard the stuff about the key of C you were mentioning, nor have I ever noticed that (slots and BG music "key coordinated") in any casino I've ever been in - So CA Native American casinos or Vegas casinos... but I admittedly don't spend much time in casinos. Next time I find myself in one though, I'll definitely remember your post and see what I notice. Interesting stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTRBass Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Congrats. You figured out something that's sort of a trade secret. I have a cousin who works in Las Vegas in the gaming industry, and is fairly knowledgeable about this. They've based the "gambling environment" for the last 20 years or so on psychological data collected regrading what impacts the part of the human brain controlling "impulse". The point is to create almost a trance-like (alpha) state. I don't know all the details, but the environment is supposed to be balanced as equal parts relaxing, and exhilarating. The background color red, additional flashing lights, the polyrythmic noise of the machines along with the coin drop sounds, and a monotonal drone (the C chord) are all factors in alpha wave generation. The rave scene figured this out in the '90's and built upon it. Check out the documentary "Better living through Circuitry". They spend quite a bit of time on the subject. Is it "brainwashing"? Sure sounds like it. Is it illegal? No, it's entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvdd Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 Originally posted by GTRBass: Congrats. You figured out something that's sort of a trade secret. I have a cousin who works in Las Vegas in the gaming industry, and is fairly knowledgeable about this. I don't know all the details, but the environment is supposed to be balanced as equal parts relaxing, and exhilarating. The background color red, additional flashing lights, the polyrythmic noise of the machines along with the coin drop sounds, and a monotonal drone (the C chord) are all factors in alpha wave generation. You're right on target. My wife and I were puzzled why we both felt strangely lethargic yet anxious at the same time. Not being gamblers, the trick still worked on us apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ani Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 It's strange to see this thread and it's content. When I took my sister to the Isle of Capri casino for our dreadful Christmas Dinner, the restuarant set on a balcony overlooking the gaming area. I did not pick up on the absolute of the triad, but felt the music to be hauntingly monotonous. As we finished our dinner, we stepped over to the rail and viewed the area. I noticed a HUGE unique statue with red glowing eyes that were sychronized with some sort of action... I can't remember exactly what it was, but it gave me such bad vibes that I told my sister there were subliminal messages being sent to the patrons of the casino through both the music and the timing of the red lights. I pointed out the pattern of the music to her and the timing of the statues' eyes along with whatever it was I found haunting. She wanted to stay a play a few slots, but I told her that I wanted to get the HELL out of there; I was driving so I got my way . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvdd Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 Originally posted by Philip O'Keefe: I'd never heard the stuff about the key of C you were mentioning, nor have I ever noticed that (slots and BG music "key coordinated") in any casino I've ever been in - So CA Native American casinos or Vegas casinos... but I admittedly don't spend much time in casinos. Next time I find myself in one though, I'll definitely remember your post and see what I notice. Interesting stuff. Phil, Healing with sound is an ancient science from the East. Basically the idea is that each human chakra has an associated musical note and color. When the body is 'out of balance', the energy centers (chakras) can be re-aligned by using their corresponding colors and notes. Each color and note is said to be the same entity at a higher vibration. For example the color red is simply a much higher vibration of the note C ... which in turn is a much higher vibration of it's lower form, the metal iron. And so on. Very cool stuff indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTRBass Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Here's a great example of the power of a C triad, along with trance rythyms: Terry Riley's "in C" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mats Olsson. Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Note to self: bring earplugs to the casino next time... /Mats http://www.lexam.net/peter/carnut/man.gif What do we want? Procrastination! When do we want it? Later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Yeah...I've heard it a lot. I've been to all the casinos here...and the drone does affect me. It doesn't make me want to gamble, though, it makes me want to EAT. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ani Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Makes me want to leave. I've only been to the casinos for gambling 3 times, and that was 3 times too many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robman2 Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Ted, All gameing uses the C key. It's the basic tonal root in music. It's comfortable, and as an aside... Also, that casino, was designed with an air evacuation system, that completly circulates the entire airmass, every six minutes, hence ther is little cigarette oder... Gino Mulcahy, the tech at that venue has a very cool story about the ESPN truck guys, and how they came in to ask what he'd done to "Larrys" mic, because it was 6db hotter than usual. Gino showed them the Zaolla cable and smiled. Cheers, Rob Label on the reverb, inside 1973 Ampeg G-212: "Folded Line Reverberation Unit" Manufactured by beautiful girls in Milton WIS. under controlled atmosphere conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoeditor1 Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Originally posted by Robman2: ... Also, that casino, was designed with an air evacuation system, that completly circulates the entire airmass, every six minutes, hence ther is little cigarette oder...What casino? ...Gino Mulcahy, the tech at that venue has a very cool story about the ESPN truck guys, and how they came in to ask what he'd done to "Larrys" mic, because it was 6db hotter than usual. Gino showed them the Zaolla cable and smiled. Cheers, RobWhich venue? I've done maybe 10-12 shows in casinos in the past 4 years, Mohegan Sin included. It's a hell of a place. The employee's cafeteria is my favorite spot there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Geezer Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 SLIGHTLY OT: That reminds me of a documentary i saw a while back (discovery, i think) I belive it was the building of the LUXOR. Interesting design feature is that ALL of the floors are just so slightly angled towards <---you guessed it--> the Casino Room. They actually placed a marble on the floor at various spots, and it started rolling by itself. Lynn G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitefang Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 I was in the Luxor once, and didn't notice any of that. I know casinos use several different psyc methods to their advantage; slot trays that are noisier than they could be, ugly carpeting to keep your eyes on the tables and slots, "comps" like "free meals" after you drop a couple of grand or so and the like. But, me and my wife go at least once a month to Casino Windsor(Ontario), and they simply play piped in top 40 stuff. Nothing you wouldn't ordinarily hear on many radio stations. Same with the other Detroit casinos. We went to Vegas a couple of times and noticed they all were playing tamer fare, but not once did we hear the triad drone you mention. Sounds annoying. Would have left the place if we did. Both of us have worked at K-Mart some years back(albeit different stores), so we each know how to "tune out" any background muzak! Whitefang I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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