Music in the Restaurant

Music has turned out to be a very essential factor in a restaurant soundscape, the volume of music played determines how the customers perceive and behave in the restaurant. Music in a restaurant is meant to enhance mood and motivate customers to eat peacefully whilst relaxing and also encourage them to come back another day. Thus, restaurants have a duty to deploy a music volumes that delivers and suites every diner. This document compares music volumes in two types of restaurants that I visited in order to compare the effects of music on the restaurant.

In the first restaurant, the music being played was of medium volume. The music made the restaurant ‘smell’ nice; the music introduced a certain scent since the diners enjoyed being there. The tone maintained a cool and relaxed environment for the diners (Burton 5). The food was made sweeter by the music since the low tone beats encouraged the clients to sit and eat more. The clients seemed to want to stay more in the restaurant and order another plate or a drink. In the second restaurant though playing the same type of music, it was played in a loud tone and this distracted the dinners. The music made the place have an unpleasant feeling; the music did injustice to the good food being offered (ROHRMANN 12). The food did not stimulate the customers since the dinners seemed to be uncomfortable; they kept looking around to see if someone could reduce the tone of the music. The customers in this restaurant seemed to eat quickly and leave and the client numbers were low compared to the first restaurant.

In the first restaurant, there other were audible sounds such as the sounds of the discussions amongst the diners, the sounds of clients calling the waiters including other sounds. The volume of the music did not distract the dinners’ conversations. It made it comfortable to speak to each other without fear that the conversation is being over heard (ROHRMANN 5). The other sounds interacted perfectly with the music since no one in the area was forced to shout in order to pass a message or during discussions. In the second restaurant, however, no other sounds were audible. The loud music forced clients to speak loudly to each other whilst others preferred to eat quietly and then converse later outside the restaurant. For the clients who attempted to converse, their conversations were overheard by other people besides them creating a sense of non-privacy  (Houge 7). No other sound interacted with the music, it was impossible to even call the waiter. A client had to signal or wave the waiter in order to get their attention.

In the first restaurant, the diners interacted with the soundscape in a perfect way since the serene setting provided by the music encouraged diners to converse more and have more food and wine. The smiles in their faces and delight shown even while ordering food was evident, the music stimulated their smiles. The conversations, thoughts, emotions and mood of the diners in the restaurant were driven by their sense of interaction with the tone of the music. The diners engaged in lengthy and intimate conversations since the music allowed them to do so.  The employees in addition easily attended to the customers since it was easy to converse between each other  (ROHRMANN 10) . The music volume enabled a client to easily call out a waiter request food/wine or ask for assistance of any other nature. This showed how easily the individuals in the restaurant interacted with the soundscape. In the second restaurant, the diners repelled the soundscape: they would even have opted for no music at all instead of the loud music. This is because the soundscape comprised of a noisy and an uncomfortable environment. The fact some of them consumed their food without speaking could tell it all. Additional evidence that indicated that the diners did not interact with the music was the fact that some could not finish whatever they were eating. This is because the music robbed of their appetite, mood and positive emotion (Burton 5). The diners could not engage in any intimate conversations since the music forced them to shout. Those who opted to converse strained to do so and could not speak for very long. The music also impacted on the employees negatively, since the diners complained a lot about being unheard. This gave the employees a hard time in carrying out their duties. The staff seemed to strain as much as the diners did, the loud music really presented a disadvantage towards the restaurant.

In the first restaurant, their tendency to play music at acceptable volumes has earned it popularity: the number of individuals in the restaurant evidences this. In fact, some of the incoming diners lacked space to take their meal.  Since people go out for the food as much as for conversation, they in their large numbers crowded this restaurant (Burton 5). This setting enabled diners to engage in private conversations that called for a serene environment. The number of people who seemed to be carrying out business deals or romantic meetings preferred this restaurant (Houge 7). In the second restaurant, the loud music culture has made it an unpopular destination for diners. Most of the diners who visit that place seemed to have visited it for the first time. The loud music discouraged people who required a serene environment, which is conversation friendly. The reduced number of diners in addition to big number of unoccupied seats was a clear an indication that it was infamous destination. The kind of identity created by this loud music is damaging to its business aspirations.

In the first restaurant, I felt that the music really motivated me stay longer. The music medium volume additionally prolonged the time I had allocated in studying the restaurant. The other people in the restaurant seemed to share a similar opinion. In the second restaurant, the loud music matched the one played in clubs; this really created an unfavorable setting for a restaurant. It reduced the amount of time the other diners and I stayed in the restaurant. 

In conclusion, music in restaurants is a factor that makes diners relax after a long day of work or during a romantic meeting or any other moment. Loud music discourages the activities in the restaurants since it renders it inhabitable and unfavorable for having discussions without having to shout or strain to speak. This is as shown in the two restaurants that both played loud and medium volume music. The results are quite clear that loud music in a restaurant is damaging.

Works Cited

Burton, Neel. “On Music in Restaurants | Psychology Today.” Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. 2014, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201407/music-in-restaurants>.

Houge, Ben. “Food Opera:Transforming the Restaurant Soundscape.” Invisible Places. Sounding Cities. Viseu, Portugal. N.p., 2014. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. <http://invisibleplaces.org/pdf/ip2014-houge.pdf>.

ROHRMANN, Bernd. “Soundscapes in restaurants.” afae. N.p., 2003. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. <http://www.acousticecologyaustralia.org/symposium2003/proceedings/papers/bRohrmann.pdf>.