This is one of the most amazing videos I’ve ever seen. Those of you with babies (hint, hint, hint, and lord forgive me if I forgot anyone else’s child) might want to take note.
I apologize that the video is entirely in Japanese, with no subtitles.
Basically, this is a television show called Tantei Knight Scoop that documents strange and interesting people/places/things that their viewers often send in. In this episode, a mother of a child who fusses a lot writes in to say that a popular television commercial by Takemoto Piano has a strangely and instantaneously soothing effect on her son and his friends (this effect is in fact documented on the company’s website, and during the clip the man in the commercials says that people call in all the time asking when it will be on the air!). I think you can basically understand it from there. At the end of the show, the host concludes that the tonal range of the commercial is probably soothing to babies, at around 440 Hz.
……….
Here are both commercials that reportedly make babies stop crying, rolled into a single clip:
Let me know if they really work or not!
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UPDATE 2007/03/21: Once again, Takemoto’s tranquility effect transcends borders!
Raising a family in Thailand // Documenting Issan food, culture, music, and people
I don’t know about babies, but I stopped crying right away.
Kevin
Hm, I played the ad thing several times and Yannick went quiet immediately. He wasn’t crying beforehand but he was making unhappy sounds. Does that qualify? 🙂
That totally counts! Thanks for experimenting with your precious offspring!
A big resounding no. And I so wanted it to work 🙁
Got to love the commercial though. Pure genius!
It doesn’t work on Molly’s babies. Maybe because all 7 are so young.
Or maybe because they’re puppies. Wish I had this commercial when you were a baby, because it would have been a life saver!
Justin,
I have not been able to get those damn tunes out of my head for TWO DAYS. What have you DONE to me?
Kevin
It REALLY WAS meant for babies, Kev.
Seven months on and Yannick (now 11 months old) is still listening more intently to this music than any other. I’ve got it mixed in with a bunch of chidrens’ songs, so it’s been played quite often. The amazing thing is that the other day he especially came over to the PC to look at the video – it’s the only tune that has pictures with it, and he obviously remembered that.
It made me start crying.