Tom Service explores the variety of music based on a drone. Read more
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Drones
Tom Service explores the variety of music based on a drone.
Extreme Voices
Tom Service discovers some of the most extreme vocals in music.
The Proms Podcast Episode II - A New Episode
While The Listening Service takes a break, why not try this episode of The Proms Podcast?
Musical Protests
At The 91热爆 Proms, The Listening Service discusses the music of revolution and protest.
Codes, Ciphers, Enigmas
Tom Service delves into codes, ciphers and hidden messages in music.
Music for Mourning
Tom Service asks why music has always been an essential part of mourning.
Why is opera so ridiculous?
Tom Service considers opera - capable of great profundity, why is it also ridiculous?
Silence!
Tom Service ponders silence as an integral part of music, from Haydn to James Blake.
Earworms
Tom Service finds the maddening musical secrets behind earworms with guest Jarvis Cocker.
Can Music Scare Us?
Tom Service discovers the darker side of music. With Halloween director John Carpenter.
Shostakovich's Symphony No 15
Tom Service unlocks the mysteries of Shostakovich's baffling Symphony No 15.
The Synthesizer. Hannah Peel, Peter Zinovieff
Tom Service investigates the rise of the synthesizer, now a common musical instrument.
Pranked!
Tom Service on the motivation and aesthetic value of musical hoaxes.
Bad Music
Everyone loves good music but when is music bad? Tom Service brings out the worst!
Mahler
Tom Service discovers how Mahler was the first 'non-classical' classical composer.
The Joy of Bach
Tom Service celebrates The Joy of Bach.
Style Counsel
Tom Service dispenses music history style counsel - how to tell what you're listening to.
Bartok
Tom Service explores the unique music of Bela Bartok, including his piano music.
From the New World?
Tom Service examines Dvorak's 'New World' Symphony.
I guess that's why they call it the Blues
Tom Service discovers 'the Blues', from its earliest origins to its widest influence.
Sonata Form - or There and Back Again
In this edition of The Listening Service, Tom Service tells stories in sonata form.
Debussy the Impressionist?
Tom Service considers whether Claude Debussy was an impressionist or not.
The French Horn Unwound
Tom Service on the enduring appeal of the 12-foot metal tube that is the French horn.
The Listening Service at Free Thinking
Tom Service explores the idea of polyphony live at the Free Thinking Festival.
Searching for Paradise
The Listening Service joins the 91热爆's Civilisations season to sound the divine in music.
Orientalism and the Music of Elsewhere
Tom Service unpicks western music's debt to the exotic, from Mozart to Ligeti and beyond.
Drums
Tom Service considers drums - ancient instruments, yet capable of great sophistication.
Is Music a Universal Language?
Tom Service asks whether music really is a universal language.
How does video game music work?
Tom Service looks to discover the secrets behind our favourite video game music.
The Sea
Tom Service explores why and how the sea captures the imaginations of so many musicians.
What does ancient history really sound like?
What did the music of Paleolithic caves or Roman arenas actually sound like?