Key Of Grey

Photo courtesy of Marionzetta

July 26th, 2010 – This weekend I was at the Tulalip Casino near Seattle playing the slot machines for the first time. It was fun and incredibly addictive. Why bring this up? Well one of the reasons that slot machines are so effective at luring and keeping gamblers is the sound.

The clicking that the rollers make as the bright graphics rotate, the ringing sound of coins dropping when you win; even my girlfriend kept humming the winning music. I was particularly attuned to the role that the sound of the slot machines because of the recent news about teenagers getting “high” to binaural audio.

Apparently kids are listening to it to get high without actual drugs, and parents and administrators are worried that binaural beats act as a gateway to hard drugs. If that’s the case, then what is the difference between what I heard in the casino (and pachinko parlors in Japan), and what these kids are listening to? In both situations, sound strongly affects our mood, and even physical responses.

To be honest, I’ve only used binaural audio (I use Pzizz) to fall asleep, but I’m not sure if it was successful due to the beats, the ambient sound effects, or a psychosomatic response. However, I am sure that the slot machine sounds worked, because I found my pockets quickly emptied. Have you used binaural beats? I’m interested in any effects you felt, if at all.