Sometimes on holidays, or weekends, we will hear what sounds sort of like loud humming, or beating sounds, coming from outside.

If we turn off the aircon and open the windows, then we can actually hear the sound of music in the background, but it is the base bongo-like noises which actually go right through the concrete or brick walls, and there is no way to protect yourself from them, no matter what you do.

The sound of this base is bad enough. But add to this the fact that some of the contemporary Thai music that people listen to has a very simple and pronounced monotonous beat to its bass, and then this becomes a recipe to grate on the nerves like all get out.

I am not a music major, but what this actually sounds exactly like to me is as if someone across the jungle were trying to communicate with me using a BIG BASS DRUM, and using Morse Code to send the same simple message over and over again, every 2 seconds.

What these people are trying to say, I do not know, but it sounds like:

Dah dah dah Dit, Dah dah dah Dit, and so on. This same string of dits and dahs will last about 5 minutes.

Next we can hear Dit Dit Dah Dah, Dit Dit Dah Dah. Again, this string will go for a serious length of time.

Why is it that the contemporary music seems to have suddenly shifted so we are hearing this more than ever?

Are people now able to buy very strong speakers because of new magnet technology for low price?

Or has the music somehow changed in the bass department?

Also, I had not noticed this banging background that carries for miles until I arrived in Thailand, and I think that this is just peculiar to contemporary Thai Pop.

Does anyone have any thoughts about why and when the Thai music took a turn for this base bongoing?

In case you want to know exactly the kind of bass technology I am referring to, I searched around on YouTube until I found what seems to approximate it fairly well. However, this audio here does NOT have the annoying Dit Dit Dah Dah thrown in.

Also, once this begins, normally you can expect that the racket will last quite a few hours.

And it goes right through the walls and interferes with your day, not to mention your reading.

Edited July 20, 201312 yr by OldChinaHam

One more example of the low frequency bass, which can carry for long distance and will go right through brick walls, is this very large drum.

The question I have is why is this low frequency beating so much in vogue here, when I have really not noticed it in other places?

Also, maybe the musicians do not realize that the base does not need to be amplified as much as they do, and that after a certain distance the "music sounds" are no longer audible, leaving only the pounding through the jungle.

Try walking around your house - you may find a place where the sound is significantly reduced - perhaps in a corner. If so, consider rearranging your furniture accordingly.