SWL Signature Tunes

There was a time when The World Radio TV Handbook would include printed music of signature tunes (that I would attempt to play on my guitar) but now you can hear them past and present via links below.

 Signature tunes and interval signals are generally composed of relatively short but catchy sequences of notes, which are very easily recognizable. These melodies have two functions complementing one another - they are both signature tunes for a specific broadcaster as well as fillers. Thus, they serve as a musical means of identefication of a station, besides the spoken announcements.

 Many broadcasting stations transmit their signature tunes at the begining and at the end of their programmes and sometimes even in-between. Often, these tunes can be heard for minutes before a programme starts, making finding a station easier in the wide spectrum of frequencies and stations broadcaststing simultaneously. In addition, they can serve as an almost indispensable means for those listeners, whose receivers do not possess a digital frequency readout and who, therefore, have to actually search the bands for the station they want to listen to.

 Often based on traditional songs or compositions of famous composers, these tunes offfer a wide variety of sounds patterns exceeding the mere function as a simple means of recognition. In many cases, they were written for traditional instruments such as drums or shepherd's pipes or consists of bells of world-famous cathedrals.

 Their sound, rhythm and intonation make them a kind of musical picture of a country and its inhabitants, depicting geographical impressions of a country's expanse as well as people's emotions, letting sometimes shine through the whole range of temperament between happiness and melancholy. Some tunes are full of drama, fire and infectious rhythms, while other show more composure, complacency and solemnity. Source: Welcome to Real Sounds from the Past and Present Days! via http://irkutsk.com/radio/jingles.htm Also try: INTERVAL SIGNALS ONLINE http://www.intervalsignals.net and The IntervalSignal DataBase http://en.intervalsignals.org

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