Beckett[9] analyzed the reports made by those factories which have been broadcasting music to their employes through public address systems. There was improved morale in every plant where the music lasted for at least one hour daily. Two-thirds of the factories which played music for at least one hour on each shift claimed an increase in production of from five to ten percent. Greater efficiency results from using music to relieve the boredom of repetitive operations, to reduce nervous tension, to take the worker’s mind off himself, and in general to make the shop a more attractive place in which to work. He finds the evidence undeniable that music can increase production, but points out that this result will depend upon how the project is managed. If the acoustics or mechanical reproduction is poor, the value of music may be lost. The most important short-coming at present is the difficulty in obtaining suitable commercial recordings. Because of the noise in the average plant, the volume of the music must be slightly greater than that produced by the machines. But the average recording has such fluctuations in volume that some parts will be drowned out by the hum of the work and other sections will be too loud. Ideally, recordings for industrial music should vary only slightly in volume, from “plus or minus two decibels of tone intensity”, and these are not available in variety at present. “The kind of music played is of paramount importance, but no one type of music can be used exclusively without becoming a bore to the listener. When request boxes are installed, it is often the young and enthusiastic ‘jive fans’ who use them to the fullest, while the more conservative music lovers usually sit back and take what comes. Sometimes this has led to the mistaken view that the whole plant desired the more raucous music. After a trial of this type of music some firms received unfavorable reports on production and lost faith in music. In some instances music was then abandoned altogether, whereupon there was such an outcry from the workers that the program was reinstated with hot swing entirely eliminated. Both extremes are bad. Giving the workers what they want is a more difficult problem than it appears at first. It requires not one but a number of questionnaires over a period of time to keep up with changing tastes.” “Music must be played at the right time to obtain the best results. Marches create a cheerful atmosphere and should be played at the beginning of sessions, as well as at the end. The best time of the day for Strauss waltzes is at the so-called ‘fatigue periods.’ There is something about three-quarter time that is very refreshing at moments of fatigue. Besides the music is gay and light-hearted, and leads all other forms in popular appeal according to questionnaires filled in at three large plants.”