Today’s radio

THE LISTENING SERVICE

4.30PM, RADIO 3 HHHH

Tom Service’s regular show gives listeners who may not have a musical background insights into the theory and mechanics of music. This week, he focuses on the sound interval known as a fifth – the two ‘twinkles’ at the beginning of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star have that interval. There’s a certain thrill to the fifth, which has been used to great effect by the Buzzcocks, Bruckner and many other musos, as Tom explains this afternoon.

6 MUSIC FESTIVAL

7PM, BBC 6 MUSIC HHHH Black Midi will open Marc Riley’s show with a live performance. Brittany Howard, from Alabama Shakes, closes with a live set as part of the weekend’s 6 Music

Garfunkel and Simon (8pm, R2) Festival. An interview in which Tony Visconti recalls his friendship with David Bowie is also in the show.

FRIDAY NIGHT IS MUSIC NIGHT

8PM, RADIO 2 HHHHH Simon and Garfunkel brought out Bridge Over Troubled Water 50 years ago, and every track on the album was fab. To mark the anniversary of this extraordinarily diverse set of songs, the BBC Concert Orchestra, under the baton of Mike Dixon, will give a track-bytrack reconstruction of the album. They’ll be joined by a fine line-up of artistes, including Will Young, The Shires and Katie Melua.

LATE JUNCTION

11PM, RADIO 3 HHH

There’s some ear-opening stuff about the technical side of music and sound on radio today. This programme delves into the matter of noise-cancelling headphones, white noise and relaxing natural sounds. Known as ‘orphic media’ – from Orpheus’s attempt to block out the song of the Sirens – these devices will change our relationship to noise. A panel of experts discuss the matter tonight.