Klarinet Archive - Posting 000508.txt from 1997/08

From: "Andrew Scholberg" <ascholbe@-----.com>
Subj: Re: FALSE ALARM!!!
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 20:58:02 -0400

----------
> From: Pat Flannery <pjfnefro@-----.edu>
> To: klarinet@-----.us
> Subject: Ear Plugs (Scary statistic)
> Date: Wednesday, August 13, 1997 1:09 PM
>
> {Soap Box mode on}
> As an addendum to my previous post (and to scare the *heck* out of my
> fellow list members), a poll of the (surviving) members of the Rock and
> Roll Hall of Fame shows that 60% of them now wear some type of hearing
aid
> / assistive listening device. Deafness is a major occupational hazard
for
> musicians, whether you're playing Mozart or MegaDeath.
> {Soap Box mode off}
>

I'm shocked to hear that only 60 percent of hard-rock "musicians" are
going deaf. I would have guessed 95 to 100 percent.
But the conclusion is fallacious and illogical; it doesn't follow from the
premises. If 60 percent of hard-rockers are going deaf, does that
necessarily mean that 60 percent of professional orchestral musicians will
need hearing aids? No. Do I worry about damaging my hearing when I hear a
symphonic work by Mozart? No. If someone puts the bite on me to chaperone a
teenage dance, do I worry about my hearing? YES! (That happened last year,
and it was a miserable experience, but I protected myself with ear plugs.)
Hard rock and gangsta rap isn't music. It's racket. It's abrasive,
strident, and grotesque. The volume is routinely cranked up well beyond the
sound of a jumbo jet at takeoff. I feel sorry for people who make it a
normal part of their environment. Besides the damage to hearing, think of
the damage to the soul. The "lyrics" are beyond disgusting.
If anyone is looking for an alternative to hard rock, let me suggest
Gregorian chant.
I'm not afraid to use my ears like a man. I listen to Mahler and Wagner
without ear plugs, including the magnificent fortissimo brass choirs. These
great composers marked certain sections FF for a reason: they want us to
*hear* the sound of fortissimo. How can we hear it if we stuff our ears
with cotton?
Rock "music," like the sound of a powerful lawn mower, is noise, and it's
wise to protect your hearing from it.

Andy Scholberg
ascholbe@-----.com