Klarinet Archive - Posting 000543.txt from 1997/08

From: "Andrew Scholberg" <ascholbe@-----.com>
Subj: Re: FALSE ALARM!!!
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 1997 16:50:44 -0400

----------
> From: Andrew Grenci <agrenci@-----.net>
> To: klarinet@-----.us
> Subject: Re: FALSE ALARM!!!
> Date: Wednesday, August 13, 1997 10:02 PM
>
> Andy Scholberg writes:
>
> > 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
>
> While I agree with some of Andy Scholberg's sentiments (i.e. one would
> generally not need earplugs when performing Mozart, and certain types of
> pop music are tremendously louder than classical), I think he is missing
> the point. I have not seen anyone on this list recommend earplugs for a
> member of an audience at a symphonic concert. What is recommended is
> earplugs for performers who are on stage and in the vicinity of
dangerously
> loud instruments. The decibel level of a trumpet at a distance of a
couple
> feet can reach 120 decibels. Dittos for tympani. This is not healthy.
> Decibel levels decrease drastically as distance from the sound source
> increases. A distance of even 10 feet makes a huge difference. The
> unfortunately truth is that orchestral clarinetists often have chairs
right
> in front of the trumpets, and beside the percussion.
>
> AG
>
> Andrew Grenci
> New London, CT
> agrenci@-----.net
>
>

Point well taken. Having played in orchestras, I know what you're saying.
But I think there's little to worry about unless the loud instruments are
blaring at fortissimo for a solid 90 minutes. I've never played an
orchestral program in which that was a problem.

Teenage dances and rock concerts are extremely hazardous because the noise
constantly blares at dangerous levels without relief. It is the constant
pounding, the unrelenting assault on the ears that is so dangerous.

Andy Scholberg
ascholbe@-----.com