Klarinet Archive - Posting 001052.txt from 1998/07

From: Dodgshun family <dodgshun@-----.nz>
Subj: [kl] Loud brass and musician's earplugs
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1998 19:05:13 -0400

At 11:23 PM 24/07/98 EDT, you wrote:

><< No, musician's ones which cut out volume, but you can still hear everything
> clearly. Most of our percussionists use them. >>
>
>Those sound (pun intended) like a godsend. Yet, I have never seen them
>around. Our music stores don't carry them, and the Woodwind and the Brasswind
>doesn't stock them. Where could a person get these?
>Chris Hoffman
>
We get them from a local percussionist/percussion teacher. Apparently they
"have a flat attenuation which leaves the spectral signature of the music
unchanged while reducing the overall loudness." He's always stressing the
importance of proper ear protection (hindsight? Don't know), and has set up
a shop called "Repercussion" which sells earplugs and sound shields as well
as percussion gear. I don't know where he gets the earplugs, or where you
could get them in the States. The youth orchestra here has bought sound
shields from him, and unless the brass are REALLY loud (ours don't tend to
be very often), they reduce the volume to a level which is no longer painful
or dangerous. Also, we have fairly considerate brass players (very rare!)
who will mostly shut up if we ask them to. I think that because they get to
sit in front of the percussion, they realise what we're going through.

Just while I'm on the subject of youth orchestras, does anyone know anything
about the International Festival of Youth Orchestras, held in Banff? We
were invited to go this year, but we went overseas last year, so we're
looking at attending in the year 2000. What does this festival involve?

Anna

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