 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2015-03-01 01:06
I am now wearing earplugs because our bands trumpet fanfares are played at ffff
Anyone have the same problems.
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2015-03-01 02:45
Yes! My band director started talking to me today, one-on-one, before practice and I had to stop and remove my earplugs. He said, very quietly, "Are the trumpets too loud?" I smiled and said, "Yes!" He proceeded to tell me that he lost the hearing in one of his ears while playing in our local philharmonic because the trumpet player behind him played so loudly. So, for the rest of today's practice, he made the trumpets play very quietly...and they could do it!!! And we sounded SO much better. There was a post on BBoards a couple of weeks ago about earplugs. I bought two pair that were highly recommended, both from earplugstore.com I bought the ETY plugs from Etymotic Research ("standard fit") and Earasers ("small fit"). The ETY are too big even though they're the smaller of the two sizes available (they shut out 12dB) and the Earasers are JUST RIGHT (they shut out 19dB). The Earasers have no hard plastic in them so are extremely comfortable and can be pushed quite a ways down into my ears. I can still hear the conductor speak when I have them in when he's talking to the entire band. I LOVE them. However, I'm still very reliant on my tuner to know whether or not I'm playing in tune because I'm not sure if the auditory feedback I'm getting from myself is accurate. They'll take some getting used to to know when I'm in tune. I have no good ideas on how to approach your band director let him/her know that the trumpets are hurting your ears. Luckily, my band director knew from personal experience that it can happen...and the long-term effect is deafness. I figure a $30 pair of earplugs beats a $6000 pair of hearing aids (although I do have both).
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2015-03-01 03:28
Bought the Earasers on a friend's recommendation while at the recent NAMM show- it's just not safe to enter the drum and electric guitar area without some protection. They seemed to work well and have a fairly flat frequency response.
I became unaware that I was wearing them very quickly. Couldn't get through that show without them. Will report later on how well they work at rehearsals- my concert band isn't loud enough that I feel the need for them in that situation- but then, I don't sit in front of the trumpets......and we have rearranged the seating of the big swing band to a V- shape where the saxes are opposed to rather than in front of the brass.
Jerry
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Author: GeorgeL ★2017
Date: 2015-03-01 17:19
I thought sitting in front of the first trumpet player was loud until I sat in front of the first trombone player. That is an off-the-chart experience.
I have had hearing aids for several years (after playing in bands without ear plugs for 30 years), and now routinely use fitted ear plugs (15 db attenuation) in band.
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Author: Slowoldman
Date: 2015-03-01 21:35
What fitted plugs are you using? Did you get them from an audiologist, or other source?
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Author: DNBoone
Date: 2015-03-01 23:50
I will second the Etymotic Research earplugs. I bought them during college after sitting in front of the trombone section would really like being featured during marches.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2015-03-05 01:30
I third the Etymotic Research plugs. Have been playing in rock bands and jazz big bands for 40 years and "don't leave home without them".
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Author: JonTheReeds
Date: 2015-03-06 13:54
I use Etymotic earplugs when necessary. They work very well and comfortably lessen the pain of sitting in front of brass players who are a little over generous with their sound
It takes a bit of getting used to - my clarinet sounds quite loud with them in, and I can hear a lot of air - but that's just the sound transmitted through the bones
I played guitar in pub bands for years and towards the end regularly used earplugs in rehearsals. I used the bog-standard 'travel' earplugs made of foam and they seemed to work well - at least, they stopped the dead-ear ringing that I often got by the end of rehearsals. I wish I'd used them more often
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The older I get, the better I was
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