Turn Down That Clarinet!

An article in today's New York Times dealt with the emerging issue of classical musicians slowly going deaf. Apparently going to work everyday and sitting in front of the trumpet section is almost as bad for your ears as spending your nights in front of a Marshall stack.

The article goes into some detail about how orchestras, mostly in Europe, are trying to cope with European workplace guidelines for noise exposure in this area. There is some hint that more "modern" pieces might be dropped from the repetoire because they are too, well, loud.

Among the nifty bits of info tucked into this article is this observation, from a study about the effect of music on hearing: "It does, indeed, appear that pleasing noise causes less hearing damage than random noise, so musicians may be at less risk that is supposed. However, the studies also show that music which is disliked, or just plain boring, causes more harm than random noise." Which explains why just about anything on MTV gives me a headache, while the last King Crimson record makes me all happy!

BTW, you'll need to register at the Times site to read the article. Do it! It's free, painless, and gives you access to lots of great info.