Heya Kids! It's your friendly neighborhood sound engineer here with a favor to ask...
Y'know... I've been standing, sitting, and even a few times laying under
audio consoles for a long time - about seventeen-plus years, mixing all sorts
of music. From Classical to Jazz to Rock I've put mics in front of just about
everything and piped it through a PA (Side Note: The weirdest thing I think
I've ever slung a mic on was a house cat, no kidding)... I make my living
with my ears and I expose my hearing to high sound pressure levels (or SPL)
on an almost nightly basis, so when it comes to taming a PA and running it
for the safety of the audience as well as the working crew, I'm all business.
Venue to venue, there are going to be spots where the sound is louder or more
intense than other spots due to the different speaker systems I am given to
use and how those speakers are focused on the audience, every make and model
of speaker sounding as different from one another as apples to oranges...
... y'know... if apples and oranges made noise, that is...
The best set-up for a speaker in my opinion is to hang it, angled down on the
field of intended coverage... this does a couple of things: It gets the sound
to more ears EVENLY because there's less absorbtive material (other people)
between points 'A' (speaker) and 'B' (listener), and it gets these
potentially dangerous things out of the audience's faces...
Yes, I said "potentially dangerous"... the key word being "potentially". Let
me explain a bit, and I'll try to stay on-topic.
There can be areas of effect where speakers are capable of delivering
dangerous amounts of prolonged SPL (the wail of an organ) or transient
content (the 'snap' of a drum)... it is my goal each night to smoothe these
places out as best I can without compromizing coverage or clarity using
various Sound-Guy-Stuff.
Perhaps you've seen it piled around me?
But there can still be places where it's too loud... either in reality or by
individual perception (I'm far from perfect and can't be everywhere at once
to hear all points of the PA although I TRY to be - don't be suprised if you
see me standing next to you briefly, I'm jus' checkin' it out from your
perspective)... also, some people like it so loud they can't think straight
and others want a lot less... it's called 'personal taste' and they're as
different person to person as apples to oranges...
... yknow, if apples and oranges had different tastes...
...Wait...
... what did I just say there? Forget it, keep reading...
This being the summer season again, our audience is turning from "21 And
Over" clubs to the more family-friendly outdoor venues and festivals. That
means kids, and that's the focus of this rambling address.
If your child is younger (say under the age of eight) their hearing is still
developing. Infants' ears are still completely new and if you expose tiny ear
drums to adult-sized portions of sound there is more than a chance you will
permanently scar that child's hearing forever... we as adults have undergone
a gradual process of torturing our ears into tolerating high SPL with subway
trains, Walkmans, jet aircraft or the odd jackhammer so it's not as large an
issue, but to a baby it can be an instantanious and irreversible trauma.
I would appreciate it if you would help me spread the word about hearing
protection for the little music fans in our and other band's audiences...
when you see an adult with a child on their shoulders right infront of the
speakers BE BOLD AND INTRUSIVE, check that child for PROPER hearing
protection, because puting a still-developing set of ears up in clear throw
of the usual rock'n'roll PA is nothing short of endangerment and borderline
abuse. That child has a right to enjoy the full spectrum of sound he/she was
born with, or as close to it as our noisey modern world will allow... and
they won't if their hearing is permanently altered at an early age.
Another Note: TESTED AND APPROVED EAR PLUGS are the ONLY THING THAT WORK -
There are NO SUBSTITUTES for proper hearing protection. Foam roll-up plugs
are made from materials designed to reduce SPL and slow transients. Cramming
toilet paper, cocktail napkins, paper towel, chem-toilet paper (I don't even
wanna start on what ELSE is wrong with THAT) or cigarette filters into your
ears is doing little or nothing to protect your or anyone else's hearing.
We usually maintain a stock of FREE foam plugs at our merch table at each
venue... this is not because we intend to operate outside of safety standards
as far as the band's stage volumes or my work at the console, but rather so
that people who wanted the option of "turning things down" had it, whatever
the reason. We don't charge for them, and we don't take any personal offense
at anyone choosing to wear them during our performance...
By the way, hearing protection can be bought in-bulk at most pharmacies, they
even make special sets for younger children... and it's really easier than
you'd think to convince your kid it's cool to wear them...
The alternative?
If you think your kids don't listen to you NOW, what do you think's gonna
happen when they're older and have a legitimate excuse?
"Would you please take out the trash?"
"Huh?"
"Take out the trash."
"Pardon?"
"I said TAKE OUT THE TRASH!"
"What Mom? Can't hear you. Thanks for the heavy metal show when I was THREE."
Who am I to tell you how to raise your child? No one, really... I'm not a
doctor... I don't even claim to be one to get a date... I'm just a guy who
depends on his hearing for a living. Not every engineer out there takes this
responsability as strongly to heart as I do, and some don't even understand
the danger in the first place... I wish I were kidding, but I'm not. I don't
want to start a Salem-style witch hunt of audio engineers here or cause any
un-due hysteria in the village, so please don't light the torches and grab
the farming implements for a run through the streets... my ambition is to
inform you, give you the facts, and let you decide... to some engineers and
bands "Loud" equals "Impressive", and sometimes it's up to you to turn it
down. Exercise your judgement, spread the information, and help us all
protect tomorrow's music fans.
Thanks for listening... See you around the playground!!!