Some of you may have a commute similar to mine...mass transit, trains, subways, car horns. And then you get to work and have to deal with more noise...the boss, fellow workers, phones, computer notifications. You get the picture.
Recently, I spent about $5 to download a sound pressure meter app more out of curiousity than anything else. Granted, it's not a lab grade instrument, but it does yield some interesting results. With it comes a screen with some reference info. For instance, a quiet bedroom is about 30db, conversational speech is about 60db, a chainsaw is 110db, and the threshold of pain is 130db.
The other day, I was walking the subway platform when I heard an express train coming. Broke out the trusty iphone and measured the sound pressure level. Mind you, this wasn't one of the noisier trains. It read 90.5db!! According to the app's built in chart, that's the equivalent of a diesel truck 30' away. Pretty friggin loud!
So then I started thinking how damaging audio levels can be. Being a musician that plays a relatively soft instrument, it dawned on me that this constant barage of sound will eventually take its toll on my performance...will I be able to play as softly as the music calls?
And how about the folks that listen to music. Will they hear the subtle nuances at the lower dynamic levels?
How many of us were at comcerts where we went home with ears ringing? Those concerts were louder than an express subway!!
We are seriously losing the ability to appreciate delicate musical passages. There is so much to be heard at those levels! Think of the english horn solo in the "William Tell Overture" or the cool triangle intro to the "Pink Panther Theme". Or how about the simple elegance of a leaf rustling by on a fall day? I fear we will never appreciate these and countless other sounds...and its our own doing!
"Can you hear me now?" has a whole new meaning...
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