The Power of Music

Via The Art of the Blog, I present to you the Power of the Orchestra...

Musical Noise

normal piano practice 60-70 dB
fortissimo singer 3 ft. away 70 dB
chamber music in small auditorium 75-85 dB
regular sustained exposure may cause permanent damage 90-95 dB
piano fortissimo 92-95 dB
violin 84-103 dB
cello 82-92 dB
oboe 90-94 dB
flute 85-111 dB
piccolo 95-112 dB
clarinet 92-103 dB
french horn 90-106 dB
trombone 85-114 dB
timpani & bass drum rolls 106 dB
average Walkman on 5/10 setting 94 dB
symphonic music peak 120-137 dB
amplified rock music at 4-6 ft. 120 dB
rock music peak 150 dB

NOTES:

* The brass section playing fortissimo can drown out practically the whole orchestra.

* One-third of the total power of a 75-piece orchestra comes from the bass drum.

* High frequency sounds of 2-4,000 Hz are the most damaging. The uppermost octave of the piccolo is 2,048-4,096 Hz.

* Aging causes gradual hearing loss, mostly in the high frequencies.

* Speech reception is not seriously impaired until there is about 30 dB loss; by that time severe damage may have occured.

* Hypertension and various psychological difficulties can be related to noise exposure.

* The incidence of hearing loss in classical musicians has been estimated at 4-43%, in rock musicians 13-30%.

What can I say... :)