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Decibel Meter.....

losthobos

losthobos

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Not wishing to pee on any ones bonfires or stop anyone practicing but....
I'm just been playing with a decibel Meter that is installed in a metronome of mine ....
Accordion averages about 100 decibels when played bassoon reed and soft bass.....(I did try all reeds and as many notes as I could squash with a hefty squeeze and it didn't really go that much higher....)
which according to book allows less than half hour a day practice safely.....
Thoughts.......????
Can you use big letters too please as I'm a bit deaf ...
 
losthobos said:
Not wishing to pee on any ones bonfires or stop anyone practicing but....
I'm just been playing with a decibel Meter that is installed in a metronome of mine ....
Accordion averages about 100 decibels when played bassoon reed and soft bass.....(I did try all reeds and as many notes as I could squash with a hefty squeeze and it didn't really go that much higher....)
which according to book allows less than half hour a day practice safely.....
Thoughts.......????
Can you use big letters too please as I'm a bit deaf ...
Click to expand...
Accordions are supposed to be constructed in such a way that they direct the sound away from the player, towards the audience.
Some manufacturers have actually broken that "law": for instance, many Italian bayan-style accordions have holes behind the keyboard to direct some of the sound towards the player. This is a very bad idea just because the player may go deaf. Russian bayans do not have these holes. (The Italians just made a "bad copy" of the Russian design.)
To see how long you can practice, measure the loudness of the accordion close to the player's ears, not close to where the instrument produces its sound.
 
debra said:
To see how long you can practice, measure the loudness of the accordion close to the player's ears, not close to where the instrument produces its sound.
Click to expand...
Sad to say I measured in with the meter in front, behind a d hanging of my glasses next to my ears....the differences in readings was negligible...
 
Well... When I am tuning an accordion I often put it on my legs, and then I play every note (and measure. I notice that when I lean forward (mostly with my head) the sound becomes much louder than when I'm sitting straight up, head protected from the sound by the top of the accordion body. I never feel the need for using ear protection while playing by myself. But I have a quintet, practicing in a fairly small room, and I do often wear ear protection there because the sound of the other players is uncomfortably loud.
 
This is where the Roland com comes in handy. It’s got the volume knob. I believe it’s an advantage for the player, as well as the other people living in your house. My ears definitely complain after an hour or two of acoustic playing.
 
Never had a hearing issue from accordion, though I did stand in front of a few 3 meter tall bass boxes with stacks of 18" woofers blowing my clothes and hair around as a kid... lol.

I had my hearing measured by an audiologist 3 years ago and was above average by about 5% for my age bracket, so I am kind of thinking that it is about the same range now. Thats after all those hours as a kid-2-young adult that were played on the accordion, so I would not really let the thought bother me. I can practice for as long as I need to without discomfort from my hearing, though I don't go playing at full force for hours on end.

A big factor may be the room that you are in too. Generally I practice in a sound controlled room (my basement) so sound reflections are well controlled, but just recently brought up my Morino from the basement to toy around on the main floor. I'll pay attention and see what I feel later today while playing upstairs, but normally I don't feel any discomfort from an extended session while playing accordion.

In the past I never thought about this and just enjoyed my accordion time.
 
Thanks for the resource, Terry! Dr. Mandell sure has a way with words - a terrific communicator.

Seems like a lifetime of playing the accordion and years of gigging with amps can leave its mark, but to me a smidge of tinnitus is no big deal. In the grand ceilidh of life, we're not the attendees - we're the band. It's who we are... musicians gotta play!​
 
losthobos said:
Not wishing to pee on any ones bonfires or stop anyone practicing but....
I'm just been playing with a decibel Meter that is installed in a metronome of mine ....
Accordion averages about 100 decibels when played bassoon reed and soft bass.....(I did try all reeds and as many notes as I could squash with a hefty squeeze and it didn't really go that much higher....)
which according to book allows less than half hour a day practice safely.....
Thoughts.......????
Click to expand...

I've measured my mandolin when practicing at about 87dB. Practising accordion and attending big band rehearsals measures around 95dB. I use hearing protection when practising, but at band rehearsal I'm the only one!
 
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