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can anyone explain why the music at chasuna is so loud and why noone does anything about it. I just came back from one and i couldn’t hear the person i was next to, and that was when we weren’t dancing
the answer…halls are big. simple as that…and the acoustics in most are terrible. period.
EDITED
probably because the musicians control the sound equipment, and they have severe hearing loss due to listening to so much loud music over the years.
You need to speak to the bandleader or the sound man. It is possible to have a good sound level. We had a nice four-piece klezmer band at our wedding, and they played unamplified — loud enough for the dancing, quiet enough so you could hear at the tables.
Sometimes they don’t know until you tell them.
I come to wedding with earplugs. Otherwise I am unable to dance at the wedding- it’s too painful. It’s easier to put on earplugs than to convince the bandleaders to lower it, especially after the chosson said to make it loud.
I agree with ronrsr. In fact on the contracts of some bands, the ba’al simcha can check off how loud they want the music.
Music is meant to be listened to and enjoyed, and lead to being inspired–not digested by every pore in the body.
I have been to numerous chasunahs where it is very clear that the ba’al simcha wanted there to be healthy level of sound, and the dancing was so geshmak!
If you say hello to the person right next to you that you’re dancing with in the circle, and they say “what did you say?”–then the music is definitely too loud. And unenjoyable. Either that, or the other person was smart and wearing ear plugs–something more adults are doing at chasunahs.
lol you guys sound like a bunch of old fogies! us young folk thrive on booming loud music… just don’t stand too close to the speakers!
striving:
It’s not a matter of discomfort. Exposure to sound that loud inevitably damages hearing and is cumulative. G-d willing you will live to be a Bubbie or Zadie and will be able to hear the sweet words of your Ayneclach….
I wear earplugs.
my kids tell me the true measure of good music, is if you never think its too loud. Alternatly, they also say, “if its too loud, you’re too old.” (and I’m only in my 40s!)
A very considerate baal simcha supplied his guests’ tables with earplugs at his daughter’s wedding. They had a band known for their excessively loud music, and he wanted to give people a safe and enjoyable time.
LOL!!! :D:D:D
oomis1105: What a great idea! I once forgot to bring my earplugs. Not only could I not be in the room, I couldn’t even be in the foyer. I had to leave the building. Outside the volume was at a comfortable level.
It WAS a great idea, one from which I benefited. We couldn’t hear ourselves think, much less have a conversation, so it wasn’t even RUDE to plug up!
Not only does it damage hearing, it is not enjoyable when it is so loud. You can’t even speak to the person sitting right next to you. Usually at a chasuna, if I want to have a conversation, we have to yell into each others ear.
That is just inexplicable to me.
Considerate baalei simcha should stipulate to the band that the volume should be at a reasonable level.
I was told by someone int he know, that the band plays loudly because it SOUNDS more lebedig, and makes their musical ability sound more exciting. I answered back – if I get deaf from this music, I won’t be listening to ANYTHING, exciting or not.
I’ve heard that they used to play and the more people liked each musician, the more that guy would get paid and upgraded for better pay. In order to make themselves more noticeable, they played louder and louder until it got to be like this. Even though now the system doesn’t work like that, they got so used to playing loud music that it became the norm. Makes sense to me.
At my wedding five years ago we gave explicit instructions to the band NOT to play so loudly. And they followed the instructions.
Loud music is a sakana. Young people don’t realize that after many years of listening to loud music their hearing will go. It bothers me when I see young people with ipods with the earbuds stuck in their ears and I can still hear the music from a few feet away. That means that it is much louder for the person with the earbuds. I don’t understand how they can enjoy it and they don’t understand that they will go prematurely deaf. I was once told that when wearing headphones, or certainly in-the-ear earbuds you should first hold it about a foot away from your ear and if you can still hear it then it is too loud.
I often try to wear earplugs at chasunas but they are uncomfortable and make it hard to speak to other people. It also makes me feel like I’m stuck in my own head in a different world which makes it hard to celebrate with the people around me. I would rather that the bands play softer so that we can dance normally without having to worry about earplugs.
Sound drops off over distance, so telling the band to turn down doesn’t work – it makes the music too low on the other side of the room. A big part of fixing this problem is putting the speakers up as high as possible – this way, the loudest blast of the music is above the heads of the guests, and if the speakers are angled properly, the sound will be even across the room and at a comfortable level. The speakers also need to be turned inward by 20 or 30 degrees, this minimizes sound reflections and keeps the overall acoustic environment intelligible. Another problem is stage volume and whether the musicians are hearing themselves properly. When one musician plays too loud, the rest of them turn up to compensate, and pretty soon the stage volume is a racket, without any semblance of being musical. If the musicians would use in-ear monitors to hear themselves and the other musicians in proportion, a lot of this turning up can be minimized. If you are booking a band for a chasseneh, ask the band how they are running the sound.
There are bands that now call themselves “Safe Music Providers” and lower the volume. I was by a Chasuna with one of these SMPs.
You know how he was a SMP? He put his speakers all the way on the other side of the hall, away from the ladies, and played at the same (loud) volume.
It happens to be, by that Chasuna, the older men were accidentally put right in front of the band;. Oops.
over the years the music by weddings has definitely gotten louder and i’m well under 30 so it has NOTHING to do with age. i want good hearing ad meah vesrim! it’s a bit ridiculous, and one solution which i have seen is to put speakers all around and keep the volume at a DECENT level!!! what are we trying to do? it’s not pleasant for ANYONE! and it’s nothing to do with age, maybe the younger generation isn’t as sensitive to it though.
Do what we did. Ask your musician to tone it down. We got so many thank-yous at the end of that wedding.
In my opinion, too many musicians join these bands with a different agenda than merely entertaining their audience or earning a living. This affects not only volume, but the style of music selected and even the choices of instruments that comprise the band.
I believe that in many cases, these young fellows have a strong desire to promote a self-image like the performers they most admire: the secular rock and roll hero (this seems especially true of guitarists and drummers). This is dream-fulfillment, not entertainment.
In the secular music scene, the perception is that loud is better and more dramatic (and, in too many cases, that volume can make up for lack of training/ability).
A change in this behavior will not occur until the clients vote with their money. If clients demand only Yiddishe-sounding melodies with an old-fashion, Klezmer-like band, they’ll get it. But, if the clients are themselves fans of rock and roll and encourage that venue, then we can’t only blame the bands.
With this change, at first, there will be a reduction in the variety of the musical selections and every affair will sound more alike. But, over time, musicians will adapt, and compose/learn new tunes in the style – and volume – that their audience will appreciate.
Does anyone have contact info for Safe Music Providers, or some kind of info on what maximum decibel level I should requesting from a band.
I went to a wedding on Sunday and the music was too loud. I decided to come on YWN and complain. So take that.
Good music is enjoyable at audible levels. Bad music doesn’t sound so bad when it’s extremely loud, because you can’t hear it.
Of course it doesn’t have to be so loud. I think the orchestras don’t really consider the size of the hall when they play. I was at an wedding recently in a relatively small hall and the orchestra had speakers that appeared to be at least six feet tall. I don’t care what young people say, they themselves don’t need it so loud or so booming since they are dancing anyway, and not merely listening. And don’t get me started on the stuff some of these orchestras play that has no place at a frum wedding.
I went to a wedding on Sunday and the music was too loud. I decided to come on YWN and complain. So take that.
You’re not the first to do that.
For one of my children’s weddings I told the musician that when there is background music (kabalas ponim, dinner) I want people to be able to converse without getting hoarse. “Oh, okay, I can do that.”
What I can’t figure out is why this is a chiddush. People like getting hoarse?
Why do people need to come and complain, instead of buying ear plugs for 5 cents?
Complaining is even cheaper. And more fun. And doesn’t require having foam sticking out your ears.
Because the ear plugs are itchy and strange looking.
Not all of us are gvirim and can afford the five cents.
Popa: this is a forum for discussion and this is a valid topic. You are cordially invited to do something else if you are not interested.
You get eaplugs!
looks like popa and flatbusher were @ the wedding together
Rock musicians suffer from less hearing loss than violinists because high frequencies cause more hearing damage.
Oish.. That’s something to consider. What now?!? Tuba???
Interesting. Electric violinists presumably maintain an advantage,
assuming they keep their volume to a reasonable level.
I went to a chasuna last night and the music was too quiet.
If you find chasuna music too quiet, you can wear hearing aids to amplify the sound for you.
Hearing aids are too expensive.
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