A SOUND EAR II - Association of British Orchestras

A SOUND EAR II
MYTH BUSTING
Orchestras are not loud
Yes they are. So far attention has focused on the large ensembles, but early measurements on chamber orchestras
indicate that they are not as quiet as we had hoped.
Music is NOT harmful
There are studies showing that music you enjoy causes less damage than noise of the same energy – it is thought to
be related to the effect of stress on healing mechanisms. However, we know about stress levels in musicians, and the
same studies also showed that music you do not enjoy causes more damage than plain noise.
Musicians do NOT go deaf
Yes they do. Possibly not as much as you would expect (see later), but they suffer types of hearing damage that
interfere with their ability to play accurately or to tolerate the wide dynamic range common in orchestras.
Consent
Time and again, people suggest they could just sign a note to say they do not want to be protected. That would be
ineffective and unwise. In the first place, you cannot consent to be harmed at work. In the second place, any such
note or agreement would be an illegal contract – not only is it unenforceable, it can also be evidence that both parties
broke the law.
Be aware that UK health and safety law requires that employees (including freelancers for the time being working
under the orchestra’s control) cooperate with their employer to enable the employer to carry out legal duties.
Funding
One of the reasons for health and safety law is to ensure that the costs are largely borne by the producer of the risk,
rather than society. Although some orchestras have been able to obtain grant funding for major programmes such as
acoustic treatment of a pit, and the MBF has funded further orchestral training, there are no special grants for health
and safety programmes – it is just part of the cost of running your business.
Practicability
Noise control in orchestras is not easy – we cannot distance players from the dominant risk to their hearing (their
own instrument), and nearly every measure to reduce risks presents side-effects. However, good management can
largely obviate these side-effects, and some noise control measures create a brighter and more accurate sound,
produced with a lower risk of career-ending musculo-skeletal injury.
Freelancers
The majority of musicians are self-employed. If they were not required to comply with the law, the playing field would
be grossly distorted. UK health and safety law applies to the self-employed and to those who engage them. The
situation is different in some EU states.
Photo - cbso-watsongallery.co.uk
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