Health & Safety

How can you protect your hearing during rehearsals?

The way to protecting your hearing as a musician is to wear earplugs during rehearsals and concerts.  Not just any earplugs, but special ones that are specifically designed to reduce the intensity of sound while not disrupting the frequency of those sounds.

How can a mixture of repertoire (quiet and loud songs) help protect your hearing?

  Schedule a variety of loud and quiet music during a rehearsal to reduce the overall exposure. Try and allocate noisy instruments/passages into separate rehearsals.
Should you rehearse with loud or quiet sound levels? Why?

 Aim to rehearse at a quieter overall level unless the group is trying to achieve a 'balance' in the actual performance space. Limit the time spent when trying to get a balance before returning to the quieter rehearsal level. When repeating sections to iron out problems, musicians should try to play quietly, except for those who need to be heard at full volume. Try to avoid rehearsing when extraneous noise is increasing the overall exposure to noise.
How much time out (silent time) should you have during your rehearsals? Why?

Exposure to noise can induce high stress levels in individuals. Stress should be assessed as part of the overall risk assessment. Consider allowing time-out for individual musicians and crew to manage their own stress levels by permitting them to leave the rehearsal for a short time if they are feeling extremely stressed by the noise. The conductor/musical director needs to be informed if this policy is in place. It might also mean that the seating position of one or more performers needs to be reassessed.
Describe a suitable venue for rehearsals, why is it suitable?

 Make sure the venue is suitable for rehearsal. Wherever possible use a purpose-built/acoustically treated rehearsal room/hall but, if not, using a larger space might mean that noise exposure is reduced.