A musician's checklist: how to keep your hearing intact

Musicians and sound engineers constantly put their ears and hearing at risk. Listening to loud music systematically can lead to full or partial hearing loss, but unfortunately, very little attention is paid to this problem.

We've put together a little checklist to help musicians and other pros whose work involves high sound preserve their hearing and prevent problems.

1. Control the volume in the studio. Don't turn all knobs to the right - the volume of quiet conversational speech is more than enough to listen to your material. Excessive volume when recording and mixing is dangerous not only for your ears but also for the quality of the track so you can lose the fine nuances of sound and arrangements in the mix.

2. Take care to limit the volume in rehearsals and concerts. Use earplugs or noise-canceling headphones in rehearsals. And during live performances, if possible, abandon floor monitors in favor of an in-ear monitoring system. With its help you will be able to adjust a comfortable sound level and stop "drowning out".

3. Take breaks when you work with headphones - at least 5 minutes every hour. If you listen to music on studio monitors, it is recommended that you increase the break interval to 15 minutes per hour. After a loud concert or nightclub party, it is recommended that you avoid loud noises and spare your hearing for 18 hours.

4. Check your hearing and noise levels. You can use apps to do this: for example, AuralWare's SoundMeterPlus can measure noise, and the World Health Organization's hearWHO app can check your hearing.

5. Remember that if you have the slightest concern or feeling of discomfort, you should see an audiologist - a physician with a broad specialty in ear pathology. He will help to identify hearing loss at an early stage and prescribe the necessary treatment to prevent possible problems.

Hologram Jam (backing track, no click)

#play_along

Vinnie Colaiuta's trick from Sergey Nedzelsky.

"When I first saw an amateur recording of Vinnie Colaiuta's soundcheck before a concert with Chaka Khan, I was stunned by the density of chops per unit of time.
Some of them were later analyzed in detail, but not this one!
And since this particular lick impressed me the most, I decided to learn it myself and share it with you.
It's definitely worth it!"
Pdf file with sheet music 👇

Заполнение Винни Колаюты от Сергея Недзельского.

"Когда я впервые увидел любительскую запись саундчека Винни Колаюты перед концертом с Чакой Хан, я обалдел от плотности фишек на единицу времени.
Некоторые из них были в последствии разобраны детально, но не эта!
И поскольку именно эта комбинация впечатлила меня больше всего, я решил разобрать её самостоятельно и поделиться с вами.
Она определённо того стоит!"
ПДФ файл с нотами 👇

#transcription
#Vinnie_Colaiuta

https://youtu.be/lJ3Xs4h0r1c

"Midnight Drive" - Free Half-Time Shuffle (backing track, no click)

#play_along

"Midnight Drive" - Free Half-Time Shuffle (backing track, with click)

#play_along

John Coltrane - Countdown

Drum intro transcription👇

https://youtu.be/lJ7QTRzV9RM