FRONT OF HOUSE
HEARING IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT | Kent Morris
Photo by Eric Mok on Unsplash
Human hearing is completely subjective . Just as no two humans are structurally identical , our hearing is unique as well . A myriad of factors combine to create a singular aural experience for each of us every day . From sirens and traffic to conversations and music , we all hear , process and interpret sounds in our own way . Why is this the case and how do we ever come to a collectively agreeable consensus ?
When a piano strikes A440 concert pitch , even though it is fundamentally the same 440Hz struck everywhere , it is unique from all other pianos striking the same note . Why ? Because the fundamental at 440Hz is only one component of the sound we hear . Harmonics generated throughout the piano ’ s structure and within the room emphasize and deaden in a unique pattern to that instrument on that day in that environment as played by that person . Tomorrow the same piano may sound different after being played for several hours as parts bend and shift . However , your hearing still tells you it is an acoustic piano and you may be able to discern it is the same piano as yesterday . despite the variances . The secret lies in the fascinating combination of acoustic perception by the ear system , transduction by the inner ear and interpretation by the brain .
Human hearing requires the reception of sound waves by the outer ear , conversion through hair receptors in fluid into electrical signals and then processing by the brain to allocate the sound into a category and subsequent singularity . By combining these principles , we are able to tell when a friend is calling our name in a crowded restaurant or pick out a favorite guitar solo from a song playing in the background of a busy supermarket . We are designed to prioritize and rank acoustic energy into either sound or noise , depending on whether we find it pleasant or offensive . White noise , equal energy in each frequency , is by definition noise , until we side chain it into the signal of a snare drum , so the noise accompanies the snare hit . Now we call it sound because it is noise we want to hear . When we were teens , our parents told us to “ turn down that noise ” coming from our bedroom stereo systems . Because they didn ’ t want to hear it , it was noise , because we did , it was sound .
The sound and noise dividing line lies at the heart of discourse and argument over volume and musical content . For a person raised on pipe organ and choir in church , the organ can never be too loud , even at a sustained 105 dB- A-Slow-SPL and it will always be too loud when the electric guitar plays , even at 88 dB-A-Slow-
SPL . This fact was borne out to me when I mixed a quiet CCM artist at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Houston . I received numerous volume complaints from the seasoned-citizen audience , despite the fact the mix was well balanced and never peaked beyond 88 dB-A- Slow-SPL . Following our portion , the concert moved to a twin grand pianos and pipe organ segment that I measured on the same SMAART system at a sustained 105 dB-A-Slow-SPL with peaks above 112 . Not one of the people who complained at 88 did anything other than revel
in the 105 . It was simply sound versus noise .
As techs , we must find the grace to accept the fact people will complain about anything they don ’ t like . Part of the issue is the current state of “ consumerism church ” where Karen wants to complain to the pastor , but it goes beyond this surface problem to a heart issue . For the congregant , if the music has to be constricted to your small window to be effective , you have a shallow relationship with a very small God . For us techs , if we are offended at every instance of complaint , we have a very thin skin that needs to toughen up to protect the tender heart inside and keep us on a gracious path of serving those who may not see or hear as we do .
Kent Morris Kent Morris is a 44-year veteran of the AVL arena driven by passion for excellence tempered by the knowledge all technology is in a temporal state .
112 June 2023 Subscribe for Free ...