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Why Are Concerts So Loud?
Whether it’s a basement show, a club or the tour of a world famous pop star, concerts have always found a way to turn the volume up to 11. This is an exploration of why.
It’s a well accepted fact that concerts are insanely loud — everyone’s experienced it before.
The music that screams throughout the venue, bringing your ears to the threshold of pain even if you stand in the back. The bass that pounds in your chest and makes it feel like you’re heart is misfiring. The ringing in your ears that persists days after the concert.
Whether it’s a basement show, a club or the tour of a world famous pop star, concerts have always found a way to turn the volume up to 11. According to H.E.A.R., the average concert is between 110 dB and 120 dB. For a reference, a busy street comes in at 80 dB and the average conversation is 60 dB. That is loud enough that you will begin to suffer hearing damage after just 30 minutes of exposure.
But why are concerts so loud? And why don’t sound guys turn it down? There are a variety of reasons.
The first are practical concerns. Sound guys and showrunners want to make sure the artists are heard and have good energy, which can be hard in large venues. If the volume is too quiet, the performance could be awkward.
Also, concert venues are often stadiums, which aren’t good for music performances. Stadiums are designed to give you a good view of the sport being played, but the design that optimizes that tends to create a lot of reverb. When artists are performing in stadiums, they want to make sure they aren’t drowned out by their own reverb, and that requires turning the volume up quite loud.
The instruments can also cause high volume. Drums in particular are problematic, being 119 dB on average — the volume of a concert — and to be heard over the sound of the drums, the other performers need to turn up to their volume as well.
Of course, there are times when none of these explanations are valid.
When it comes to energy, it’s possible to attain good energy without turning the volume up to high. There are plenty of venues, like churches to clubs…
