Health and Safety
Moderators: Dom Perignon, Casimir
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Health and Safety
Just wondering, as you do
does playing the church organ make you deaf? I sometimes wonder if I should have ear muffs on when playing. Is there any advice on this?
does playing the church organ make you deaf? I sometimes wonder if I should have ear muffs on when playing. Is there any advice on this?
uh oh!
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- contrabordun
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Oops, sounds to me as though you might be playing one of those silly organs where the keys and pedals are attached to the pipes by sticks and bits of string. Best to chuck it out and replace it with a nice detached console. Mine is white with gold trim, mounted on a lift. I often press the down button and close the trapdoor so that I don't have to listen to myself - comes in handy for the homily too!!
Hearing Protection
Sound levels can be measured with an electronic meter - I would guess you could get it done professionally (and cheaply) if you checked with your local council health and safety officer. It's quite a serious issue if it's what you do for a living, or part thereof, so might be worth your while enquiring about - particularly if your organ seems to be making 'irritating' noises. There's also the question of church acoustics, especially in old buildings with sustained echo. Full congregations absorb a lot of organ sound, so the organist may consider opening the tubes a bit more than when practising, and this might not be safe for prolonged periods.
There is plenty about this on the web. google "noise induced hearing loss".
There is plenty about this on the web. google "noise induced hearing loss".
- contrabordun
- Posts: 514
- Joined: Sun May 23, 2004 4:20 pm
On the subject of toasters and organs, the following
humourous article [This link is now defunct - Musicus]
has long been one of my all time favourites.. enjoy, if you're into that sort of thing.
humourous article [This link is now defunct - Musicus]
has long been one of my all time favourites.. enjoy, if you're into that sort of thing.
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- Parish / Diocese: Westminster cathedral
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Health and Safety
Well I've been losing hearing in my right ear for some years and the thought of going deaf is just too awful! I'm due to get NHS hearing aids in a month but the audiologist warned me they won;t help much with music. Someone did a survey on this problem a few years back and I've lost the information. It might be that sitting close to the pipes can cause problems (although I haven't done that for years). The organ should accompany most of the time and I try to be restrained. The open diapason on the organ I play every Sunday is loud and speaks right down the church. I never use it when accompanying the choir. The other week I went for more restrained accompaniments in some of the hymns and it was remarked upon so there's a lesson. 8 foot and 4 foot tone can be enough. Just add a 15th to lift the whole thing!
Of course we all love the big sound - the Royal Albert Hall organ in full cry - would love to play that one day! And Howells Saraband for the morning of Easter at the end of the Vigil or on Easter Day itself - wow!
Of course we all love the big sound - the Royal Albert Hall organ in full cry - would love to play that one day! And Howells Saraband for the morning of Easter at the end of the Vigil or on Easter Day itself - wow!
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Re: Health and Safety
I had an accident before Christmas and got a knee infection. I fell off the edge of the pedal board in a strange church with poor lighting and no wooden surround to the pedals. Fortunately the doctor sorted it quickly but beware of strange buildings!
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Re: Health and Safety
Alas Stephen Bicknell died in August 2007 at the tragically early age of 50. His website is therefore defunct (just to explain why the link above no longer works in case anyone wonders).