04/10/2026
DO YOU ACTUALLY KNOW HOW LOUD YOU ARE?
At Silence In Sound, our own approach has always leaned towards gentleness.
We are interested in coaxing sound rather than forcing it. In listening to decay, subtle overtones, texture and silence. In discovering how little input an instrument may need before it begins to reveal something interesting.
But that is our approach.
Other practitioners may work differently. Some use greater intensity, larger dynamic ranges, amplification, repeated strikes or more powerful playing styles.
And that is precisely why awareness matters.
A decibel meter cannot tell you whether your playing is beautiful, sensitive or meaningful.
It cannot tell you whether a soundscape works.
But it can tell you something very simple:
How loud is this actually getting?
Our ears adapt surprisingly quickly. What begins as loud can start to feel normal after a while.
So whether your natural style is gentle like ours, or considerably more energetic, perhaps it is worth occasionally measuring what is happening in the room.
Not to create fear.
Not to police somebody else’s playing.
Simply to understand the sound levels we are creating — for ourselves and for those listening.
We spend a great deal of time choosing mallets, instruments, microphones and equipment.
Perhaps a decibel meter deserves a place in the toolkit too.
Do you ever measure the levels you are playing at?
