Hello! I'm just trying to figure out if I'm alone on this or not. The music at clubs are really loud. I don't mind loud music once in a while but I'd like to keep my hearing so I can continue to go to these things. Why do they play so loud every time? Regulars must have noticeable hearing loss after a year or so. Someone care to tell me why they play it so loud? [Edited by - Instigator on October 18, 2009 6:28:17 PM]

Because usually there isn't anything else worth hearing besides music in such places.

People probably don't care about hearing loss because they won't listen anyway.

I hope that helps!

Because you can't hear music that loud at your home. That's why people go there.

Quite music + lots of people talking = can't hear the music.

In a night club the one of the primary reasons for going is to dance to the music, as such you need to be able to hear it.

However, in my experiance of pubs the music often isn't that loud, more like a back ground noise you have to strain to really hear, because one of the primary reasons for beign in a pub is to talk while drinking.

It is just part of the experience. I don't personally like it anymore (I used to go when I was in my early 20s), but some people think it is exciting to walk into a club with incredibly loud, thumping music, with all of the lights flashing all over, everyone is drunk, etc. As the above poster said, it is just trying to cultivate an experience that you really can't emulate easily at home.

A minor side-effect of the incredibly loud music is advertising. On crowded city streets, you can typically hear the bass of a club all the way down the street, as if it is trying to say (in Cleveland voice) "Party over heeeeeere!!"

Okay, so I need to make a decision.. dance with really hot Toronto girls or lose my hearing. I don't really have to think about that one.. I guess its life. Anyways, thanks for putting some logic into this.

Quote: Original post by phantom
However, in my experiance of pubs the music often isn't that loud, more like a back ground noise you have to strain to really hear, because one of the primary reasons for beign in a pub is to talk while drinking.

I think that's a U.K. thing. We don't really have pubs like you guys do (which is a shame, in my opinion, since I like the atmostphere in a "traditional" U.K. pub).

That's not to say the quiet pub doesn't exist at all in Australia, but it's not the normal state of affairs at least.

Quote: Original post by Instigator
Okay, so I need to make a decision.. dance with really hot Toronto girls or lose my hearing. I don't really have to think about that one.. I guess its life. Anyways, thanks for putting some logic into this.

Actually, you can have your cake and eat it too just buy some cool looking earplugs next time you go to a loud place. I never used to care much about losing my hearing when I was younger since I never experienced tinnitus or any of the other symptoms you get with hearing loss but nowadays I carry earplugs to slow my hearing loss. What alot of people don't realize is that's what the smart musicians do because they don't want to end up like Frankie Wilde
Oh another reason the music is so loud that noone mentioned yet is that the DJ is probably already going deaf so that's why they turn it up so loud because to them it's not so loud LOL:
"My annual hearing test doesn’t show any significant loss but my wife tells me at least once a week that she notices a difference in my hearing. The TV volume has crept up over the years."-quote from Navy pilot going deaf

Bars in the US are just as bad about having loud live music. A girlfriend that was in live music production said there was a reason why concerts are turned up so loud but I forget what it is now. Though a lot of times its turned up because people can't play live very well so it all blends into each other and just becomes a wall of sound where you can't pick out individual parts. Seen a bar band last night that had this problem. Guy on guitar is going crazy but its all just lost in the mush of everything else. The best live bands are the ones that have the best sound guy.

Quote: Original post by jtagge75
A girlfriend that was in live music production said there was a reason why concerts are turned up so loud but I forget what it is now.

I couldn't tell you "the reason", but:
- Drums played with solid sticks are REALLY LOUD. You have to turn up everything else to compensate for that.
- If you're playing on stage, it's important that you be able to hear everyone else, and especially YOURSELF. This is a bigger issue than you might think, and not just because of the aforementioned LOUD DRUMS. It's solved by loud monitors.
- People in the audience at rock shows generally don't know how to shut the fuck up.
- People at the back in a full crowd want decent sound too.

Quote: The best live bands are the ones that have the best sound guy.

Except for big-name bands on huge tours, the sound guy is typically employed by the venue. If you liked the sound at one venue, go back when a different band is playing.

Quote: Why do they play so loud every time?

The necessity of leaning in close to talk is a feature, not a bug.