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Do I need ear protection when going to classical orchestra concerts, especially for large-scale pieces such as Mozart's Requiem? What about solo piano classical concerts?

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  • "large scale" will also very much depend on performance practice; Mozart's Requiem was certainly not composed for a large modern orchestra and an even more massive usually amateur choir (although you do see it performed that way, for good or for ill) Commented yesterday
  • Note, the vast majority of classical concerts are unamplified. Concerts in which an orchestra joins traditionally amplified acts from other genres, like Pink Floyd or Metallica are another matter, though even these tend toward decibel levels more friendly to a symphony-going audience. Commented 23 hours ago

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No. Classical music is not typically amplified, and while some instruments can be quite loud (in an orchestra, one immediately thinks of the brass; an organ can also be quite loud on its own, although most organists have enough common sense not to make themselves and the audience deaf in the process...) for a short duration, that will not be sustained over the length of a concert or a length sufficient to pose risk.

A trumpet can maybe for a short duration peak at 120 dB or above (measured just in front of the bell - see here), which is why musicians in the orchestra sitting just in front of the brass section may typically have some form of ear protection or at least plexiglass panels to isolate their ears a little bit, but that's usually of no concern to the audience - you'll be sitting a fair bit away, and no composer has written (nor could a trumpetist sustain such a dynamic for too long) music that is so consistently loud for long enough for it to actually pose a risk of hearing loss.

A concert piano (again measured close to the instrument) will not peak much above 100 dB, and that would be for some quite fortissimo playing, which would again not be sustained for any significant period of time.

Given the fact classical music tends in fact to vary quite a lot between loud and soft passages, the only thing you'd accomplish would be to lose a lot of the subtlety (and you might not even be able to clearly hear all the instruments and the rich inner harmony parts)...

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  • Vast numbers of orchestral performances have been recorded and many must have had microphone locations in audience areas for sound engineer reasons surely some of those have provided published noise level results. Perhaps even design data for construction or renovations have located where loudness would be maximized. Commented yesterday
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    I agree with the answer as far as classical music is concerned. However, a large brass band playing marching music is a different story, even though it uses the same instruments also found in an orchestra. The crucial bit is that most orchestral compositions only get to their maximum dynamic level for a small fraction of the duration, unlike marching music, harder rock styles or EDM. Commented yesterday
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    For reference, OSHA considers 85 dB to be the safe limit for daily 8-hour exposure, with the exposure time limit halving every additional 5 dB - a constant 100 dB is considered safe even for a full hour with no ear protection. And of course, symphonies don't typically jackhammer away with the intensity, constancy, and duration of an active construction site. Commented 23 hours ago
  • So it's similar to the (most common in churches, as I understand) phenomenon of people seeing a hand- or wrist-mounted meter peak above the bottom of the legal hearing protection chart and going into orbit about it...without taking into account the TIME part of that chart... In fact, the only people that even might be in danger are the tech crew, who get the same exposure multiple times back-to-back. Commented 23 hours ago
  • @leftaroundabout a large marching band might indeed produce an ungodly roar here and then, but these don't tend to perform in concert halls (at least, that seems like an implicit bit from the OP's question) very often... Commented 19 hours ago
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Over many decades (centuries!), people have listened to orchestral concerts in various sized concert halls, with orchestras over 100, playing music from various eras, from, say, classical through to modern.

Had there existed a threat to those millions, it would have been recognised by now. Fair enough, attending a rock concert, with all instruments amplified, will be a very different scenario, but even a hundred piece orchestra will not continue with deafening decibels for periods long enough to sustain hearing problems. Health and Safety ought to have had that covered!

If you have particularly sensitive hearing, and feel after a concert that you many sustain damage, then by all means wear some sort of protection. But, in doing so, your enjoyment of the actual music will be diminished. In a loud rock band, I might resort to wearing protection, but that's somewhat counter-productive, as I would feel the need to turn up even more to hear myself!

Go forth, unprotected, and enjoy. Safest, without doubt would be to listen to some John Cage...

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Depends. Are you playing in the orchestra, sitting directly in front of the trumpet section? Then yes, absolutely. Or are you particularly sensitive to loudness? Then it might be good to have something on you for loud tutti passages.

But usually you won’t need protection. The necessity of hearing protection during concerts is a product of amplification (and it is in some sense quite ridiculous that modern popular music is amplied so loud that people need to wear protection against actually hearing the music). Classical concerts are usually not amplified, so you won’t usually get to such levels.

But keep in mind that some classical pieces can include special instruments such as firearms. This can still be quite loud. While probably not going to cause any damage, this might be too much if hearing is already damaged.

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  • Have firearms been used in any major classical/romantic era pieces other than by Tchaikovsky? The 1812 overture is the only example I can think of. Commented 22 hours ago
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    @Hearth 1812 overture does not actually call for firearms, but for some not further specified imitation of cannons. But there are a few odd ones out there such as the Funeral March for Hamlet by Berlioz. Commented 20 hours ago
  • I was in the balcony for a performance of Mahler's 6th symphony, and after the first "hammer-stroke of fate" the sound of the orchestra seemed different for a few minutes. I put my fingers in my ears for the second blow. No affects after the concert. Commented 12 hours ago
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    I have often thought that modern rock etc concerts are amplified in whole or part just to drown out the crowd that just won’t shut up. In a classical performance the audience usually has the sense to keep it down and actually enjoy the music. Commented 11 hours ago

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