Ear-splittingly loud music

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27lw

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Today at the Mass my family attended (I went to an earlier Mass), there was a real cacophony of sound. 2 plugged-in guitars, bongos, tambourines. No organ or piano was touched at all. 2 of my 3 kids came home almost in tears, with headaches, because of the loudness. My husband said he saw another child with his hands over his ears, with his mom rubbing his back during the music. Setting aside whether or not the style of music was appropriate, how best to bring up the extreme loudness? I’m guessing our priest maybe didn’t realize how loud it was from where he was, but how could the music director not know? He normally plays piano or organ, but he was “wailing” away on his electric guitar today for some reason.
Should someone bring it up to the priest, the music director, or what? I feel like someone should bring up the fact that it was literally causing pain.
Has anyone else experienced something like this?
 
Bring it up to your priest, or, if somehow this was allowed, to your Archdiocese.

Best,
Ed
 
People lose hearing from repeated loud noise. Not everyone can handle it. I think God would have forgiven me from walking out of this environment.
 
People who were there, not those hearing this second hand, should certainly speak to the pastor about this.
 
You should bring it up with the priest since other people were obviously suffering from it.
 
Check the legal limits of noise level in your State. It normally is 85Dbl for an eight hour period. Rock music can often be as high as a jet engine. Anything near 115 can cause immediate ear damage. Then talk to the music director and if nothing is resolved, the priest. Youth masses such as this should be avoided for little children. If nothing else works get your toddlers to scream uncontrollably whenever the music starts. Good for their lungs…
 
Petaro said:
If nothing else works get your toddlers to scream uncontrollably whenever the music starts. Good for their lungs…
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I would like to see evidence of this. I think rather that it’s bad for your vocal cords. I used to enjoy making a high pitched sort of shriek as a child, because I was surprised I could make such a high pitch. Later, I discovered that I damaged my vocal cords doing so: I can no longer use falsetto in that range.* I would also point to how people who scream lose their voice afterwards, i.e. recovering from the damage they did, and how people who yell often don’t have as ‘clear’ voices (there’s a sort of rasp that builds up around the edges, so to speak).

Moreover, from simple psychology, it’s generally never a good idea to encourage people to scream in response to non-threats. (In this case you can simply leave the room.) It encourages that behavior in the future, as past behavior promotes repetition in the future.
  • An alternative might be simply going through puberty, but I have never heard of someone losing the ability to sing or speak in falsetto as a consequence of puberty.
 
ethereality said:
I would like to see evidence of this. I think rather that it’s bad for your vocal cords. I used to enjoy making a high pitched sort of shriek as a child, because I was surprised I could make such a high pitch. Later, I discovered that I damaged my vocal cords doing so: I can no longer use falsetto in that range.* I would also point to how people who scream lose their voice afterwards, i.e. recovering from the damage they did, and how people who yell often don’t have as ‘clear’ voices (there’s a sort of rasp that builds up around the edges, so to speak).

Moreover, from simple psychology, it’s generally never a good idea to encourage people to scream in response to non-threats. (In this case you can simply leave the room.) It encourages that behavior in the future, as past behavior promotes repetition in the future.
  • An alternative might be simply going through puberty, but I have never heard of someone losing the ability to sing or speak in falsetto as a consequence of puberty.
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You are probably right. It is not wise to let your children do your work. You could probably make an even stronger message by screaming uncontrollably yourself. Stop when you feel tired or your voice is strained. I don’t find speaking in falsetto essential in our Australian cultural setting.
 
Why didn’t you just leave?
I would have left. The priest would have certainly noticed people walking out.
 
We had a similar experience at Christmas a couple of years ago. We’d been thinking about switching parishes, and that was the push we needed. We loved the church and the priests and our fellow parishioners, but the music became a stumbling block. I have played electric guitar most of my life (rock, country, what have you), and I don’t think it has any place in church. Really, the worst for me as far as church goes is electric bass. In our old church, those notes would just roll around the building and obscure everything else. And the bongos, the bongos…
 
Piney_Woods said:
We had a similar experience at Christmas a couple of years ago. We’d been thinking about switching parishes, and that was the push we needed. We loved the church and the priests and our fellow parishioners, but the music became a stumbling block. I have played electric guitar most of my life (rock, country, what have you), and I don’t think it has any place in church. Really, the worst for me as far as church goes is electric bass. In our old church, those notes would just roll around the building and obscure everything else. And the bongos, the bongos…
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LOL.
I can’t believe anyone still has bongos in their music closet anymore.
Sheesh.
 
I always wanted bongos as a kid but my parents wouldn’t buy them.

Ed
 
pianistclare said:
LOL.
I can’t believe anyone still has bongos in their music closet anymore.
Sheesh.
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Now that I think about it, they didn’t have bongos at the church we used to attend; it was conga drums, i.e. bongos on steroids.
 
I would have left, brought it up to the pastor. If it continued I would be looking for a different church to attend. 😃
 
I totally agree; Pops Staples and Sister Rosetta Tharpe come to mind.
 
I would go so far as to say ‘blues’ as in music with blues notes sound out of place in a religious setting (with the possible exception of a Baptist church in which gospel praise music will be sung).
 
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and replies. I think I am going to go with the most charitable interpretation, that the people in charge simply did not realize how loud it was, and I will mention that perhaps they need to check the level of amplification.
Thanks all for your thoughts and (name removed by moderator)ut! I hope everyone has a meaningful and holy Lent!
 
27lw said:
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and replies. I think I am going to go with the most charitable interpretation, that the people in charge simply did not realize how loud it was, and I will mention that perhaps they need to check the level of amplification.
Thanks all for your thoughts and (name removed by moderator)ut! I hope everyone has a meaningful and holy Lent!
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Elizium23 - - love it! Why do I have to be the grumpy old man, instead of our priest?! : ) Maybe I should just anonymously post that in our music area of church…

I think I would prefer to have it say “honky-tonk” rather than “disco”, though…
 
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