As of late I have been attending the local parish for Mass. I have found that the microphones and sound system are set at what I perceive to be very high levels. In fact, even with 30 dB attenuation with earplugs, I can hear the Mass quite well and at a reasonable noise level even from the last pew. With attenuation, I hear the homily as if a person were speaking to me at a three or four foot distance without attenuation.
\n
\nWhy is Mass loud in some churches? I can think of a few reasons.
\n
\n*<\/b> Some persons in the assembly are hearing impaired and have requested a higher level of amplification.
\n
\n*<\/b> Poor acoustics due to church design. Poor acoustics might be due, for example, to heavy carpeting or because a church was originally designed for another function (i.e. the church was once a gymnasium).
\n
\n*<\/b> Greater tolerance of “loud spaces”. Examples of loud spaces include sports arenas, rock concerts, and the central business districts of cities.
\n
\nSince I suspect that some persons benefit from the audio amplification, I merely adapt to my surroundings by using inconspicuous earplugs. Even so, I wonder if my use of earplugs to lower the sound level for my comfort defeats an important principle of the liturgical reform. Am I actively participating if I use passive devices to turn down the volume? Am I in some way sequestering myself from the unison of active participation? I must admit that what I perceive to be loud amplification impedes my personal thought and meditation to some degree. Perhaps what I deem to be over-amplification is purposefully designed to counter a tendency for the mind to wander.<\/p>\n
I now ask for the experiences of other PTB<\/i> readers. Do readers find their churches, and other churches they’ve visited, to be over-amplified? Should over-amplification be tolerated out of charity and concern for those who might have difficulty understanding the Mass at a lower volume? Are there newer technological solutions that allow a worshiper to understand Mass at a sound level comfortable for him or her without compromising the overall intelligibility of the Mass for the entire assembly? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Why is Mass loud in some churches? A question to PTB<\/i> readers about their perception of sound and amplification in churches. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1191],"tags":[2506,199,2507,3009],"class_list":["post-21142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology-and-worship","tag-acoustics","tag-active-participation","tag-amplification","tag-mass"],"yoast_head":"\n