[Dixielandjazz] A Good Rule For Volume

[billsharp]

Years ago I left a 50's-60's rock group I was playing in because, as 
they began getting more and more work, they began thinking that they 
had to play louder.. Perhaps it was because the  steadily increasing 
volumes were causing steadily increasing hearing losses. Loved playing 
the tunes - -hated the volume.

  I had begun to notice that people who at one time were able to 
comfortably talk to one another at a comfortable standing distance were 
later on in our events, as we got "better" (i.e. louder) having to lean 
into one another and put their mouths next to another person's ear in 
order to tell them something, then have to swap ear-to-mouth to get an 
answer.  Something was wrong with this picture.  The only time I want 
my mouth that close to another person's ear is to whisper sweet 
nothings.   ( And these days that's easy for me because I mostly have 
nothing to say)

It was then that I developed the motto I've applied to every group I've 
had any control over, regarding volume:

ALLOW THEM TO HEAR YOU - -DON'T MAKE THEM HEAR YOU.

Have the volume set at a level so that perhaps they might want to ask 
you to turn it up, but never the opposite.