The Case Study of Music Decibels
Absorbed by a Band Student
Introduction
For my science fair project, I did a case study on
the decibels of sound absorbed by the average
band student. This subject is one that is not very
commonly investigated, thus the reason that I
wanted to take it on. I collected data whenever the
circumstances would allow. Once I had begun the
experiment, I quite easily learned that there is a
big problem with what was taking place inside the
band room. The decibels that I collected were all
over the normal/healthy level of hearing. After all
of this was done, I looked over and re-analyzed
everything to see what had been happening. All
the data that I collected proved that band can lead
to hearing loss due to a high amount of noise
pollution inside of the band room.
Methodology
In this research, I will use a decibel meter and a full
ensemble of 60 different instruments. These subjects are
part of the Harrison Wind Ensemble. The instruments that
were used are flute, oboe, clarinet, sax and low reeds,
French horns/ mellows, trumpets, baritones, and
tuba/sousaphones. I recorded my data from a decibel
meter that I have obtained through Amazon. I collected
sectionals formal class data. Each time before calibrated
it before I collect data. Although the data collection
procedures are easy the reasoning on why the sound will
be louder in the band room is not. In 2019, the band
directors got rid of the carpet flooring and replaced it with
tile flooring. Tile flooring is a lot more reflective for sound
and lets music waves travel more; this causes the echo at
a more of vibration to stay in the room longer. So, the
data I collect will be slightly inaccurate due to the band
room that I am in. This is the situation of our band room
other band rooms across the world may have different
situations. The walls have sound panels that are mounted
to absorb sound. The ceiling panels absorb sound as
well. Although I will not be conducting the band, I may
have a few requests from the participants. This data
would only be so I could find averages of the overall data
in that category. Throughout the experiment, there were a
few changes in device settings and applications. The first
day the top foam part of the decibel meter was lost. The
reason that this will not affect my data at all is that it only
stops anyone directly speaks into the microphone.
Materials
Decibel Meter, TACKLIFE Digital Sound Level Meter 30-
130dB
Neel Jahan
The Harrison High School Wind Ensamble
Results
The data shows us that most anything that is played in the band room is extremely loud. Of course, there are
different dynamics, but anything that was played surpassed the healthy amount of hearing for the human ear.
Most of the data is well over 85dB (the healthy amount) of hearing for the human ear. There have even been
data that surpassed my decibel meter to overload. The maximum number of decibels that my meter could absorb
is 130db. For any device to pass this would mean that it was louder than a stock car race or even sometimes
louder than a gunshot from 100 feet away. This is not healthy for the human ear. Over long periods of time being
exposed to this type of sound can cause hearing loss. Hearing loss is also very closely linked to noise pollution.
This can cause hypertension, high-stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful and
disturbing effects. The point of my research was to see if the band students would be affected by how many
decibels, they absorb daily. The clear answer is they will.
Notes: After day one I lost the air reducer part. This made
no difference to the data that was collected, but it should
be noted.
The room contained a tiles floor plan. The tiles cause the
sound to be lost over a slower amount of time. The tiles
also make the amount of sound in the room higher.
We were playing marching band music. Normally
marching band music is loud. This would clearly impact
the data I collected. If we were playing concert music,
then the amount of dB collected would have been much
less.
When the “individual” data was collected there were still
other people playing. This caused the data to be highly
impacted. The reason why I wrote it down as an
individual’s data is that I was closer to the subject. I also
pointed out my device towards them, so the data was
more towards them instead of the rest of the ensemble.
Conclusion
At the end of the experimentation, the data
proved only a small point of my hypothesis. I
predicted if I can record the number of
decibels that are played while performing,
then I will be able to find out what kind of
long-term effects the band has on the human
hearing. I now have the data to show the
humans hearing range and the number of
decibels is absorbed. This data was way
beyond the healthy number of decibels.
Although all the data shows that the band is
harmful to the human ear, I have reason to
believe that the instrument’s decibel is ok to
absorb. I feel like listening to band music
would be healthier than being in the first row
during a heavy metal rock concert with all
the amplifiers on max volume. There are
aspects of both scenarios that cause
different damage done to the human body.
This study has been done before in a
different setting. My inspiration came from
there because the data was so bad. my data
compared to the other data is extremely
detailed and highly accurate, unlike the other
researcher’s data. The data that she had
recorded was in a very bad setting and
causes the data to be highly disturbed. My
data was in the same consistent room and
the same device that caused my data to be
extremely accurate. There are different parts
of music that I will now further go into.
Citations
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Curtis, L., & Fallin, J. (2014). Neuroeducation and Music: Collaboration for Student Success. Music Educators Journal, 101(2), 52–56.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432114553637
Strand, B., & Sommer, C. (2005). Should Marching Band be Allowed to Replace Physical Education Credits: An Analysis. Physical
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https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.12173
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Frerich, J. B. (2013). Healthy aging: The Get a Life Marching Band. International Journal of Community Music, 6(2), 169–174.
https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.6.2.169_1
Harmful Noise Levels. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=tf4173
Griest, S. E., Folmer, R. L., & Martin, W. H. (2007). Effectiveness of “Dangerous Decibels,” a School-Based Hearing Loss Prevention
Program. American Journal of Audiology, 16(2), S165. https://doi.org/10.1044/1059-0889(2007/021)
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