Hear The Music

Featured image for “THE PROBLEM WITH FREQUENCY TRANSPOSITION AND MUSIC”
Feb. 23, 2020

THE PROBLEM WITH FREQUENCY TRANSPOSITION AND MUSIC

Marshall Chasin
Introduction: Frequency transposition, frequency shifting, and frequency compression are all terms that refer to algorithms that lower the frequency above a certain start point using either a linear or a non-linear processing. Many manufacturers have their own terminology for their algorithm and in some cases, manufacturer’s software will include in as a default setting for their first-fit algorithms. In this
Featured image for “Guidelines for Musicians with Hearing Loss to Bring to Their Audiologist”
Feb. 03, 2020

Guidelines for Musicians with Hearing Loss to Bring to Their Audiologist

Marshall Chasin
This is a reprint of an article written by Nancy Williams based on an interview with me,  for Grand Piano Passion, an online magazine for musicians with hearing loss.  It blends practical articles with inspiration for its community of readers with hearing loss dedicated to making music. Founding Editor Nancy M. Williams is an ardent amateur pianist with hearing loss
Featured image for “Modification of Musicians’ Earplugs: The Romance Continues…”
Jan. 03, 2020

Modification of Musicians’ Earplugs: The Romance Continues…

Marshall Chasin
This is a continuation of a previous post where the romantic nature of Musicians’ earplugs and a neat equation was introduced…. Musicians’ earplugs have been in use since 1988 when they were first introduced. An invention of Elmer Carlson (of twin tube fame), they were first commercialized and marketed by Etymotic Research (now Lucid Audio), and since then commercialized by
Featured image for “Noise Exposure While Driving in a Convertible”
Oct. 07, 2019

Noise Exposure While Driving in a Convertible

Marshall Chasin
So… I was trying to innocently measure my noise-dose during a 2 hour trip from Buffalo, New York to Toronto, Canada with the roof down on my 2006 Toyota (bright red) convertible- it was a sunny Sunday afternoon.  All was going fine until this car came up behind me with flashing lights and a very loud siren.   To say
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Jun. 24, 2019

Area over love

Marshall Chasin
This may sound like a cheap romantic novel or a new soap opera but “area over love” is an important acoustic principle that rears its romantic head in a number of clinical scenarios that are encountered almost every day. Also slightly less romantic, the following equation can be helpful:   F α Area/LoVe. The frequency of interest is proportional to the
Featured image for “Hearing Loss Prevention and Music”
May. 23, 2019

Hearing Loss Prevention and Music

Marshall Chasin
Of the many causes of permanent hearing loss, the one that is most preventable is noise and music exposure.  Although music and noise appear to be quite different; one being a good thing and the other, less good, both have a similar (but not identical) effect on our hearing. Although recent research have unveiled several parameters that can affect one’s
Featured image for “Best of 2018: Musicians should not retire on my watch!”
Dec. 20, 2018

Best of 2018: Musicians should not retire on my watch!

Marshall Chasin
Recently there have been news reports about famous musicians who can no longer perform their music and choose to retire. By hook or by crook, that should not happen!  There are a multitude of strategies and technologies that can extend anyone’s playing and singing career. I recently saw a few hard of hearing clients with high frequency sensori-neural hearing losses
Featured image for “A Northwestern University study on Diplacusis”
Jul. 16, 2018

A Northwestern University study on Diplacusis

Marshall Chasin
  Lauren Ervin is a current graduate student working towards her Master’s in Communication Disorders at Northwestern University. Her current research is focused on the phenomenon of diplacusis (or false pitch perception) and its effects on the musician population.   Her previous academic experience includes a Bachelor of Science at Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY) where Lauren studied Speech-Language
Featured image for “Musicians should not retire on my watch!”
May. 01, 2018

Musicians should not retire on my watch!

Marshall Chasin
  Recently there have been news reports about famous musicians who can no longer perform their music and choose to retire. By hook or by crook, that should not happen!  There are a multitude of strategies and technologies that can extend anyone’s playing and singing career. I recently saw a few hard of hearing clients with high frequency sensori-neural hearing
Featured image for “A vocalist wants a quiet space at home to practice”
Mar. 20, 2018

A vocalist wants a quiet space at home to practice

Marshall Chasin
I receive many questions from instrumental musicians, vocalists, and other performing artists about issues relating to how they should practice.  A particularly common question is how can I modify a room in my house so that my vocal practice doesn’t drive my dog crazy. The adage, “some is good, too much is bad” comes to mind. Assuming that one has