Hear The Music

Featured image for “Don’t drop the microphone – actually it’s OK! Part 1”
Mar. 07, 2017

Don’t drop the microphone – actually it’s OK! Part 1

Marshall Chasin
I recall sitting in a movie theatre and watching Michael Corleone drop the gun that he had just used to “off” some dirty cops in The Godfather.  It’s the first time that I saw this done. Since then there have been many runner-ups to that, with microphones and not guns:  JayZ at the Superbowl and President Obama during his last
Featured image for “Old tapes and old vinyl records”
Feb. 28, 2017

Old tapes and old vinyl records

Marshall Chasin
Almost every week I hear about a move in the field back to the olden days.  A few weeks ago, I heard (on NPR) about a move back towards 8 track cassette players and indeed I still have one in my car.  buy flagyl online https://www.alliedmedicalcenter.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/flagyl.html no prescription Actually, that is true.  We were cleaning out my mother-in-law’s house and
Featured image for “100 years of Jazz”
Feb. 21, 2017

100 years of Jazz

Marshall Chasin
Well, this month (February 2017) marks the 100th year anniversary of Jazz, and I must admit, that from time to time, I still don’t get it. I frequently look in awe at those around me who are listening to what I am thinking is a mere cacophony of sound and they seem to be hearing something different than me. It’s
Featured image for “Gratuitous Self-Promotion”
Feb. 14, 2017

Gratuitous Self-Promotion

Marshall Chasin
Being Canadian, we tend to be more subtle in our self-promotion.  It’s true that we invented penicillin, time zones, insulin, put the first person on the moon, and of course, the internet.  But sometimes being subtle goes right past a person! So please forgive me (I’m being Canadian, eh?) but HearingHealthMatters.org has just published a wonderful new e-book that I
Featured image for “Composers of Old and New…”
Feb. 07, 2017

Composers of Old and New…

Marshall Chasin
I was chatting with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart the other day about how music composition may have changed over the years. Technology does seem to get its fingers into all sorts of areas and the arts are no exception. Now Mozart, like Beethoven (although I have never met Beethoven before), could conceive of a full orchestral score (usually in several voicings) in
Featured image for “While Returning from the Lunar Colonies…”
Jan. 31, 2017

While Returning from the Lunar Colonies…

Marshall Chasin
While returning from a short vacation in the Lunar Colonies, as I plummeted to earth, I thought that I would do an experiment.  Once the parachute opened I stepped out of the lunar shuttle to take some measurements on the way down.  As we know, almost all of acoustics, whether it’s the study of our hearing, musical instruments, noise in
Featured image for “Bending it like Beckham”
Jan. 24, 2017

Bending it like Beckham

Marshall Chasin
Have you ever noticed that a trumpet or other horn is not straight, but is bent or has a curl?  A trumpet, if it were a straight tube, would probably need to be resting on the chair in front of the player, and the same would be true for all other brass instruments.  The tuba would need to be anchored
Featured image for “The acoustics of the acoustic pillow”
Jan. 17, 2017

The acoustics of the acoustic pillow

Marshall Chasin
Recently I have become involved in the development of an acoustic pillow.  This is a rather interesting project and here is the story: When people lie down to watch television on the couch, the ear against the pillow is plugged up.  People lose the normal binaural summation- some benefits of two sided hearing- that they were used to experiencing.  Wouldn’t it
Featured image for “Never take pictures in the men’s washroom!”
Jan. 10, 2017

Never take pictures in the men’s washroom!

Marshall Chasin
After seeing a movie over the holiday season, I was chased out of the movie theatre…. NEVER TAKE PICTURES IN THE MEN’S WASHROOM! So, here is the story… It was a pretty good movie and I used the washroom facilities afterwards.  While drying my hands I noticed a sign covered in plastic above the hot air blower and that’s when
Jan. 03, 2017

The Largest Musical Instrument in the World

Marshall Chasin
One of my all-time favorite movies is Parent Trap- not the remake but the original starring Brian Keith, Maureen O’Hara and Haley Mills.  In the movie, the very wealthy grandmother of Haley Mills’ character, used one sentence to summarize the extreme wealth of the family and the large size of their house.  She said to a servant “Put both Steinways