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Penny
(218 points)
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When i'm on my piccolo, I have a problem hearing the soundwaves when i'm playing along with flute. even when i'm playing on the same octave. I can hear my own piccolo sound and I can hear the other flutes fine, but only individually. I have trouble hearing the sound waves between the two. It driving me crazy because I know that i'm the ONLY person who can't hear them and I have absolutely no idea how far out of tune I am with the flutes.
I thought it might have been the acoustics in the room, but when I changed rooms to play in concerts and stuff, there wasn't any difference. I also take my ear plugs out when i'm playing with other flutes, but all that does is make my ears hurt. Any suggestions?
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mbrowne1229
(411 points)
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i have a similar problem, but i dont think my solution is quite what youre looking for.
i have very little hearing in my right ear (i think the percentage is 75% lost or something). because of this, i cant hear myself play in ensembles. i can when doing solo work, but in orchestra or wind ensemble? zip, zero, notta. my solution: "hey, stand partner, am i in tune? no? how bad? should i use my tuner?" or "ok, where did i put my tuner last..."
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Plekto
(232 points)
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Note - this usually only will affect one ear badly if it is hearing loss(as opposed to needing your ears properly cleaned out).
Sitting on the other side of the flutes might solve the problem.
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rogi
(34 points)
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If two flutes are playing in unison, can one flutist hear the other?
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JOhnlovemusic
(313 points)
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Penny,
Sometimes it is very difficult to hear the piccolo and the flute. They both respond as what is consider to be a closed pipe. The harmonic series of each are different slightly. If you are trying to listen to the 'soudwaves' I am wondering if you are trying to listen to the actual pitch. Because of harmonic differences you might try listen to the higher harmonics. (IF you know a good piano tuner ask him or her).
If you have a piano at home play two notes or a chord and listen to the notes, then try to listen to all the natural harmonics above the notes. With patience you will hear these frequencies. These higher frequencies are the frequencies I listen to for tuning and I find it more accurate and quicker.
If you are listening to the actual note I think the soundwave is too short to hear quickly enough. Hope this helps you a little.
John
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Kara
(2843 points)
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That is very interesting. I am sorry, but I don't know what to tell you on that one. I have a problem with my left ear that when I play the piccolo after a while it starts to buzz and get a distorted sound. The flute that I play with sit to the right of me and most of the time I can't even hear them. That may be a good thing though. lol!!!
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Alieannie
(659 points)
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I have trouble with my hearing too, especially since I now play piccolo. I've had to resort to using musician's earplugs in my right ear every time I play picc and it's been a godsend. I think I'm going to do it when playing flute now too. It's gread bc I can still hear everything, but the little tiny filters block out the higher harmful frequency. I hear my sound differently, because with the one ear sealed up I hear the sound in my head (like when singers listen to themselves by closing one ear with a finger.)
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Micron
(1329 points)
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John: "They both respond as what is consider to be a closed pipe."
Actually a flute behaves as a tube OPEN at BOTH ends. I take it that you meant a pipe that is closed at BOTH ends, which would be the same.
Penny: "I have a problem hearing the soundwaves ..."
I can't follow what you mean. Every time you hear ANY sound, you are 'hearing' sound waves.
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Leporello
(152 points)
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I think she means the "wobble" that you hear when two flutes are out off tune with each other. When you get that sort of slow modulation going on. (I hope this is comprehensible...)
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Kara
(2843 points)
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Ann, where did you find your musician's earplugs? I have just a pair of cheapo ones that distort everything and I don't like them. I didn't know they made such ear plugs just for musicians. How cool!! I am excited now! lol!!
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mbrowne1229
(411 points)
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i know flute world sells some of those musicians earplugs. i, too, used those foamy ones (SUCKY!) until i found out that my insurance would pay for custom made ones.
wow! what a difference! not like it would matter because im pretty much deaf anyway. but i like what little hearing i have left.
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Alieannie
(659 points)
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Kate,
From what I've gathered, there's 3 levels of earplugs: the cheapie foam things, musician's earplugs and custom-fit, uber expensive plugs.
Mine come with 3 filter levels, low medium and high. I simply use the low and I can now play piccolo pain-free, all notes. But I still hear myself, unlike the foam thingys. They were only arount twenty some dollars, and I got 3; a pair and one extra tip to jam in my ear, with two of each level of filter, a stem to change the plugs and they come in a handy little case to keep it all together in my flute bag. (hahaha 3 earplugs so I can wear a pair and give the 3rd to the person sitting next to me when I'm playing piccolo lol)
http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/alnasoearpl.html is the link of the ones I got, and I love them- highly recommended!!!!!! I would also recommend anything by etymotic (ety-plugs). I have a pair of their earphones and they are some of the best I've heard. They really seem to know what they are doing when it comes to the ear.
http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/profmusearpl1.html
I've noticed a slight ringing in my ears over the past few months, so I think this will be one of the best investments I can make to preserve my future music enjoyment.
<Added>
Mbrowne, what kind of insurance do you have and where can I get some lol?
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Penny
(218 points)
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| I think she means the "wobble" that you hear when two flutes are out off tune with each other. When you get that sort of slow modulation going on. (I hope this is comprehensible...) |
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yeah thats what I meant. I can't hear how far out of tune I am.
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Alieannie
(659 points)
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| yeah thats what I meant. I can't hear how far out of tune I am. |
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Are you able to hear to wobbles and judge if it's fast or slow?
To help myself, because I had tons of trouble learning to play in tune and "hear" it, I would take my tuner and set the audible note part to whatever note I wanted to hear. I'd play the note on the flute at the same time and bend the pitch around, making it go from way out of tune to perfectly in tune and everywhere in between so I could learn to hear and judge what the heck I was doing in relation to the pitch. The more out of tune I was, the faster and more annoying the wobbles would be. The closer I was, the more they'd slow down but still be present. When it's dead-on in tune, it just "feels" right. I do it in all registers because for me, listening in some octaves is easier than others.
I want to be able to help you because I had and still have to some degree the same problem, but I want to make sure I understand you. I can be pretty dense sometimes when someone is explaining something lol
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jose_luis
(1367 points)
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Mbowne1229, have you tried a hearing aid for your left ear? Maybe it can help with the flute (the piccolo probably is completely out of its range). For that you should visit the Otolaringologist and he/she will measure your hearing loss and recommend a solution.
If you suffer from hearing loss that is not caused by some traumatic accident, I suggest you always play the piccolo wearing suitable earplugs (and maybe, every time yo play in an orchestra, in spite of the problems this could cause).
<Added>
Sorry, I mean your right ear.
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