Why so loud?

I was at the Palm Springs New Year's Dance Camp and poked my head over in the salsa side of the event occasionally, but almost every time I did the music was, literally, intolerably loud. High pitched instruments like flutes shreiked spikes of pain into my ears while the bass instruments made the room, literally, vibrate (I balanced a styrofoam cup on my hand and had it jump around from the sound alone!)

That's consistent with the few times I've been to salsa events in clubs - the music is usually so loud that it's literally dangerous to health. And it's not as though my hearing is particularly sensitive. So what's the deal? Do salsa dancers wear earplugs all the time? Are they all going deaf from years of exposure to these sound levels?

I wonder about that. What I have found out is that the music sometimes gets louder as the night progresses. On occassion I am forced to wear earplugs!!

jon said:

I was at the Palm Springs New Year's Dance Camp and poked my head over in the salsa side of the event occasionally, but almost every time I did the music was, literally, intolerably loud. High pitched instruments like flutes shreiked spikes of pain into my ears while the bass instruments made the room, literally, vibrate (I balanced a styrofoam cup on my hand and had it jump around from the sound alone!)

That's consistent with the few times I've been to salsa events in clubs - the music is usually so loud that it's literally dangerous to health. And it's not as though my hearing is particularly sensitive. So what's the deal? Do salsa dancers wear earplugs all the time? Are they all going deaf from years of exposure to these sound levels?

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Ah ha . . . man do I agree!

We've been going to a few Latin clubs where Salsa is the main dance, and the music is just as you described. I have to literally go outside just to relieve the pulsing . . . ahem, in my ears!

AnNd it does get louder as the night progresses on. I don't drink (that much), so it's not the alcohol . . . just the DJs.

Yeah, that's nearly always a problem in San Francisco. I figure DJ's and band members have made themselves almost deaf and have to play it that loud to hear it anymore and to hell with the rest of us.

I've noticed too that volume usually goes up over time. A few times early on in a night I've thought to myself that the volume was at a good level, loud enough to create an energetic atmosphere, but not painful. That rarely lasts.

Of course, ear-damaging volumes are an issue in any kind of trendy nightlife scene: popular bars, hip hop venues etc. There are a lot of people who actually like it that way. I think they're all nuts, but I think I'm in the minority on this one.

I enjoy loud music to a point, then it truly becomes dangerous. Here in NY salseros make it a point to complain when the music is too loud and usually get a positive reaction from the sound person. Loud music is mostly found in commercial clubs, like the copacabana, even worse if there is a live band. I usually have no complaints about the loudness of the music when dancing to a DJ. On the other hand it is common to see dancers waving their hands up to the sound person asking for the sound to go up. But, hey, how many latinos do we know who blast their car radios everywhere they go. Maybe we do like it that loud. Hmmm
I think I’m so used to loud music that I don't even know what loud is. Then again, I really don't want to listen to my feet dragging on the floor or what the couple next to me is saying to each other.

I would like to be able to say something to the person I'm either dancing with or standing beside on the edge of the floor without having to yell at the top of my lungs. That would be nice. In a telling case, the New Year event I went to had two DJs from SD and one from LA... guess which one played the painfully loud music?

LA of course!! By the way, welcome to the forums rails.

Right in one Sagitta!

Getting back to Jon'spoint, why oh why do some people seem to think that playing music louder makes it better! :x :evil: :headwall: