philbymon wrote:When told I'm too loud, I turn it down. It just seems so very simple to me. Start at low volume & gently rise to a crescendo by the end of each set. After your break, you start low again. It ain't rocket science.
1000+
As a sideman I play with a lot of different bands. I find that the Weekend Warriors tend to not pay attention to their volume and the affect that it is having on the crowd. I've seen the crowd move to the back of the bar and then start ot leave because of volume issues and the band remains clueless about what they are doing ...
I find playing with most touring bands (pro's) that they pay attention to the size of the room and how large the crowd is and play accordingly and there is rarely a issue with volume.
IMHO I think that volume is a challenge for everyone in the band to be conscious of and work at and it starts with the drummer. It is a lot harder to play soft and get a great groove and tone happening than when you play loud.
But with most of the music I play dynamics is king, so a good band can get in the groove at a very low volume and bring the volume up to a crescendo then bring it back down again, if you are playing at 10 it's hard to go up from there .... it starts becoming noise, not music.
