This is the link I really was looking for to illustrate one of the points in yesterday's post, about orchestras starting to "get it" as regards new models of product distribution. OK, now that I said somebody "gets it," can we retire that phrase now, along with "brings a lot to the table" and such-and-such "is the new" so-and-so?

In this post from early February I promised a follow-up on the issue of hearing loss among Americans, and here it is. This is an appropriate time to bring this up, as we are now being told that orchestras are finally getting hip to digital online downloading of content, podcasting, and the like. For the sake of the music I love, I'm delighted at this news, but confess to undercurrents of unease. It's obvious that the I-Pod has been the preferred means of downloaded popular music consumption...How will it work with classical music? I'm such a dinosaur that I am genuinely ignorant about this. Will people take the time to sit in their living room and listen to an entire downloaded classical work without interruption over their sound system? Or will they plug it into their cars and listen while they drive? Or on the I-Pod while going about their business in a noisy environment? I have dug in my heels and retained my I-Pod virginity so far, so I'm truly at a loss to answer this question, perhaps others can. The extreme dynamic contrasts (among other factors) of classical music have always made it a less successful genre for mobile listening. (Those of you who "ride the volume knob" in your car know what I'm talking about.)

Which brings me to I-Pods and hearing loss in America in general today. Is there any doubt that America is becoming a louder and louder society? We have tolerated the incremental increase in noise pollution all around us, and because of the gradual nature of this increase, many Americans are probably unaware of it. But think about it---haven't you noticed that commercials are generally louder than they used to be? How about the "Coming Attractions" at the movies? A couple of generations have grown up with (in many households) the television on continuously, providing a steady droning backdrop to the events in their lives. It stays on during dinner, even when not being watched. Voices are raised, ever so slightly, to be heard over this drone.

Now the family goes out to dinner, and surrounded by dozens of groups of people who have been similarly "trained," they raise their voices even more to be heard in the din of the restaurant. Next few times you go out to eat, just stop and listen to the noise. Others may have had a different experience, but I still find this be more of an American phenomenon. I don't encounter the same level of sound in most restaurants I've patronized in Europe or Asia. (Australia's a different matter!)

How does this affect our ability to truly listen to music, music whose whole soundworld is so unfamiliar to most of us, music that demands attention by virtue of its content, not by seeking to drown out competing distractions? Music that sometimes even has (gasp!) silences...The power of a silence in music is probably even greater today than it was a century ago, simply because of the greater rarity of true silence in our society (music students, take note). Now we have the I-Pod, which is terribly convenient and allows us to take our personal digitized jukeboxes everywhere we go. That includes airplanes, subways, cars, noisy cityscapes. Undoubtedly when you have it on in the quiet of your home your I-Pod is set to a reasonable volume, but when you're in a noisy environment, you're going to turn it up to hear the content at what seems the appropriate level. But listen at that same level while you're at home, and you'll understand what you might be doing to your ears. The evidence of hearing loss among Americans, which I have always suspected just from observation,  is now beginning to be increasingly documented in fact. As you might suspect, the most vulnerable potential victims (and the ones with the most to lose) are young people.

Naturally, as classical musicians, we have a vested interest in resisting as best we can the trend towards this national desensitization. I had no idea, however, that there are actual organizations out there that seek to fight noise pollution. You go, people. With all the battles out there to fight, I'm afraid this one is going to have a hard time getting much attention. Still, one can wage war against noise pollution on an individual basis. Turn the TV off at dinner time. Show consideration for your fellow diners when at a restaurant. Rake your leaves instead of using a leaf-blower. You can protect yourself and those you love, too. New Yorkers, give your children earplugs to wear on the subway (my heart sinks every time I see a child in a stroller with unprotected ears when the subway brakes shriek).

My friend Dan Dryden, longtime sound mixer for live concerts of the Philip Glass Ensemble (and all-around sensible person), recently sent all of us who work with the group information about this online hearing test. He found it surprisingly reliable, matching closely results he had obtained from a professional audiologist's test. You need good headphones and (good luck) a noise-free environment to take it...I haven't done it yet but plan to soon. It does not substitute for a real test administered by an audiologist, but Dan informs me that most health-insurance plans cover a professional hearing test.

The quaking voice student stands before the withering gaze of the master teacher, offering only a modest plea of understanding in explaining the inadequacies of her performance: "This is hard." The diva continues to stare, unmoved: "What is hard is watching you make a mockery of this art."

Don't expect scenes like this (from Terrence McNally's play "Master Class") in this week's master classes open to the public at USC School of Music. But if you've never attended a music master class, what you might find is a window into the performing process. USC doesn't widely advertise its master classes, but they almost always are free and open to the general public. The student gets a chance to hear a different perspective than the one they get in lessons each week with their regular teacher. The audience can hear the artist-teacher's basic approach to technique and interpretive matters encapsulated in 3 or so short mini-lessons with students.

Monday afternoon the 27th, renowned voice teacher Barbara Honn from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music will conduct a master class, and on Wednesday afternoon the 29th Donna Lee from Kent State University will be doing a piano master class.  Click on the links for all the details.