MusicRadar

Sacculus stimulation in full effect. (© Holger Winkler/Corbis)

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For many, loud music means high energy, excitement and emotion, recalling the atmosphere experienced at a live rock concert or on a club dance floor, where you're overwhelmed by aural and physical sensations.

Cranking up the volume can be enjoyable, no doubt about it, but knowing why that is – and when it's appropriate to do so – could make you a better musician.

There are very real reasons why high-amplitude audio holds such appeal. Did you know that there's a tiny organ in the inner ear called the sacculus (once thought to have no function in our auditory system) that's linked to a region of the brain associated with the response to pleasure?

It's now known, according to the research of Dr. Neil Todd, that it reacts to low-frequency vibrations over 90dB. It seems both live and club music are tailor-made for sacculus stimulation.

Academic and lecturer Dr Barry Blesser suggests that "raising the loudness of music, like a double shot of whisky, elevates the intensity of the experience". Listeners undergo significant, measurable changes in mind-body states and Blesser reckons that "loud music is simply a stronger stimulant than soft music".

"Raising the loudness of music, like a double shot of whisky, elevates the intensity of the experience". Dr Barry Blesser, audio academic

He maintains that it places us in another "aural space" by masking other sounds and somewhat removing us from our immediate environment, altering our frame of mind. It's fascinating stuff, and we recommend reading Blesser's study, The Seductive (Yet Destructive) Appeal of Loud Music, in full.

Decibels 'n' bass

One fellow who knows all about the physical nature of cranked-up music is heavyweight DnB producer Lemon D, who co-owns the famous Valve Sound System with Dillinja. Said to be the only system in the world designed specifically for drum 'n' bass, this 96kW touring behemoth contains no less than 52 sub woofers and requires three lorries to shift it.

"Bass is literally non-existent in many clubs," says Lemon D, "but it is an integral part of the music! Why include it at source, only to remove it when it's played? Bass is one of the most important factors in any form of dance music – it stimulates us mentally and physically."

The audience are often handed earplugs at Valve shows to protect their hearing, but Lemon D explains, "It's not really that loud. If you go into any bar and there's loud music, you'd need earplugs. What makes our system feel louder is the bass and overall EQing. Bass doesn't give you tinnitus – high end does. The reason people wear earplugs is that some insist on partying all night in front of the speakers – this is absolutely nuts! It's best to move around, then you won't be subjecting yourself to loud music [all night]."

Unfortunately, record companies cottoned on to the 'louder is better' theory some time ago, resulting in the so-called loudness war, whereby CDs are commonly mastered to have as high an average level as possible. Sadly, this is always to the detriment of sound quality.

"The over-squashing of dynamics is just wrong, period – it's only going to tire your hearing," says Lemon D. And making your tracks stupidly loud to rock the dance floor harder doesn't work either. "If music has been mastered to distort, it'll sound distorted on the system. The best thing music-makers could do is to come down a few decibels, then just turn the level up on the sound system. Producers used to do this and it sounded great."

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