Wearing earplugs while practicing

[Crazytrombonist505]

What are your thoughts on wearing earplugs while practicing in a small room? When I'm practicing at home, I usually practice in a room about 15'x15' and I've debated about wearing earplugs while doing so. Just curious as to what other people do. Thanks in advance! Stay safe out there!

[harrisonreed]

I can't play with earplugs or anything that blocks sound in or over my ears. That feedback is important to help you play the room correctly.

[Burgerbob]

I wear musician earplugs for all my practice in my 4X8 practice room. There's no point in sacrificing your ears, especially if you're spending a lot of time in it.

If you do it a lot, you'll be good at practicing with them in. Strange how practice works...

[norbie2018]

I play in an even smaller room and have never used ear plugs. Then again, I don't play at extremely loud dynamics for any length of time, not the kind of playing that I do on a regular basis. I imagine if you decided to play with them you would get used to them. Do what is right for your health.

[tbonesullivan]

It can be a little weird at first, because if you use some earplugs, you will end up having more signal conducted through your body than through your ear canals, and it sounds really muddy.

I finally bit the bullet this year and got some custom molded earplugs from Westone, with 15dB filters, which is what they recommend for brass. Even if you don't wear them when you practice at home, the sound levels at rehearsals and concerts can be insane.

[baileyman]

Do it.

You'll hear things you never heard before because the horn is so loud. There are so many sounds going on. Tongue, lip spittle, inspiration, the clunk of the slide into the receivers. All these things are clues to playing and may correlate with things you want to improve. They are paths for improvement.

There is nothing like hearing how noisy the tongue is as it goes about its business.

[afugate]

Do it.

You'll hear things you never heard before because the horn is so loud. There are so many sounds going on. Tongue, lip spittle, inspiration, the clunk of the slide into the receivers. All these things are clues to playing and may correlate with things you want to improve. They are paths for improvement.

There is nothing like hearing how noisy the tongue is as it goes about its business.

This was an accidental discovery for me. Now I use plugs occasionally just for this purpose - primarily to focus on my tongue movement and articulation.

Speaking of which... Time to put in some earplugs. I've not been on the horn much recently and my articulations need work!!

--Andy in OKC

[Bonearzt]

My thought is to use them occasionally to get familiar with the feeling just in case you might need them on a gig sometime! Even switching ears so you can hear your sound open and plugged.

I usually wear one in my right ear in big band rehearsals as I'm on the left side of the band.

But I wouldn't get in the habit of wearing them all the time in your practice sessions. 15x15 is a pretty good sized room! Sit away from the wall in front of you and able away from it.