SR/Live Thu, August 28, 2008

By Keith Clark,

I ran across an interesting item during a recent trip around the web – as reported in the Denver Post, it seems that some political activists planning to attend the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver are concerned that local authorities might deploy very low frequencies as a form of crowd control. In other words, there’s fear of the dreaded Brown Note. (Click here to go directly to the Post’s coverage.)

The Brown Note is much talked about in pro audio circles. The concept is that exposure to sound with a certain infrasound frequency (too low to be heard by the human ear) can cause the inner intestinal workings of humans to “let loose.”

To this point, all objective scientific research has shown the Brown Note to be the stuff of urban legend. Some may also recall that a few years ago, Meyer Sound assisted Mythbusters (a superb Discovery Channel TV program) in exploring and debunking the concept, with Meyer Sound reporting about it here. (The photo above shows Mythbuster Jamie Hyneman talking with Meyer Sound Staff Scientist Dr. Roger Schwenke. Note what Mr. Hyneman is carrying in preparation for the test.)

Still, it’s easy to understand why the Brown Note idea proliferates - anyone who’s stood in front of the subwoofer stacks at a high-level concert knows that the output can take your breath away, rattle your teeth, and perhaps even prompt a queasy feeling.

I’ve had this distinct “pleasure” several times, most notably when accidentally wandering directly in front of several of Dave Gunness’ horn-loaded “SuperSubs” during a Super Bowl system rehearsal several years ago. Not a pleasant experience, but I suffered no physical reactions other than described above – except for moving more quickly than I had in years in order to get out of the line of fire.

So take heart, activists – even if there’s an attempt to unleash Brown Note technology, your trousers should remain intact. It is interesting, though, that the source of this concern comes from another point in the Post article: “The city (of Denver) flat-out refuses to say how it plans to use the $385,000 amplification system that council members approved with little public discussion.”

We’ll do our best to find out what purposes the rather large “amplification system” line item might indeed be used for at the convention.

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