Background information
To all carnival carpers: how to get through the insane days
by Martin Rupf
How to protect your kids’ eardrums from Guggenmusik
15-2-2023
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
Fat Thursday marks the start of Fasnacht, or Carnival, in many places. And you can’t have Fasnacht without loud Guggenmusik – Carnival marching bands. But it can prove a bit much for adults and especially children’s sensitive ears need to be protected.
Hate Carnival, or Fasnacht, as it’s called in Switzerland? Then you can skip this article. Instead, I recommend checking out this text I wrote a year ago.
But maybe you’re one of the die-hard Fasnacht-goers who’s especially looking forward to the carnival this year, given the pandemic put a damper on the celebrations the past two years. When people think of Fasnacht, they think primarily of parades, Fasnacht balls and Guggenmusik concerts. I, for one, am happy to admit that I quite like Guggenmusik. In my youth, I even went to the Monsterkonzert (a Guggenmusik concert) in Lucerne once. As an Aargau native, I thought it fitting to dress up as a carrot. After all, the canton of Aargau has the reputation of being the «Rüeblikanton», or carrot canton. Very original, I know.
Source: Shutterstock
Merrily, I swayed to and fro with the crowd into the wee hours of the morning. Not only the concert was monstrous, but also my hangover the next day. Maybe that’s why my enthusiasm for Fasnacht waned in the following years ...
Making earplugs out of napkins
Since having children, Fasnacht has gained a little more importance again. In recent years, I’ve indeed gone out to join a carnival parade. After my kids had fought their way through the crowd to the front row, I started to get nervous. First, the drummers were getting dangerously close to the kid’s heads with their sticks. Second, the noise produced by Guggenmusik is comparable to a Formula 1 racing car just before the race starts.
In a pinch, I made little earplugs out of napkins and stuffed them into my kids’ ears.
Source: Martin Rupf
Of course, proper hearing protection would be better. More and more often, you see children and tots wearing hearing protection at Fasnacht. Thanks to their standard bright colours, they fit perfectly into the hustle and bustle.
Needless to say, proper hearing protection is all the more important if your kids want to play in a Guggenmusik band themselves.
Source: Stefan Näf
Is Guggenmusik really music or just organised noise?
But the topic of hearing protection should also be of interest to parents who are forced to attend the Fasnacht procession because of their children. Hey, you can use earplugs to shield yourself from the worst, too.
People critical of Fasnacht typically don’t consider Guggenmusik to be music, but rather organised noise. Stefan Näf vehemently disagrees with this sentiment. The 42-year-old has been the drum major with the Guggenmusik Gipsbachschluderi group from Ehrendingen (AG) for four years. «There may have been some truth to this back in the day. But in recent years, Guggenmusik musicians have shown a serious rise in level.» Stefan Näf had initially joined the Guggenmusik group as a drummer, later switching to the euphonium. Today, Stefan Näf contents himself with conducting the formation. That is, he leads the Guggenmusik band with his baton.
Source: Stefan Näf
But according to Näf, this year’s Fasnacht kick-off really showed that Guggenmusik is seen by many people for what it is – music. «After a two-year break because of Covid, there were more people than we’d seen in a long time,» says Stefan Näf. «We always go for catchy tunes that spread party vibes,» he adds.
Will this year’s Fasnacht put me in a party mood? That remains to be seen. To my great relief, however, Fasnacht hasn’t been a huge topic with my kids so far. With any luck, it’ll stay that way until the carnival’s over.
Header image: Shutterstock
Martin Rupf
Senior Editor
martin.rupf@digitecgalaxus.chHalf-Danish dad of two and third child of the family, mushroom picker, angler, dedicated public viewer and world champion of putting my foot in it.