Root Mean Square
Digital
Michael R. Carter
2011
In the Spring of 1974
a miracle occurred- I graduated from High School. It happened in spite of myself. My interest, my goal, my life was music- specifically, the band. I played a Farfisa Combo Compact with two Leslie 145's stacked (some of you reading this will actually know what that means). In my Senior year I played every weekend- teen clubs and skating rinks in two states. Life was good. Behind the band was a wall of amps- Marshall, Crate, Orange, Peavey. Quantity made up for quality. One thing we knew- the music had to be loud. When discussing amps, two things always came up- peak-to-peak and RMS. The first deals with an amplifier's potential. The second- the consistent average. Musicians are interested in the consistent average, the RMS.
In this moment, 37 years later, another miracle continues-
I teach High School.
God, in His infinite wisdom and humor, has called me to teach the very age I least enjoyed being. Now, thirty seven years later, I finally understand the difference between peak-to-peak and RMS. I am surrounded by students with uncharted potential, content with their RMS. I am surrounded by versions of my 1974 self, a person oblivious to potential, and I am concerned.
May God give me strategies.
