ME 432 Acoustics and Noise Control Engineering

Term project Report : Concert Hall Acoustics

INTRODUCTION
As a term project, contrary to what we have done so far, I tried to choose a topic that
combines engineering and art. The impact or impressiveness of a music has been thought
to depend only on the musicians skill, but it is known that interactions between the
concert-hall acoustics and listeners hearing also play a major role in musical dynamics
. The main goal of the project is to find what acoustic conditions are preferred in concert
hall so that music can be fully enjoyed and appreciated by both the musicians on the
stage and the audience. This subject is the area of architectural acoustics that is founded
by W.C Sabine in the early 1900s. Sabine was the first to investigate the properties of a
hall and he discovered the most important acoustical parameter up to date: RT,
reverberation time. This finding launched the science of architectural acoustics which is
a multidisciplinary field that spans in many fields. [1] Later, Leo Beranek did major
contributions into acoustics spanning from 1940 to today as an expert in the design and
evaluation of concert halls and opera houses. That is why all papers and studies has
extensive citations to Mr. Beraneks books and other studies.
Until the eighties, the reverberation time was the only acoustic parameter considered for
the objective description of their acoustics. Expanding the existing knowledge about
concert hall acoustics has been provided with further parameters to describe their
acoustics. [2]
Many studies of subjective perception of concert hall acoustics have been conducted
with questionnaries with the musicians and listening of real concerts while others are
carried in laboratories using simulations and recordings.
Concert hall acoustics research have been studied for over hundred years and it can be
categorized into different studies. Focusing on the measurable physical parameters and
quantities, architectural solutions, acoustical treatments, prediction techniques and
psychoacoustical point of view using listeners and musicians experience and auditory
perception.
This report attempts to provide a contemporary overview of research into concert hall
acoustics and to present briefly some important results found mostly related with the
important physical parameters, orchestra orientation in the stage and psychological
effects of different properties on musicians.

Figure 1 Sound Propagation in Concert Hall (Beranek, 2004 )

Part 1 : Physical Parameters

To proceed with more techniqual information in next sections, basic concepts should be
kept in mind. For example, direct sound is the sound that travels directly from an
instrument on a stage to the listener seated in the audience . The term early sound
includes the direct sound and all the reflections from all the boundaries, mainly walls
and ceiling, reaching the listeners position in the first 80 milliseconds after the arrival
of the direct sound. Finally, the reverberant sound encompasses all the reflections
arriving to the listeners ears after 80 ms.

Reverberation Time
To provide an optimum value for reverberation time is the first step for acoustical
design. Reverberation time refers to the time period in which the sound attenuates 60
dB after the source has stopped generating a sound. Reverberation is a product of a large
number of echoes building up, bouncing between the surfaces of the hall and slowly
decaying as the sound attenuates by the inverse-square law of the distance from the
source and is absorbed by the surfaces and the air. Thus, reverberation time is highly
dependent on the volume of the space as well as the surface materials and amount of
acoustical treatment applied in the space as stated by Sabine. [3]
If the reverberation time is too short, a concert hall can be described as dead or dry
and orchestral or symphonic music is not adequately supported by the hall. If the
reverberation time is too long, the acoustics may be perceived as too live and the
music as distant or lacking presence, clarity and strength. It is now well established that
in concert halls with appraised acoustics, the RT is around 1.8 - 2.2 seconds depending
on the purpose and shape of the hall.

Figure 2 Reverberation Time (Beranek, 2004 )

Figure 3 Recommended Reverberation Time (Wilson, 1989)

If the reverberation is sustained in the region between 350 to 1400 Hz, Liveness of
the acoustical environment is enhanced (Beranek, 2004, p. 29). On the other hand, if a
halls reverberation is increased in the lower frequency region it is often said to be
warm (Beranek, 1996, p. 23).
While reverberation time continues to be regarded as a significant parameter, there is
reasonable agreement that other types of measurements, such as relative sound pressure
levels, early/late energy ratios, lateral energy fractions, interaural cross-correlation

functions and background noise levels, are needed for a more complete evaluation of
the acoustical quality of rooms.
Support
Knudsen described the concept of support in early 1930s. However, very little
information about the acoustics of stage has appeared in the acoustical literature until
late 1970s. Since the beginning of the 80s, Anders Gade has been active in research
concerning the development of the understanding concert hall acoustics. In 1989, Gade
reported a series of pioneer studies carried out in the laboratory as well as in the field .
Gade made studies in several concert halls concerning ensemble and developed the stage
support measurement [ST] . ST measures how much of a musicians emitted sound
energy that is reflected to a fellow musician sitting at a distance of one meter. Put it
differently, support is the property which makes the musician feel that he can hear
himself and that it is not necessary to force the instrument to develop the tone. It can be
felt even during the onset of tones and is therefore believed to be related to properties
different from reverberance. [4,5]
Gade has listed recommendations for measuring ST [6] :
the platform should be occupied with chairs and music stands
all objects in a 2 metre radius from the transducers should be removed
the transducers must be placed at least 4 metres from reflecting stage surfaces to
make sure these surfaces are include beyond the 20 ms integration limit
on smaller stages the 20 ms limit must be reduced and all furniture removed
(since many reflections will arrive before 20 ms)
distance from sound source to microphone set to 1 metre and the height of both
set to 1 metre above the stage floor
calibration is needed for the frequency bands where the sound source is not
adequately omni directional

Figure 4 Measurement setup

Findings indicate that the strings are the most demanding for support and the
brass/percussion has the largest potential of getting too loud for the strings. This or any
other possible most critical paths within the orchestra could be used instead of
averaging between many paths. An interesting question with regard to this is to which
degree the musicians listen to the others while playingthemselves, or during time gaps
where they do not play themselves.

Leo Beranek states in his book Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music, Acoustics, and
Architecture that When a canopy is used to create a favorable SUPPORT on stage, its
height should be between 7 to 13 m, adjusted according to the orchestras preference.
Depending upon what energy is reflected from other surfaces this height will make
SUPPORT equal approximately to -12 to -15 dB. [3]

Clarity
Clarity [C80 or C50], is defined as the ratio between the early energy to the late energy
according to equation (2.7) and is highly correlated inversely to the reverberation time.
Clarity is measured in dB. Often published C80-values are averaged over three octaves
bands namely: 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. Henceforth, this average value is denoted
C80(3). During rehearsals, when the hall is unoccupied, an expected value of C80(3)
should have a value between +1 to + 5 dB. This allows for details in the music to be
heard more clearly. In contrast, during performance, an expected value of -1 to -4 dB
might be considered appropriate. Furthermore, increased clarity contributes to rapidly
played passages for instruments such as the violin [3]
It may be noted that C80 with te = 80ms is usually used in room designed for music,
while C50 with te = 50ms is usually used in rooms for speech.

Early Reflections and Early/Late Energy

In his report, Gade points out the relevance of distinguishing between early and late
energy: [. . .] The early energy from others is useful for ensemble, while the late part
provides support to ones own instrument; but the late part also influences the total
orchestra loudness which may mask hearing of oneself as well as the useful early sound
from others [7]
Without giving much details and mathematical descriptions, effects of early energy can
be understood briefly with the help following summarized findings taken from various
studies below:
Early reflections are the main factor for achieving support, Gade [3,4]
The sound field characteristic of greatest importance is the spectrum of early
sound [8]

 Reflections arriving 10 40 ms improve ensemble [9]

Reflections beyond 35 ms can contribute to ensemble at lower frequencies [10]
Reflections before 35 ms preferred, if weak direct sound or fast movement &
long RT [11]
0.5 2 kHz sound important for ensemble, below 500 Hz may be detrimental
[12]
Singers disliked a 40 ms delayed reflection [12]
Too much early energy on stage can cause the orchestra to sound too quiet in the
audience [13]
Reflections beyond 100 200 ms are detrimental for the orchestra [14]
Singer had best intonation when level of self was -5 to +15 dB louder than others
[15]
Strong early reflections at 5 20 ms can cause unfavourable coloration effects
[16]
For fast tempo solo singing a 17 ms delayed single reflection is preferred [17]
Musicians should only get 1st order reflections within 25 ms and late sound from
the hall. (D. Griesinger (2006))

Part 2 : The Orchestra and Choir on Stage

A symphonic orchestra normally consists of approximately 100 players. They can be
categorized into four main instrument groups: strings, woodwind, brass and percussion.
The strings consist of violins, violas, celli and double basses. The woodwinds consist of
oboes (including cor anglais), bassoons, clarinets and flutes. The brass group consists of
trumpets, French horns, trombones, and tuba. The percussion group includes timpani,
vibraphone, harps and piano. A piano can be treated as both a string and percussive
instrument. Seen from the audience, the orchestra is usually arranged in the same order
as listed here: strings at front, woodwinds in the middle and brass and percussion at the
back as Figure 1 shows. The choir is normally placed behind the orchestra on stage and
can often have above 100 persons. Soloist singers are situated at front of the stage like
any instrumental soloist (normally violin or cello). The orchestra plan known as the
American is shown in Figure 5, which is the most common arrangement today.
Alternative arrangements exist as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 5 Orchestra arrangement, American. (Approximate positions, based on Internet)

(Meyer, 1987)

The leftmost arrangement shown in Figure 6 is the American. The middle is

Furtwnglers version, while the rightmost is the German (or European) arrangement.
The German arrangement gives a better stereo effect of the orchestra with the first and
second violins on opposite sides (Meyer [18]). Many symphonic works have been
written with this arrangement in mind, creating a dialog between left and right side of
the orchestra among the violins. The American is said to be motivated by the
monophonic recording technique used during the 50s With the American arrangement
a synchronized onset of tone is easier achieved between the two 2 of 14 violin groups
since they are sitting together using this arrangement, and the stereo effect lost its value
on mono recordings. Because of more demanding playing conditions for the orchestra
(especially the strings, violins), the German is not the most popular arrangement. But it
is popular for its stereo effect for the audience, and string players have commented that
it is easier to listen outside the string group with this arrangement. But at the beginning

of rehearsals many string players experience more difficulties being split up in two
separate groups (Orestad [19]).
In general the highest power levels in the orchestra were found for percussion and brass
instruments. (Meyer,2004). Normally the percussion and brass instruments sit at the
back of the stage pointing their instruments towards the audience/conductor. A major
consequence of source levels, directivity of the different instruments and how the
orchestra is arranged on stage, is that the direct sound levels from the different
instruments vary considerably within the orchestra.
Part 3 : Psychological Effects for Musicians
In concert halls the preferred conditions for the audience are quite well understood.
However, one thing people underestimates is the importance of optimum conditions for
the musicians. The focus has been more on the audience because this is actually where
the music is to be appreciated and thus conditions for the musicians are less clear . But
for the audience to hear great music, the stage conditions for the musicians are highly
relevant since this is the origin of the sound/music. The musician interacts with what
he/she hears quite differently from a (passive) listener. The musicians focus is not just
on enjoying the music, but producing it. [20]. What the musicians hear is crucial,
affecting their ability to interact confidently in the mutual process of music making [21].
In this interactive process the musicians automatically adapt to their environment, which
makes it more difficult to find relations between cause and effect on a stage.
Development in hearing physiology and experimental methods in the past 60 years has
resulted in more scientific research in this area. Ando and his colleagues (Ando, 1985)
performed important research in this area, and provided more solid evidence for the
importance of reverberation time from the physiological ear-brain mechanism
perspective. They also discovered that reverberation time is the dimension in the
temporal perception of left hemisphere, and its influence is orthogonal with spatial
perceptions of right hemisphere. The implication of this conclusion is that music
appreciation influenced by reverberation time is independent from other indexes, and
therefore can be studied separately.
For example, from daily experience we know that people tend to be more on tune when
humming in a reverberant space like bathroom than open space. Similarly but more
critically, musicians expressed their sensitivity toward the reverberation of the
performing space. To quote Issac Stern, Reverberation is of great help to a violinist. As
he goes from one note to another the previous note perseveres and he has the feeling that
each note is surrounded by strength, When this happens, the violinist does not feel that
his playing is bare or naked there is a friendly aura surrounding each note .
E. Power Biggs makes comments on the dependence of organ music on the long
reverberation setting, 25 An organist will take all the reverberation time he is given,
and then ask for a bit more, for ample reverberation is part of organ music itself. Many
of Bachs organ works are designed actually to exploit reverberation. Consider the pause
that follows the ornamented proclamation that opens the famous Toccata in D minor.
Obviously this is for the enjoyment of the notes as they remain suspended in the air

Most players agree that acoustic conditions are essential to them, but apart from giving
their overall acoustic impression, most players struggle to describe in detail how the
acoustic conditions or the design of the stage enclosure affect them. The players appear
to be able to tell when acoustic conditions differ, but struggle to define what they
experience as different and what could be the cause(s).
Enclosures and its Effects
Some of the existing stages today have enclosures providing more early reflections than
appear necessary, leading to excessive sound levels with risk of hearing loss among the
players. A lack of reflected sound is also frustrating for the players. Beneficial
conditions for the players regarding reflected sound rely not solely on the design of the
stage enclosure, but also on a well designed main auditorium. Well designed stage
enclosures can make the venue more versatile, also with regard to repertoire. For
instance better communication across the stage among string players can make it easier
to use the German orchestra configuration, or select repertoire where for instance the
structure and durations in the music are less predictable (more improvised music
compared to classic or romantic repertoire). If the players are able to communicate easily
between each other and enjoy making music, chances are high that they will make
exciting music for the audience as well. A narrow and high, exposed stage is preferred
by the orchestra and also appears to be beneficial for the conductor and audience as well
(mentioned by Meyer (2008) and Griesinger (2006)). With a narrow stage enclosure the
double basses will be next to a hard reflecting surface which helps raising sound levels
at the lowest frequencies from the double basses contributing to a fuller sound.

Subjective Parameters
It is also very important to link the subjective music appreciation with the physical
parameter of a space that is mentioned before (Support, reverberation time etc.)
In his book How they sound: Concert Halls and Opera Halls Beranek makes an attempt
to define common terms among musicians and acousticians. Some of the subjective
judgement examples are given below. Definitions are to express subjective judjement in
a common language in acoustical environments.

Table 1: Explanations of subjective parameters according to Beranek (Beranek, 1996,

pp. 22 - 26) (Beranek, 2004, pp. 28 - 35).

Another important perception is called Listener Envelopment (LE).. LE addresses

how the listener feels surrounded by the music, rather than listening to it as if through a
window. A good listener envelop is that the sound comes from all direction rather than
from limited directions. It is measured by Lateral Energy Fraction, as a ratio of sound
energy arriving laterally over sound energy arriving from all directions.
Precedence effect
The precedence effect, or Haas effect, occurs when a sound has a discontinuous or
transient character as in music or speech. Localization of the sound source is preliminary
due to the direct sound from the source even though reverberation is present. If the
reflections are 10 dB louder than that of the direct sound, the precedence effect is
negligible (Rossing, 2007, p. 485).

Cocktail Party Effect

The Cocktail Party Effect is the phenomenon when many sources are located in a room
and the brain and hearing mechanics have the capability to highlight certain sounds in
comparison to others. Nevertheless, in order to be able to locate the source, the sound
pressure level has to be about 10 to 15 dB above that of the masking sound (Meyer &
Hansen, 2009, p. 17).
In the end, there seems to be agreement that musicians have one main concern: getting
the right balance between hearing one-self (support) and hearing others. In brief, results
in the literature shows that a small reverberant room will lead to lack of hearing oneself, while a large room with few reflections will lead to lack of hearing others. Lack of
support often leads to intonation difficulties, while lack of hearing others leads to timing
difficulties within the orchestra (Gade). Ensemble has been used to represent the
degree to which a musician can hear others, but ensemble can also be interpreted as the

balance point between hearing one-self and others. It remains to be answered what
measure is actually required to balance these two listening perspectives.

Discussion
In brief the findings may be summarized as follows: direct sound and source-receiver
distance within the orchestra are important and are influenced by orchestra arrangement
and risers. Brass and percussion are the loudest instruments, while strings which are the
weakest instruments in terms of sound power. This leads to strings normally being the
most demanding on acoustics for their own support. Distributed early reflections are
important. Reflections arriving in the 8 of 14 time span from 40 to 200 ms (between the
time regions for early and late sound) can be detrimental. The most important
frequencies are 0.5 2 kHz, but lower frequencies can play an important role for
intonation. Especially for soloists more reverberation (late sound) is appreciated.
Among the main uncertainties are time interval of useful and detrimental reflections,
direction, distribution and diffusion of reflections, and preference for late sound. These
are all controlled by the architecture of the stage and the hall itself.
Some general advices for a concert hall according to literature is as follows :
Provide adequate space on stage to avoid close proximity to loud instruments
Install sound absorbing screens where close instruments are still too loud
Do not install absorption on reflecting surfaces close to the orchestra (except near
very loud instruments), as this will reduce ensemble and likely make each
musician play even louder!
Modify the playing style towards finer nuances instead of more loudness.
The key message is: do not treat the problem like a normal noise case in which
installation of absorption is the natural choice. If the needed early reflections are
removed, the effect will most likely be the opposite: the musicians will intuitively play
louder!
A lot of paper and conference studies that I encountered is related with field
experiments. (not simulations or modellings). However, in field experiments the
musicians are exposed to the real thing including the entire complexity of all the
sounds from the orchestra correctly modified by the acoustic features of the hall. There
is no question about the degree of realism; but most often we can not control the many
possible, independent variables as we wish, comparisons are difficult with long time
intervals between the stimuli and likely different music has been played in the different
halls. The situation is slightly different if experiments are carried out in a single hall
with variable acoustics on stage; but the variation in independent variables will still be
limited. To put it differently, minimum requirements for the results from a field
experiment to be of general value must be that the number of halls are larger than the
degrees of freedom required to represent the possible variables, and with those being
many (one can easily list at least ten independant variables in concert hall and stage
design) it is necessary to have data from many more than 10 halls in order for significant

results to emerge. As a result, although huge effort is produced in last century, to collect
all those data and evaluate/interpret them is cumbersome and a very tedious task.
Therefore, researchers and consultants must unite in an effort to collect sufficient data
on musicians evaluation of halls as well as on objective parameter values and
architectural descriptions from these halls. This can only be done if we agree on a
minimum set of questions to be included in every new subjective survey of halls and on
a minimum set of objective date to be measured and collected as well. The first task is
to select objective parameters, define measurement procedures, take care of
communication, collection and distribution of data and organize analysis of results. [22]

References
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Behaviour of Assessors in a Descriptive Analysis Experiment (Master Thesis)
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Italy
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