Concert Hall Acoustical Design
The design of a large hall for music performance presents special challenges.
Perhaps the first complexity rests with the music itself. Clearly, symphonic
music, chamber music, and opera each require very different acoustics, as well as
size and room functionality. Moreover, different styles of music, such as baroque,
classical, and popular have different acoustical requirements. Finally, different
music cultures, such as Eastern and Western, require different design criteria.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of hall design is the ambiguity of the goal itself.
While it is possible to measure many specific aspects such as reverberation time,
there is no measurement, or even specific consensus, on what “good” music
acoustics are. The diversity of the requirements, subjectivity of the goal, lack of
objective benchmarks, and differences of opinion all conspire to make hall design
an art as well as a science.
Reverberation
Very generally, the problem of music hall acoustics may be considered in two
parts: early sound and late reverberant sound. Early sound is sometimes
considered in terms of early reverberation decay time, intimacy, clarity, and
lateral spaciousness. Late reverberant sound can be considered as late
reverberation decay time, warmth, loudness, and brilliance. Reverberation can
further be considered in two parts: early and late reverberation. The ear is very
sensitive to early reverberation. This is partly because in most music,later
reverberation is partly masked by the following music notes. Early reverberation
largely defines our subjective impression of the entire reverberation event. The
early decay time (EDT) is defined as the time required for sound to decrease 10
dB, multiplied by 6. (Multiplying by 6 allows comparison with late reverberation
time RT60.) Unlike dense late reverberation, early reverberation comprises
relatively few primary reflections. These reflections arrive within the Haas fusion
zone and are integrated with the direct sound, reinforcing it. This early
reverberation can affect the clarity of sound. The greater the energy in the early
reverberation, the better the clarity. Late reverberation can affect our perception
of the liveness of sound. More late reverberant energy can increase liveness or
fullness. As late reverberant energy increases, the clarity relatively decreases.
Brilliance
Brilliance is another metric used to quantify hall acoustics. Brilliance describes
sound that has presence and clearness. Brilliance is achieved with adequate high-
frequency energy from reflecting surfaces. On the other hand, a hall with good
brilliance should not sound too bright or harsh. Brilliance can be estimated by
comparing a high-frequency EDT to an averaged mid-frequency EDT. In
particular:
EDT EDT EDT EDT + EDT 2,000 Mid 2,000 500 1,000 imilarly,
EDT4,000/EDTMid can be calculated. Some sources recommend that EDT2,000/
EDTMid should be at least 0.9, and EDT4,000/EDTMid should be at least 0.8.
Spaciousness
The characteristics of the early sound field are also important in establishing a
sense of spaciousness so the listener feels enveloped by sound in the hall. A sense
of spaciousness can be created by early reflections from side walls, often called
lateral reflections, which occur within the 80 msec of the arrival of the direct
sound. It is important that these reflections arrive at the listener from either side at
angles of approximately 20° to 90° relative to the front of the listener. The
geometry of rectangular shoebox-type halls lends itself to lateral reflections. In
fan-shaped halls, these reflections arrive more from the listener’s front; this can
decrease the effect. In some designs, a reverse lateral shape can provide good
lateral reflections. Spaciousness is also augmented by providing adequate
diffusion; the ornate decorations in many older concert halls accomplish this.
