Concert Hall Acoustics

Transcription

1 Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning University of Sydney presents Dr Leo Beranek Concert Hall Acoustics Proudly sponsored by

2 CONCERT HALLS Acous&cal Design

3 HISTORY Ballrooms of Palaces Bach, Handel, Corelli and Vivaldi Around 1800,1 st halls built for concerts Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven Around 1850, halls seamng built Schubert, Brahms, Prokofiev, Williams , Three great halls, Vienna, Boston, Amsterdam, built European repertoire Post WWII, Thousands built - Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartók, Adams, Reich

4 Sabine: ReverberaMon Time

5 BOSTON SYMPHONY HALL Higginson: Chose rectangular shape and width of hall later row- to- row spacing Sabine: His formula gave ceiling height and he put orchestra in separate stage house. Building CommiZee: Fireproof construcmon Architect: Niches, statues, ceiling coffers

6 CONCERT HALLS AND OPERA HOUSES In 1955 an unusual opportunity for me arose. I traveled and azended concerts in England (5 cimes), Austria (two cimes), Germany (six cimes), Denmark, France, Finland (2 cimes), Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland (3 cimes), and the USA (14 cimes). I interviewed 23 outstanding conductors and performers, and 21 music crimcs in 17 cimes. Technical data were obtained from acousmcians around the world.

7 BEST LIKED HALLS, I FOUND The best liked halls are shaped like shoeboxes, are not too wide (less than 26 meters), and have reverberation times (fully occupied) in excess of 1.8 seconds. Fan shaped halls are least well liked. In surround halls there are usually number of seats with excellent acoustics, but in some sections the violin section might be emphasized making the hall sound as though there was too little bass. Other places there were echoes or unnatural sound. [Lateral-directed-reflection-sequence type not yet in existence]/

8 PRINCIPAL ACOUSTICAL ATTRIBUTES ReverberaMon Time Early Sound ReflecMons

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10 IniMal- Time- Delay Gap t(r1)- t(d) = ITDG in msec

11 More Acous&cal AZributes Strength of Sound, G (decibels) Clarity (Defini&on), C80, (decibels) Binaural Quality Index, BQI Surface Diffusivity

12 Grosser Musikvereinssaal in Vienna

13 Symphony Hall in Boston

14 Concertgebouw in Amsterdam

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16 Philharmonie Hall, Berlin

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18 Concert Hall in Sydney Opera House

19 Disney Hall, Los Angeles

20 Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall

21 Congress Center Concert Hall, Lucerne

22 Steps in Hall Design 1. Choose audience size 2. Chose hall type and shape 3. Chose early sound reflecmng surfaces 4. Choose type of seats 5. Chose walls and ceiling thicknesses 6. Chose desired reverberamon Mme 7. Calculate cubic volume (Gives ceiling height) 8. Chose upper wall back- reflecmng elements 7. Chose diffusing elements

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24 Audience size, Hall type, Hall Shape Shoebox: Best for audiences 2000 or under Surround: Audiences up to 3000 a) Berlin Philharmonie or Disney Hall type Fan shape: Audiences 1000 of under Lateral- directed- reflecmon- sequence type: a) No audience maximum established

25 Early sound reflecmng surfaces Types of seats Walls and Ceiling Thicknesses 1) Choose reflecmng surfaces to give early sound reflecmons to all seamng areas. 2) The seats can be of any degree of upholstering, provided wall thicknesses and cubic volume are adjusted accordingly. 3) Walls and ceiling thicknesses are adjusted in accordance with kind of seat upholstering and bass response desired.

26 Calculate Cubic Volume Cubic volume depends on: Chosen reverberamon Mme Area of audience and orchestra, combined Area of and sound absorpmon by sidewall and ceiling surfaces Type of hall, e.g. shoebox vs other Type of seats chosen Openings for air- condimoning Carpets or any other special absorbing items Presence of pipe organ

27 Upper- wall back- reflecmng elements Upper and lower wall diffusing elements 1) Upper walls should have elements that reflect high frequency sounds back to the front of the hall and the stage 2) Small scale diffusion on lower walls 3) Large scale diffusion on upper walls