CONCERT HALLS

AND

OPERA HOUSES

CONCERT HALLS AND OPERA HOUSES

Music, Acoustics, and Architecture
LEO L. BERANEK

LEO BERANEK 975 Memorial Drive Suite 804 Cambridge, MA 02138-5755 USA beranekleo@comcast.net beranekleo@ieee.org.net

L I B R A R Y O F C O N G R E S S C AT A L O G I N G - I N - P U B L I C AT I O N DAT A Beranek, Leo Leroy, 1914 Concert halls and opera houses : music, acoustics, and architecture / Leo Beranek.2nd ed. p. cm. Rev. ed. of: Concert and opera halls, 1996. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Architectural acoustics. 2. Music halls. 3. Theaters. I. Beranek, Leo Leroy, 1914 NA2800.B39 2002 725.81-dc21 2002070734 ISBN 0-387-95524-0 Printed on acid-free paper.

2 0 0 4 S P R I N G E R-V E R L A G N E W Y O R K , I N C . All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identied as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed in the United States of America. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 SPIN 10882373

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Contents

Preface xv

CHAPTER ONE

MU S I C A N D A C O U S T I C S
What Are Good Acoustics? 1 Acoustics and the Performers 3
Conductors 3 Performers 7

Acoustics and Musical Periods 8

Baroque Period 8 Classical Period 10 Romantic Period 12 Twentieth-Century Music 13 European Opera 14

Acoustics and Listeners 15

CHAPTER TWO

TH E L A N G U A G E O F MUSICAL ACOUSTICS

19

vi

CONTENTS

Denitions and Explanations of Selected Terms 19

Reverberation and Fullness of Tone 20 Direct Sound, Early Sound, Reverberant Sound 23 Early Decay Time (EDT ) (Also Early Reverberation Time) Speed of Successive Tones 24 Denition (or Clarity) 24 Resonance 27 Intimacy or Presence and Initial-Time-Delay Gap 27 Liveness and Mid-Frequencies 29 Spaciousness 29 Warmth 30 Listener Envelopment 30 Strength of Sound and Loudness 30 Timbre and Tone Color 31 Acoustical Glare 31 Brilliance 32 Balance 32 Blend 32 Ensemble 32 Immediacy of Response (Attack) 33 Texture 33 Echoes 33 Dynamic Range and Background Noise Level 33 Detriments to Tonal Quality 35 Uniformity of Sound in Audience Areas 35 Summary of the Musical Qualities Affected by Acoustics 35 23

CHAPTER THREE

ON E H U N D R E D C O N C E R T HALLS AND OPERA HOUSES

37

Contents

vii

CHAPTER FOUR

AC O U S T I C S O F C O N C E R T H A L L S
Rank-Orderings of Acoustical Quality of 58 Concert Halls Developed from Interviews and Questionnaires 494 Reverberation Time: Musicians Preferences 495
Reverberation Time for Occupied Halls 497

491

Architectural Basics 498

Age 498 Shape 499 Music Power 500 Audience Absorption and Type of Chairs 501 Materials for Walls, Ceiling, and Stage 502

Physical Measures of Acoustical Quality 503

Reverberation Time (RT ) 503 Early Decay Time (EDT ) 505

Binaural Quality Index (BQI) 506 Loudness, the Strength of the Sound (G) 509 Warmth, Bass Ratio (BR) and Bass Strength (Glow) 512 Intimacy, Initial-Time-Delay Gap (ITDG) 513 Lateral Fraction (LFE4) 519 Acoustical Glare and Surface Diffusivity Index (SDI) Listener Envelopment 525 Clarity 526 Texture 527 Orthogonality of Objective Acoustical Measures 528 Special Structures for Reducing Acoustical Glare and for Diffusing Sound 529 Brilliance 534 Noise, Vibration and Echo 534 521

Further Architectural Considerations 535

Preferred Values for Acoustical Parameters 535

viii

CONTENTS

Preliminary Design Procedures 538 Stage Design 541 Balconies 545

Models 545 Multipurpose Halls 549

Architectural Design of Chamber Music Halls 550 Concluding Remarks 552

CHAPTER FIVE

AC O U S T I C S O F O P E R A H O U S E S
Questionnaire Rank-Orderings of Acoustical Quality of 21 Opera Houses 554 Objective Measurements of the Acoustical Properties of 23 Opera Houses 556
Measurement Procedure 556 Sound Quality Parameters 559

553

Orchestra Pits 564

Types of Orchestra Pits 565

Boxes and Balconies 568 Echo and Distortion 570 Concluding Remarks 573 Terminology, Denitions, and Conversion Factors 575 APPENDIX 2 Acoustical Data for Concert Halls & Opera Houses 583 APPENDIX 3 Equations, Technical Data, and Sound Absorption 615
APPENDIX

Bobliography 641 Name Index 647 Subject Index XXX

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