Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Directivity
Sound in Concert
Halls *
JORSENMvER
Physikalisch-Technische
Bndesanstalt,Braunsdraig,WesGermany
The directionalcharacteristicsof soundradiation were investigatedfor violins, violas,cellos,and contrabasses.Each instrument group has a nondirectlonalcharacteristicin its lowest frequencyrange except
the contrabass.
At higherfrequencies,
thereare regionsof preferredradiation,whichchangetheir direction
and anglewidthwith frequency.These resultssuggestthat different seatingarrangementsfor the strings
INTRODUCTION
soundenergy.
This ratio of direct to reverberantsoundenergydependsnot only on the acousticalattributesof the hall,
1994
Volume51
Number6 (Part 2)
1972
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DIRECTIVITY
OF
STRINGED
INSTRUMENTS
,oo[ 1
c:
....] 1
0o
0 o-
270
J
21
--
270
......
0.2
0.5
--
1
2
kHz
0.1
0.2
0.5
frequency
kHz
Fro.2. Angular
distribution
fromanelectrically
driven
cello,
measured
in theplaneofthebridge.
(left)andin theplaneof thebass
1995
aded 10 Nov 2010 to 150.18.241.69. Redistribution subject to ASA license or copyright; see http://asadl.org/journals/doc/ASALIB-home/info/te
j.
MEYER
450
Hz
IOO Hz
!$o Hz
1500
Hz
500 Hz
n
'
n n
700
Hz
20
Hz
oJ
$50
Hz
I--'-1
FIO.3. Directionalcharacteristics
in planeof bassbar averaged
over5 cellos:probabilityof maximumlevelat angleindicated,for
various frequencies.
Volume51
Number6 (Part 2)
1972
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DIRECTIVITY
OF
STRING.
ED
INSTRUMENTS
200 Hz
250 Hz
800 Hz
350 - 500 Hz
1000-1250
Hz
2000-
5000 Hz
Fro. 4. Principalradiationdirections
of thecello(verticalplane).
1997
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J.
MEYER
V2.
FIO. 5. Schematicrepresentationof
the commonseating arrangementfor
stringsin a symphonyorchestra.For
clarity, all of the instruments in
a group are shown parallel to one
another.Top: Germanseatingarrangement. Center:American arrangement.
Bottom: Variation
arrangement.
of the
American
w/ingler,theviolasandcelloshavechanged
theirplaces.
The contactbetweenthe playersis bestin this arrangecellos. An advantage of this system is the good ment. The acousticalqualitites of the three seating
contact between the concertmaster of the first violins
arrangementsare different,eachhaving its advantages
1998
Volume51
Number6 (Part 2)
1972
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DIRECTIVITY
OF
STRINGED
INSTRUMENTS
800 Hz
I000 Hz
2000-5000
Hz
1999
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J.
MEYER
! 500 Hz
500
Hz
././.' i000
Hz
2 500 Hz
3 000 Hz
0.5
0
'
05
300 Hz
$500
Hz
4000
Hz
800
Hz
i
250 H
fi : r--in
Q
!000
Hz
4500
0.5
o
05[
400H
o.
2m-
bo
,6o
I250
Hz
Hz
?oo oo
oo
0o
180o
/
FIa. 7. Probabilitydiagramfor theprincipalradiationdirectionsof a cello (planeof the bridge).Dottedregion:Angle rangewhichis
directedtowardthe audiencewhenthe cellistfacesthem. Cross-hatched
region:corresponding
anglerangefor a lateral seatingarrangement on the stage.
2000
Volume51
Number6 (Part 2)
1972
ded 10 Nov 2010 to 150.18.241.69. Redistribution subject to ASA license or copyright; see http://asadl.org/journals/doc/ASALIB-home/info/t
DIRECTIVITY
OF
STRINGED
INSTRUMENTS
-".'
<-'";'
-t:'i
},...
'5.3';-'
550-
700 Hz
200 - 500 Hz
1500
Hz
and disadvantages.
The directivityof the stringswill of the "o" formant (400-600Hz) is especiallyturned
in the directionof the view of the player and to his
helpusto interpretthisproblem.
right side. So the frontal placementof cellosin the
IV.
RESULTS
FOR
CELLO
2001
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J.
MEYER
3000
Hz
0.
o
4000
Oo
Hz
nn ::i.:.'.-.:-q
2000
Hz
fl.5000
Hz
I$0e 270e O* $*
90* I0'
OO
180*
quenciesabove2000 Hz are directedin a nearly rectangular range forward. They are important for brillianceof soundand clarity in fast passages,
especially
if many tones of the same pitch follow one another.
In such passages,the German seating arrangement
Volume51
Number6 (Part 2)
1972
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DIRECTIVITY
OF
STRINGED
INSTRUMENTS
2500 Hz
3000
Hz
i
3500
Hz
0.5
r 4500
Hz
2000
mo- 2+o.
90
5 000 Hz
Hz
90'
l aO
270
0o
90
0 o
270'
180----
= O*
90*
Fro. 9. (Continued.)
2003
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J.
MEYER
in passages
wherethe samephrasesmust
violinandthe cellogroup,but a goodcomplete
sound. advantageous
Thus it seemsthat for the cellosthe frontal placement be playedby both groupsalternately.There are frequentlysuchexamplesin the classical
symphonies.
The
exchangeof the phrasesbetweenthe violin groupsbeV. RESULTS FOR THE VIOLINS
comesmore clear and definite if there is not only a
stereoeffectbetweenthe two sidesof the stage,but also
Forthetwogroups
ofviolins,
wedonotfindoneposi- a differencein timbre. The classicinterpretationof the
tion that is bestin all cases.In Fig. 8 is shownthe pre- singleinstrumentgroupsoften requiresthat the first
is the best.
plane.At thelowfrequencies
upto 500Hz, thesound But the inversionof thissoundeffect,whichis produced
radiationis equalin all directions.
Abovethisis a frequency
rangein whichthemainamplitudes
areturned
to theleft andtherightside,andmoreor lessforward.
Thus,below800Hz, thereisnodifference
between
the
components
above1000Hz havelargeramplitudes
to second violin sections are divided into two subsections
therightsideof theplayerthanto theleftside,sothe each.There are only two musicalparts,so that half of
violins do not have the samebrilliancein their timbre
shown
in Fig.9 asaccumulation
curves.
Herethecoding are sitting over the wholelengthof the stage.When
showsthe direction turned to the audience,and where Ravel composedthe Bolero,the only seatingarrange-
onecanexpect
a reflection
fromtheceiling
to theaudi- mentusedin Europewasthat with thevis-a-visposition
ence.Below is showna crosssectionof a violin body. of the two violin groups,whichgavehim the very full
firstviolinsalwaysareandthesecond
violinsarein the
Americansystem.The cross-hatched
angularrange
demonstratesthe directionsof the secondviolinsturned
RESULTS
FOR
VIOLAS
The difference in timbre between the first and second from the upperpart of the backwall, and from the ceil-
of the backwall.
violins(in the European
seatingarrangement)
maybe ing in the neighborhood
2004
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Number6 (Part 2)
1972
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DIRCTIVITY
60 Hz
160 Hz
OF STRINGED
200-
INSTRUMENTS
250 Hz
2005
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J.
MEYER
1250
Hz
600
800
Hz
Hz
2000
Hz
3000
Hz
900
Hz
5000
eo. 270.
o.
0o
eO.
20.
0.
Hz
2,o. .
o" o.
0o
180
Volume51
Number6 (Part 2)
1972
ded 10 Nov 2010 to 150.18.241.69. Redistribution subject to ASA license or copyright; see http://asadl.org/journals/doc/ASALIB-home/info/t
DIRECTIVITY
OF
STRINGED
0; .... 500
-15
' ' '"I000
' ' ' Iz'1500
'=
Violoncelli
INSTRUMENTS
rlBeethovenh
Bonn
Fxo.12.Sound-pressure
leveldistribution
intheBeethovenhalle,
Bonn,
relative
tothatattheconductor's
position,
produced
bythe
cellogroup(American
seatingarrangement).
Beethovenhalle
Bonn
Fxo.13.Relative
sound-pressure
leveldistribution
intheBeethovenhalle
duetotheviolins.
Solid
curves:
firstviolins.
Dotted
curees:
second
violins(American
seatingarrangement).
2007
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MEYER
Stadthelle
Breunschweig
/
/
L_
RESULTS
FOR
CONTRABASSES
VIII.
MEASUREMENTS
IN
CONCERT
HALLS
correspond
to a positionof the contrabasses
on the right in concert halls. Measurements were also made with a
side of the stage. Some differencesare apparent, es- real orchestra in the Beethovenhalle in Bonn. Six
pecially at the medium frequencies,where the cross- microphones
wereplacedat differentplacesin the room
hatchedfieldsare larger.That meansthat the position shownat the right in Fig. 12. Oneat the stage,directly
of the contrabasses
on the left sideof the stageis more at the conductor'sposition,servedas a referencemicroadvantageous.
Normally the contrabasses
play together phone,becausetherehe mustadjust the balanceamong
with the cellosor the bassoons
in octaves.In thesecases, the instrumentgroups.
2008
Volume51
Number6 (Part 2)
1972
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DIRECTIVITY
OF
STRINGED
INSTRUMENTS
The graphsat the left of Fig. 12 showthe sound-pres- placesfor listening.An acoustical
problemis presented
surelevelover the frequencyrangeat the severalaudi- by the balconies:Very little reflectionreachesthem, so
encelocations,relative to that at the conductor'sloca- the soundintensityis relativelysmall.
tion, whenthe soundwas producedby the violoncelli. The reductionsin sound-pressure
level betweenthe
Two microphones
wererelativelynear the orchestra audience locations and the location of the conductor are
seatedin the Americanarrangement.The celloswereon represented
by the smalldiagramsat the right of Fig.
the right sideof the stagedirectlyat the edge.It is very 14. There are two columnsof results,obtainedwith two
interestingto notethat the sound-pressure
levelat most different orchestralseatingarrangements.Each block
frequencies
on the right sideof the roomis lowerthan on of a smalldiagramrepresents
the lossin sound-pressure
the left side, whereasthe distance to the instruments level, without frequencyweighting,for a differentin(locatedin the shadedarea on the stage) is smaller. strumentalgroup--first for the violinsandviolas,second
The microphonebesidethe cellogroupshowsa great for the cellosand contrabasses,
third for the woodwinds,
loss,especiallyin the frequencyrangebetween400 and and finally for the Frenchhorns.
700Hz. At higherfrequencies,
too, the soundis stronger
The left column (a) of the diagramrepresentsthe
where the playerscan be seen.This is the result one first measurements,
when all the stringswere on the
would expect from the accumulationcurves.At the sameplaneof thestage,withoutsteps.The contrabasses
otherlocationsin the auditorium,moreequalizedcurves werestandingvery near the edgeof the stagebehind
of soundreductionwerefound, the best one beingthe the violas and cellos. Both rows of the woodwinds and
diagramfor the lateral balcony.The microphonein the the Frenchhornswereon the first step, and the other
back part of the main floor showsa curve similar to that brassinstrumentswereon the secondstep.Thesesteps
of the microphone
near the cellos,but with moresound were relatively low.
at the middlefrequencies.
Even in the backbalconythis
After evaluationof this first acousticalmeasurement,
characterof the curveis to be seen.Sothe disadvantages the seatingarrangementwas varied as follows: The
of the lateralpositionof the cellogroupare to be found middlepart of the stage,whichis markedby dotted
in mostparts of the auditorium.
lines in the figure, was made lower. As indicatedin
Figure 13 showsthe resultsof suchmeasurements
of column(b), by this arrangementthe shadowing
of the
both violingroupsin the samehall. The curvesin dotted stringsby the musicianswas reduced.For the violins
lines demonstrate that the second violins never are
and the cellogroup,the soundradiationbecamebetter,
louderthan the first violins,if both groupshave the especiallyin direct radiation of the higher-frequency
same intensity at the location of the conductor.The soundto the audience.There was thus more intensity
greatestdifferencebetweenthe two groupsis measured in the audience,especiallyin the balconyand the higher
by the microphonenear the first violins, becausethe floor.
maskingof the secondviolins by the musiciansof the
The radiation of the woodwindsbecamebetter too,
first violinsis strongesthere.The first violinsare rela- as they wereplacedon two highersteps.Each row of
tivelyloudhere,especially
in thelowerfrequency
range, musiciansgot its own step. The brasswas seatedon a
wherethey have no directivity. The higher-frequency third step. The French horn requireddampingfor the
sounddoesnot reachthis placein the angularrangeof right lateral part of the floor (the hornsare sitting at
preferredsoundradiation,nor by a reflectionfrom the the right endof the wind groups).To do this, the conceiling,sothespectrumat thisplacehasa quitedifferent trabasses
wereplaceda little fartherback,sothat they
characterthan that at other placesin the hall. In the built a shadowingwall for the Frenchhorns.
curveobtainedat the lateralbalcony,the valley around
The numbersbesidethe diagramsin Fig. 14 mark the
1400 Hz is interesting:It can be explainedby the ac- differences between the levels of the loudest and the
cumulationcurves,as we have seen.
softestinstrumentalgroupat eachmicrophone
location.
The foregoing measurementswere made without The balanceof the instrumentalgroupsin the hall was
varying the orchestralseatingarrangement.Following improved,sothat the conductorcan moreeasilymainis an exampleof how the soundeffectof the orchestra tain a desired balance.
was correctedin a concerthall by alteringthe position
of some instrument groups. These we made in the
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Stadthallein Braunschweig.
The author is very indebted to Mr. Warren Creel,
Figure 14 showsthe floor plan with the positionof
the lnicrophones.
One microphonewas directly at the Albany Medical College,for his aid in preparingthe
conductor'sposition on the stage, the other micro- Englishversionof this paper.
phonesat different locationsin the audience.The
ground-floorplan of the room is hexagonal. At the left
and right sides,the hall is enlargedby two balconies * Presentedat the "Symposiumon Violin Acoustics,"Seventylike big boxes.In the intermediatepart of the main SeventhMeeting of the AcousticalSociety of America, Philafloor,the rowsof seatsrise,so that theseare very good delphia,Pa., 11 April 1969.
The Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America
2009
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