Acoustics of Halls

Acoustics of Halls or Buildings

The halls , auditoriums etc. are now constructed according to the science of acoustics , because it is observed that the speech or any music's delivered by a speaker or any other source of sound cannot reach at every point of the hall . Such type of hall are said to be acoustically bad . An acoustically good hall or audititorium is the one in which is constructed such that the music or speech delivered by the speaker can reach to each and every audience in the hall .

The halls were constructed normally before the 19th century as no one has any idea about the acoustics . The first application of modern scientific methods to architectural acoustics was carried out by Wallance Sabine in the Fogg Museum Lecture Room , who then applied his new found knowledge to the design of Symphony Hall , Boston. 

Architectural acoustics is all about achieving good speech intelligibility in a theatre , restaurant or railway station . The architectural design is usually done by acoustic consultance .

According to Sabine , any hall will be card acoustically good , if it retains the following essential features :-

1. The quality of music and speech remains unchanged to the every portion of the hall .

2. The sound produced must be sufficiently loud .

3. There should not be any echo .

4. Reverberation should be proper .

5. There should not be any focusing of sound in any part of the hall .

6. The walls of the hall should be sound proof to avoid the external voice enter the hall .

Factors affecting the acoustics of Hall :-

1. Reverberation Time :- The reverberation time of the given hall has to be optimized . There will be loss of clarity , if the reverberation time is too large , due to overlapping of successive sound signals . If reverberation time is too small , then the loudness of the sound will be less .

2. Focusing of sound waves :- The sound waves will get focused on some points after reflection from a curved surface just like a lens focuses the light . The intensity of sound will be large in the focused region , and poor in the rest of the hall . Therefore , to avoid the non uniform distribution of sound intensity due to focusing , the curved seilings and surfaces should be avoided .

3. Adequate Loudness :- The loudness of sound should be sufficient for good audibility . The low ceilings of halls helps the reflected sound to reach the audience with sufficient intensity . To Improve the loudness and uniformity of the distribution of intensity of sound waves , there should be a Parabolic reflector can be placed behind the speaker , such that the speaker is at the focus of this reflector . As a result , the reflected sound waves will be parallel and will yield better uniformity .

This article was about acoustics of halls . I hope that you liked it and it was helpful to you .

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