Acoustics Write up

Section 4-The acoustic characteristics of spaces

Musical spaces

In the world of music, there are many areas that can be used to recorded live music and recording instruments on software. One of these areas is a music venue, this is the area in which live music is performed and recorded, and bands and singers as well as DJs usually perform music. Musical venues come in many shapes and sizes and can usually hold around 20,000 people within it. One of the biggest musical venues in the UK is the O2. An example of a smaller venue is the miskin theatre in Dartford, which can hold around about 20 people within it.

We did an investigation to help work out the acoustic characteristics of the Miskin theatre. Within this investigation we had to measure the dimensions of the miskin venue and work out the RT60, which is how long it takes for the reverb to be reduced by 60dB. We had to measure the walls, floor and ceiling of the building. Once we had done this we needed to work out the total surface area of the room as well as the volume and the absorption coefficient.

Acoustic treatment- Studio set up

When starting a studio from scratch the computer that you purchase is one of the most expensive pieces of equipment that would be purchased. You would probably need to purchase an Apple MacBook, as you would be able to by logic, which is a great software to use when making songs or mixing music. When setting up a studio you will also need to by a microphone, you can either buy a dynamic or compressor microphone. You will also need to buy some speakers and the best position to put the speakers at is to the left and to the right side of the monitor. To sound proof the room you will need to use materials of a high absorption coefficient such as Acoustic tile, concrete and upholstered seating, all these materials can absorb around about 1000-4000Hz. But you need to be careful, too much absorption in a room can actually be bad for your mixing purposes, and probably won’t combat the problem of ‘leakage’ (when sound escapes…and annoys a neighbour). But rooms that are too live will make it nearly impossible to create a credible mix.

Standing waves- A standing wave pattern is a vibrational pattern made within a medium when the vibrational frequency of the sound source makes reflected waves from one end of the medium to the interface with incident waves from a source.

Live end/ dead end- Live end is when the frequency starts and the dead end is when the frequency ends.