by Lynne Conte

Created on: September 08, 2008

Understanding the basics in musical acoustics, you would have to know what sound does inside a room or venue. The science of basic acoustic is about natural vibes and laws of sound in which the sensation of sound and communication produce vibration motion to the tympanic membrane of the ear. This musical sound caused by minor and sudden change in the pressure of the air in its outer surface or room modes. Room modes are effects due to natural resounding inside a room when the volume of music is high enough to excite the dimension of your venue. Low frequency sounds spread out and filter through the venue. Axial, tangential and oblique are the three types of room modes.

The axial mode sound is based on length, height and width of a room, whereas, tangential mode is based on dimensions of a four room surface. Sounds based on dimensions of a six-room surface are an oblique mode. Room modes are a series of hits at its highest point and dip throughout the room where volume seems higher or lower than what the speaker is producing through structures of walls, corners of walls, ceilings and floor.

Basic acoustic has concepts to optimize the sound with different set-ups for each venue. The five fundamental acoustic set-ups properly equipped at listening venues are room resonance controls [bass trap], comb filtering, flutter echo, reflection control and reverberation time. Traps in the air form room resonance means all notes below middle C are Bass frequency. Bass is a large part of the musical scale because every room has potential resonant frequency problems in bass range. Comb filtering involves adjustments to the amplitudes at each frequency. This is where sound and music travel through waves and abide by laws of wave physics. For example, when two waves collide, they do not bounce off one another like physical objects. When the waves collide in sound, they combine or cancel their strongest pitch to some degree. Flutter echoes or paths are located along lines between parallel surfaces where speakers send sonic wave into loops of flutter paths. Reflection control creates accurate sound reproduction in any type of venue addressing comb filter and flutter problems with proper combination of absorption and diffusion controlling sound throughout the venue. Effective placement and selection of panels to reach reflection control changes at each venue because of variables involved. Reverberation time is sound produced within enclosed space that will continue to exist in that space until inaudible. The RT60 levels develop the acoustic treatment and measures the reverberation time in a venue to sound professionally audible.

Understanding basic acoustic, you need to understand the science of sound. Artistically, sound moves through space producing air molecules that make sound wave.

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