Rock and Pop Venues: Acoustic and Architectural Design

481 Pages·2014·56.16 MB·English

by  Niels Werner Adelman-Larsen (auth.)

Niels Werner Adelman-Larsen
Rock and Pop
Venues
Acoustic and Architectural Design
Rock and Pop Venues
Niels Werner Adelman-Larsen
Rock and Pop Venues
Acoustic and Architectural Design
1 3
Niels Werner Adelman-Larsen
Flex Acoustics
Kongens Lyngby
Denmark
ISBN 978-3-642-45235-2 ISBN 978-3-642-45236-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-45236-9
Springer Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014931753
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
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Preface
My interest in acoustics for performance spaces originates from some 1,200 con-
certs as a former rock and jazz drummer and a B.Sc. in mechanical engineer-
ing right after high school. While still touring about 80 concerts a year I took a
few courses in acoustics at the Technical University of Denmark. I was immedi-
ately drawn into the field and my master thesis is in many ways basis of this very
book. Ironically, after the defence I got kicked out of the band! Then I started to
rather design the music halls than play in there. The book, which I was asked to
write already in 2008, is dedicated to my engineer and freedom-fighter father,
Knud W. Larsen, for passing on to me a sense of courageousness and curiosity as
well as to my musical mother Therese Adelman Larsen who gave me the loving
ballast needed to employ these attributes.
The 9½ week 2010 tour around Europe, during which the 55 music halls pre-
sented in this book were measured, was financed by: d&b audiotechnik, Flex
Acoustics, Oticon Fonden, Cowi Fonden, Brødrene Hartmanns Fond.
Apart from these companies and foundations the author would like to thank (in
random order): all the great people in the halls visited who opened their doors and
made me feel welcome; my friend “Dr. Schnips” Teis Schnipper, Leo L. Beranek,
Michael Barron for inspiring research, illustrations etc., Bård Støfringsdal, Jens
Jørgen Dammerud, Magne Skålevig, Rasmus Rosenberg, Christoph Baumann,
Finn Jacobsen, Hugo Fastl, Eric R. Thompson, Jan Voetmann, Jens Holger Rindel,
Per Brüel, Cheol-Ho Jeong and Jens Cubick for their direct and profound contri-
butions. You have made this book better. Special thanks to the great crew at d&b
audiotechnik. Many more, friends and family (you know who you are), have sup-
ported me during this time too—thank you!
v
Contents
1 Principles of Acoustics and Hearing ............................ 1
Sound Propagation ........................................... 3
Sound in Rooms ............................................. 5
Human Hearing .............................................. 9
Acoustic Defects: Echo ........................................ 11
Scattering ................................................... 12
Acoustic Vocal Sound ......................................... 13
Absorber Types .............................................. 15
Audience Absorption .......................................... 17
Air Absorption ............................................... 18
Critical Distance and Level of Reverberation ....................... 19
Reverberation Time Design ..................................... 20
Background Noise ............................................ 21
Sound Levels and Amplified Events .............................. 21
2 Auditorium Acoustics: Terms, Language, and Concepts ............ 25
Objective Parameters .......................................... 29
EDT, Reverberation Time, Liveliness, and Reverberance .............. 29
C , D , Early Reflections, Clarity, and Intimacy .................... 30
80 50
LF, Envelopment, and Lateral Reflections ......................... 31
G, Strength, and Room Gain .................................... 31
Bass Ratio, Warmth, and Bass Response .......................... 32
ST, Support, and Ensemble ..................................... 33
3 Reinforcement of Sound Sources ............................... 35
The Sound of a Rock Band ..................................... 38
Providing Amplified Direct Sound from Loudspeakers ............... 39
Single Point Sources .......................................... 40
Virtual Point Sources .......................................... 40
Directional Subwoofer Arrays ................................... 41
Split Mono Systems .......................................... 43
Line Arrays ................................................. 45
vii
viii Contents
4 Assessments of 20 Halls ...................................... 49
Amager Bio ................................................. 50
Forbrændingen ............................................... 53
Godset ..................................................... 56
Lille VEGA ................................................. 59
Loppen ..................................................... 62
Magasinet .................................................. 65
Palletten .................................................... 68
Pumpehuset ................................................. 71
Rytmeposten ................................................ 74
Musikhuzet ................................................. 77
Skråen ..................................................... 80
Slagelse Musikhus ............................................ 83
Stars ...................................................... 86
Store VEGA ................................................. 90
Sønderborghus ............................................... 93
Tobakken ................................................... 96
Torvehallerne ................................................ 99
Train ...................................................... 102
Viften ...................................................... 105
Voxhall ..................................................... 108
5 Recommended Acoustics for Pop and Rock Music ................ 111
The Basis of the Recommendations .............................. 112
Results of the Interviews ....................................... 114
The First Page of the Questionnaire .......................... 114
PA System Versus Omnidirectional Source Measurements ........ 116
General Ratings of the Halls ............................... 117
Musicians’ Preferences .................................... 119
Sound Engineers’ Preference ............................... 120
Debate ................................................ 121
Spectral Analysis of Surveyed Data .......................... 122
Recommended Reverberation Time for a Given Hall Volume ...... 125
Acceptable Tolerances of T in Pop Rock Venues ............... 125
30
Suitable Reverberation Times in Larger Halls and Arenas ........ 128
6 Design Principles ............................................ 129
Hall Size ................................................... 130
Hall Shape .................................................. 132
Stage and Its Surroundings ..................................... 133
Surface Materials ............................................. 135
Balconies and Overhangs ...................................... 137
Floor ...................................................... 137
Stage ...................................................... 138
Contents ix
Seating ..................................................... 138
Platforms ................................................... 139
Sound Insulation ............................................. 139
Interior Noise Sources ......................................... 139
Multipurpose Halls ........................................... 140
Music Schools ............................................... 142
7 Gallery of Halls that Present Pop and Rock Music Concerts ........ 143
Ancienne Belgique (AB) ....................................... 143
L’Aeronef .................................................. 151
Alcatraz .................................................... 157
Apolo La [2] ................................................ 163
Apolo ...................................................... 168
Astra ...................................................... 174
Bikini ...................................................... 179
Cavern ..................................................... 185
La Coopérative de Mai ........................................ 192
Le Chabada ................................................. 197
Cirkus ..................................................... 203
Le Confort Moderne .......................................... 209
Debaser Medis ............................................... 214
Elysée Montmartre ........................................... 220
Festhalle ................................................... 226
Forest National .............................................. 233
Globen ..................................................... 238
Grosse Freiheit .............................................. 243
Hallenstadion ................................................ 249
HMV Hammersmith Apollo .................................... 253
Heineken Music Hall .......................................... 261
Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle ................................... 266
Jyske Bank BOXEN .......................................... 271
Kaiser Keller ................................................ 276
Live Music Club ............................................. 280
LKA/Langhorn .............................................. 286
Mediolanum Forum ........................................... 292
Melkweg—The Max .......................................... 297
MEN Arena ................................................. 303
Nosturi ..................................................... 309
O Berlin ................................................... 315
2
O World Hamburg ........................................... 321
2
O London .................................................. 325
2
O Tilburg .................................................. 331
13
Olympia .................................................... 337
Oslo Spektrum Arena ......................................... 343
x Contents
Palau Sant Jordi .............................................. 348
Paradiso .................................................... 353
Porsche Arena ............................................... 360
Rote Fabrik, Aktionshalle ...................................... 365
Rote Fabrik Clubraum ......................................... 371
Rockefeller ................................................. 376
Rockhal .................................................... 381
Razzmatazz 1 ................................................ 386
Razzmatazz 2 ................................................ 391
Sala Barcelona’92/Sant Jordi Club ............................... 396
Scala ...................................................... 400
Tunnel ..................................................... 406
Vega ...................................................... 412
Wembley Arena .............................................. 419
Werk ...................................................... 425
Zeche ...................................................... 430
Zeche Carl “Kaue” ........................................... 435
Zénith Paris—La Villette ....................................... 440
Zenith Strasbourg ............................................ 446
Appendix A: Measurements of the 55 Venues Presented
in the Gallery in Chapter 7 ........................... 453
Appendix B ................................................... 463
Appendix C ................................................... 467
Appendix D: Two Sound Engineers′ Statements ..................... 469
Introduction
Please imagine an outdoor rock concert. Visualize a flat field, a stage with a
band, a crowd listening to the music mainly coming from PA speakers placed at
the stage front. That’s a rock concert without any room acoustics. Imagine then a
huge box being placed around the whole event—a hall. Surely the whole atmos-
phere changes, but what effect should we allow it to have on the sound? Should
the inside surfaces of the building reflect or absorb the sound? How much and at
what frequencies?
What is “good acoustics”? The present book answers this question with regards
to pop and rock music performances on the basis of the author’s research that has
been conducted in the field. The knowledge gathered origins from studies based on
interviews with musicians and sound engineers.
Of course such a terminology as “good acoustics” only makes sense when
referring to the use of a particular room. The acoustical demands of a room to be
filled by children in a kindergarten must be very different from those favoring a
musical choir. The noise aspect of room acoustics is employed in factories, offices
and institutions where the sound is regarded largely as unwanted or simply too
loud and therefore to be attenuated by acoustical means. Other sounds, in other
rooms, with other purposes, are indeed wanted and must be affected by the acous-
tics of the room in a positive and enhancing way. This desired sound contains a
message that must come across to the listener. The room must therefore carry, or
transfer, this message to the receiving persons, such as an audience, in a favorable
way. But preferably, also the person sending the message, such as a speaker or
a musician, should be content with the way the room affects the sound as he or
she perceives it. A musician and his/her performance can certainly be negatively
affected by undesirable acoustics.
For pop and rock acoustics, in halls larger than club-size, acoustic absorp-
tive materials are not used to correct the sound level of the music. The level is
predominantly controlled by the sound engineer sliding faders on the mixer
boards. The frequency content of the music that meets the ears of the audience
origins of course from the instruments, and is then controlled and enhanced by
the sound engineer by electronic equalization means etc. However, part of the
sound perceived by the audience, does not come directly from the loudspeakers,
but has bounced off of surfaces in the room first. Acoustic absorption should pre-
dominantly be employed to control the speed by which these sound reflections
xi