to reflect sound waves to the audience. With these materials an architect can modify the way sound travels in his building. Another aspect of acoustics that architects and conductors most take into consideration are the number of people seated in the audience. The number of people in an auditorium or hall will greatly effect the reverberation of sound. Empty seats reflect sound waves back to the performers; however, when the seats are full of people, the people absorb the sound. Architects must also give attention to interference. Interference arises from the difference in the distances traversed by the direct and reflected sound and produces so-called dead spots, in which certain ranges of frequencies are canceled out(Encarta). These dead spots can be caused by the difference in the densities of building materials. Dead spots can dramatically effect the total quality of sound if they are large in number. There are many aspects of acoustics that architects must address to create a satisfactory environment for listening to music or a spoken message. Given the effects that acoustics have on the music we hear and the way we judge the musicians, it is easy to see why architects pay close attention to acoustics. An architect designing a building where the quality of sound is important must take into consideration all the things I have mentioned. If one aspect of acoustics is left out, the end result could be a bad sounding hall, auditorium, opera house or theater. Bad acoustics could bring about a negative opinion of the performers, even if their actual performance was flawless. In order to produce the highest quality sound, a building has to be acoustically sound. So the next time you attend a concert or any type of indoor-musical performance, consider the acoustics of the building before making a negative judgement of the performers. In a sense the architectural design of a building could be considered an instrument and the...
