6.

Received2 April 1971

Directivity

of the Bowed Stringed Instruments and Its Effect

on Orchestral

Sound in Concert

Halls *

JORSENMvER
Physikalisch-Technische
Bndesanstalt,Braunsdraig,WesGermany

The directionalcharacteristicsof soundradiation were investigatedfor violins, violas,cellos,and contrabasses.Each instrument group has a nondirectlonalcharacteristicin its lowest frequencyrange except
the contrabass.
At higherfrequencies,
thereare regionsof preferredradiation,whichchangetheir direction
and anglewidthwith frequency.These resultssuggestthat different seatingarrangementsfor the strings

wouldbe optimumfor differentconcerthallsand differentstylesof musicalcompositions.

The European
seatingsystemis optimumfor the radiationof the cellos;it hasthe advantagethat the soundcharacter
of the first and secondviolinsmay be distinguished
by the audience,but the soundof the secondviolins
hasno brilliance.The Americansystemmakesthe secondviolinssoundas goodas the first violins,but it is
difficultto distinguishboth groupsin contrapuntalpassages
of classicalsymphonies.
The soundof the
cellosis poor and without clarity. The validity of thesefindingsis confirmedby measurements
in concert
halls, and they have beenusedfor guidancein changingthe seatingarrangementof an orchestrato improvethe instrumentalbalancewith successful
results.

INTRODUCTION

but alsoon the directivity of soundradiation from the

musical
instruments,and on the seatingarrangement
The sound effect of a musical instrument or of a
of
the
orchestra
on the stage.Therefore,at the Physicompleteorchestrais formedin part by direct sound
kalisch-Technische
Bundesanstalt
at Braunschweig
we
waves,and in part by reflectionsfrom the ceilingand
have
investigated
the
directional
characteristics
of
the
wallsof the concerthall. The directsoundis important
for clarity and definition,especiallyin fast passages. instruments and the influence that this has on the sound
It alsogivesthe listeneran impression
of the locationof effect in the concert hall.
the different orchestralvoiceson the stage.The direct
soundhas great importancefor very short tones,for
I. EXPERIMENTAL
METHOD
which the room resonancescannot build up to their
The measurements
of directivity were made in an
full intensity.The soundreflectionsand the reverberation add fullnessto the tone,and serveto bondthe single anechoicchamber.Figure 1 showsa violin in this room,
tonesone to another. They help the different instru- standingon a turntable.The stringsare dampedwith
mentsof the orchestrato producea goodcompleteen- two piecesof foam rubber. The instrumentis excited
semble sound.
by an electrodynamic
oscillationsystem,whichdrivesa
The acousticalquality of a musicalperformancede- smallvibratingneedlewith its point pressedinto the
pendson the ratio of the reverberantsoundto that of bridge askance near the upper edge. This gives the
the direct sound (includingthe first only slightly de- vibrating needlethe samedirectionof oscillationas a
layed reflections).The best ratio is not the same for bowed string. The systemis excited by a sinusoidal
classic,romantic,or modernmusic.A Mozart symphony voltagefrom a beat frequencyoscillator.The radiated
needsa large ratio of direct to reverberantsounden- soundis receivedby a microphone,placedat a distance
ergy, as does a Stravinsky composition,but the sym- of 1 m from the violins and violas, and at 3.S m from
level
phoniesof Brahmsor Bruckner need more reverberant the cellosand contrabasses.The sound-pressure

soundenergy.
This ratio of direct to reverberantsoundenergydependsnot only on the acousticalattributesof the hall,
1994

Volume51

Number6 (Part 2)

is registeredby a level recorderwith a dynamicrange

of 50 dB. The recorderis coupledwith tlte turntable,
givingpolar diagramsautomatically.

1972

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DIRECTIVITY

OF

STRINGED

INSTRUMENTS

the most important characteristics.

First we evaluated
the 3-dB angular range.
Figure 2 showsthe resultsfor a singlecello.On the
left are shownthe characteristics
in the plane of the
bridge; on the right in the plane of the bassbar. The
dark linesshowfor the variousfrequencies
the angles
within which the sound-pressure
level is within 3 dB
of a maximumlevel. At the lower frequencies(up to
200Hz), the soundradiationis nearlyequalin all directions,but at higherfrequencies
thereare angularranges
of preferredradiation. Above 1000 Hz there is a concentrationof the 3-dB angularrangein a narrowspread.
In the plane of the bridge, the concentrationlies in the
neighborhood
of 0 rotation from the bridge. In the
plane of the bassbar, the concentrationat high frequencies
is dividedinto two regions,nearlysymmetrical
to the 0 line.

A variationin levelof 3 dB is not very importantfor

the loudnessof a tone, but the variation of singleharmonicsby 3 dB has an influenceon the timbre of the

Fro. 1. Photographof a violinlnountedwith an electrodynamic

exciteron turntable,for studyof its directionalradiationchar- instrument. In an ensemble,a loss of 3 dB can cause

one instrument to be masked by another. Thus the

3-dB angularrangeis a significantcharacteristic.
II. DIRECTIVIT
OF CELLOS
Figure 3 showsthe directionalcharacterfor the 3-dB
In this manner,we registeredthe polar diagramsfor differencefor the averageof five cellos,in the plane of
many frequencies
in the range of the cello spectrum the bass bar. Each small diagram representsa fre(between 100 and 5000 Hz), but this led to such quency. The angle markingsrun from left to right;

acteristic in an anechoic chamber.

voluminous data that we looked for a method to extract

the0 line standsperpendicular

to the belly.The prob-

plane of the bridge

plane of the bass bar

,oo[ 1
c:

....] 1

0o

0 o-

270

J
21

--

270

......
0.2

0.5

--

1
2

kHz

0.1

0.2

0.5

frequency

kHz

Fro.2. Angular
distribution
fromanelectrically
driven
cello,
measured
in theplaneofthebridge.
(left)andin theplaneof thebass

bar (right). Heavy linesat a givenfrequencymark angleswithin whichlevelis within3 dB of maximum.

The Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America

1995

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j.

MEYER

450
Hz

IOO Hz

!$o Hz

1500
Hz

500 Hz

n
'

n n

700
Hz

20
Hz

oJ

$50
Hz

I--'-1

FIO.3. Directionalcharacteristics
in planeof bassbar averaged
over5 cellos:probabilityof maximumlevelat angleindicated,for

various frequencies.

ability indicated by the height of each segment of a

the same. Most interesting is the concentration near

column is marked on the left: The value 1.0 means that

300 andnear60. At the highfrequencies

above3000

all investigatedinstrumentshave their 3-dB range in Hz, all instruments

have their 3-dB angularrangein
this direction. At 100 and 150 Hz, all the instruments two very narrow bands.
have a circularcharacteristic.At 175 Hz, the majority
Figure 4 presentsa simplificationof theseresultsto
of the celloshave a circular characteristic.At 200 Hz, clarify the positionof the rangesof preferredsound
there is a concentration between 270 and 90 . At 250
radiation.It presentsthe 3-dB angularrangeschematiHz, thereisa strongconcentration
about180, the main cally from somefrequencyranges.Between 350 and
radiationcomingfrom the backplate.We find a typical 500 Hz, the preferredsoundradiationis directedhoriaccumulationof all instrumentsat 350 Hz, the form of zontallyforward,forwarddownto the floorand against
the diagram showingthat all investigatedare nearly the ceilingof the hall. So the soundwill reach the Ifs1996

Volume51

Number6 (Part 2)

1972

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DIRECTIVITY

OF

STRING.

ED

INSTRUMENTS

200 Hz

250 Hz

800 Hz

350 - 500 Hz

1000-1250

Hz

2000-

5000 Hz

Fro. 4. Principalradiationdirections
of thecello(verticalplane).

tenersdirectly,over a reflectionfrom the ceilingand, This is the frequencybandfor the dominantformantof

of a vigorous
sound.
perhaps,if not too many other musiciansare sitting a light "a", whichis characteristic
between2000and5000Hz,
there, over a reflectionfrom the floor. The frequency The highestfrequencies,

ranges,as we haveseenin the

rangebetween
350and500Hz isveryimportantfor the havetwo accumulation
cellosound,becausean importantformantof the vowel probabilitydiagrams.
The firstoneis directedagainst
"o" lies here.It givesa sonorousand singingcharacter the ceilingexactlyabovethe player;the otheroneis
turned to the floor and can reach the auditorium only
by reflection.
All theseresultsdemonstratethat the reflectionqualtion turnedagainstthe ceiling.Between1000and 1250
to the cello sound.

The frequenciesaround800 Hz have their main direc-

Hz, the preferredsoundradiationis concentrated

in a ities and the angleof inclinationof the ceilingabove,
smallerangularrange,alsodirectedagainstthe ceiling. anda little in front of the playerare very importantfor
The Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America

1997

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J.

MEYER

V2.

FIO. 5. Schematicrepresentationof
the commonseating arrangementfor
stringsin a symphonyorchestra.For
clarity, all of the instruments in
a group are shown parallel to one
another.Top: Germanseatingarrangement. Center:American arrangement.
Bottom: Variation
arrangement.

of the

American

the sound effect of cellos. Later on we shall see that for

and the solo cellist. A disadvantageis the distance

the violins the most important part of the reflecting betweenthe first and secondviolins,especiallyin fast
ceilingis at a largerdistancefrom the stage.
passages.
The secondsystem,which in Europe is called the
American
system, was introducedby Stokowski, and
III. DIFFERENT
SEATING
ARRANGEMENTS
today is much usedin Europe, too. Here both violin
At this point it is pertinent to discuss the different

kinds of seating arrangementsof the strings in the

orchestra.The three systemsnormallyusedare shown
schematicallyin Fig. 5. The first is calledthe German
or Europeanseatingarrangement.The first violinsand
the secondviolins are sitting at the edgeof the stage,
facingeachother. The cellosare sitting beforethe conductor; the contrabasses
are on his left side, the violas
on his right side betweenthe secondviolins and the

groupsare sitting side by side, and the cellosare placed

on the right side of the stageat the edge.The violas

and contrabasses
are on the right sidebehindthe cellos.
This makes for good contact between the first and
secondviolins, but not so good between the concertmaster and the solo cellist.

In the third system, a variation introduced by Furt-

w/ingler,theviolasandcelloshavechanged
theirplaces.

The contactbetweenthe playersis bestin this arrangecellos. An advantage of this system is the good ment. The acousticalqualitites of the three seating
contact between the concertmaster of the first violins
arrangementsare different,eachhaving its advantages
1998

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Number6 (Part 2)

1972

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DIRECTIVITY

OF

STRINGED

INSTRUMENTS

800 Hz
I000 Hz
2000-5000

Hz

Fxo. 6. Principalradiationdirectionsof a cello (planeof the bridge).

The Journal of the AcousticalSocietyof America

1999

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J.

MEYER

! 500 Hz

500
Hz
././.' i000
Hz
2 500 Hz

3 000 Hz

0.5
0

'

05

300 Hz

$500

Hz

4000

Hz

800
Hz
i

250 H

fi : r--in
Q
!000
Hz

4500

0.5
o

05[
400H
o.

2m-

bo

,6o

I250

Hz

Hz

?oo oo

oo

0o

180o
/
FIa. 7. Probabilitydiagramfor theprincipalradiationdirectionsof a cello (planeof the bridge).Dottedregion:Angle rangewhichis
directedtowardthe audiencewhenthe cellistfacesthem. Cross-hatched
region:corresponding
anglerangefor a lateral seatingarrangement on the stage.

2000

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Number6 (Part 2)

1972

ded 10 Nov 2010 to 150.18.241.69. Redistribution subject to ASA license or copyright; see http://asadl.org/journals/doc/ASALIB-home/info/t

DIRECTIVITY

OF

STRINGED

INSTRUMENTS

-".'

<-'";'
-t:'i
},...

'5.3';-'

550-

700 Hz

200 - 500 Hz

1500

Hz

Fro. 8. Principalradiationdirectionsof a violin.

and disadvantages.
The directivityof the stringswill of the "o" formant (400-600Hz) is especiallyturned
in the directionof the view of the player and to his
helpusto interpretthisproblem.
right side. So the frontal placementof cellosin the
IV.

RESULTS

FOR

CELLO

European systemseemsto be better for the sonority

of the sound than the lateral placementon the right
sideof the stage.Low frequencies
of about 150 Hz also

In Fig. 6 is shownthe simplifiedresultfor the celloin

the planeof the bridge.The importantfrequencyrange are not projectedwell to the left side.The higherireThe Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America

2001

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J.

MEYER

3000

Hz

0.
o

4000

Oo

Hz

nn ::i.:.'.-.:-q

2000
Hz

fl.5000
Hz

I$0e 270e O* $*

80e 270 O* ,90* I0 e 270e O*

90* I0'

OO

180*

Fro. 9. Leftside:Probabilitydiagramsfor theprincipalradiationdirections

of a violin (planeof thebridge).Dottedregion:anglerange
for directradiationor by reflectionfromthe floorto the audience
fromthe firstviolins.Cross-hatched
region:corresponding
anglerange
for the secondviolinsusingthe Germanseatingarrangement.

quenciesabove2000 Hz are directedin a nearly rectangular range forward. They are important for brillianceof soundand clarity in fast passages,
especially
if many tones of the same pitch follow one another.
In such passages,the German seating arrangement

dotted rangeis directedto the audiencein the German

system,with frontal placementof the cellogroup.The
cross-hatched
shadedrangeis directedto the audience

in the Americansystem,with the cello group at the

edgeof the stage.On the whole,the dottedregionsare
seemsto be better than the other systems.
larger than the cross-hatched
regions,so overall there
The difference of the sound radiation is to be seen is moreintensiW in the Germansystem.Especiallythe
moreexacdyin the accumulationcurvesof Fig. 7, eval- frequencies
of the "o" formantbetween350 and 600Hz
uated for the plane of the bridge.Here the rangesare are projectedin the directionof the player'sview, as
coded to show which are turned to the audience. The
are the high frequencies.
On the other hand, the fre200,

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Number6 (Part 2)

1972

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DIRECTIVITY

OF

STRINGED

INSTRUMENTS

2500 Hz

3000
Hz
i
3500

Hz

0.5

r 4500
Hz
2000

mo- 2+o.

90

5 000 Hz

Hz

90'

l aO

270

0o

90

0 o

270'

180----

= O*

90*

Fro. 9. (Continued.)

quenciesaround800 Hz (that is, the formant of a dark

'%") have moreintensityturnedto the audiencein the
Americansystem.

pizzicatonotesas the contrabasses.

In a later repetition
of the theme, the first violins and the cellosplay it

Anotheradvantageof the Americansystemis a good

unisonsoundof the cello group and the first violins,
suchas in the last movementof the First Symphony
of
Brahms.In thiswork,the first time the themeisplayed
only by the first violins,and the celloshave the same

contrabasses.Thus the theme gets a very sonorous

in unison,and the pizzicatois played only by the

timbre, especiallyfrom the "o" formant components
of the cello group, which have more intensity in the
frontal placement.Anotheradvantageof the European
systemis that there is no stereoeffect between the
The Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America

2003

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J.

MEYER

in passages
wherethe samephrasesmust
violinandthe cellogroup,but a goodcomplete
sound. advantageous
Thus it seemsthat for the cellosthe frontal placement be playedby both groupsalternately.There are frequentlysuchexamplesin the classical
symphonies.
The
exchangeof the phrasesbetweenthe violin groupsbeV. RESULTS FOR THE VIOLINS
comesmore clear and definite if there is not only a
stereoeffectbetweenthe two sidesof the stage,but also
Forthetwogroups
ofviolins,
wedonotfindoneposi- a differencein timbre. The classicinterpretationof the
tion that is bestin all cases.In Fig. 8 is shownthe pre- singleinstrumentgroupsoften requiresthat the first

is the best.

ferred directions of sound radiation in a horizontal

violins have more brilliance

than the second violins.

plane.At thelowfrequencies
upto 500Hz, thesound But the inversionof thissoundeffect,whichis produced
radiationis equalin all directions.
Abovethisis a frequency
rangein whichthemainamplitudes
areturned
to theleft andtherightside,andmoreor lessforward.
Thus,below800Hz, thereisnodifference
between
the

if listenersare sitting behindthe orchestra,is very disadvantageous.

Therefore,in thoseconcerthalls that

have a part of the audiencebehindthe orchestra,the

Americansystemmust be considered.
two sides.But in a violin spectrumthere are many
A very interestingexamplefor the soundof the violins
higherharmonics.
Thefigures
demonstrate
thatall the is to befoundin the Baleroby Ravel, wherethe first and

components
above1000Hz havelargeramplitudes
to second violin sections are divided into two subsections
therightsideof theplayerthanto theleftside,sothe each.There are only two musicalparts,so that half of
violins do not have the samebrilliancein their timbre

the first violinsand half of the secondsplay one part,

while the rest of the violinsplay the other.This system
The resultsmeasuredin the planeof the bridgeare of "divisi-playing"makesits effect only if the violins

sittingat theleft or therightsideof thestage.

shown
in Fig.9 asaccumulation
curves.
Herethecoding are sitting over the wholelengthof the stage.When

showsthe direction turned to the audience,and where Ravel composedthe Bolero,the only seatingarrange-

onecanexpect
a reflection
fromtheceiling
to theaudi- mentusedin Europewasthat with thevis-a-visposition
ence.Below is showna crosssectionof a violin body. of the two violin groups,whichgavehim the very full

The dottedangularrangeis turnedto theaudience

if
the violinsare seatedon the left sideof the stage,as the

firstviolinsalwaysareandthesecond
violinsarein the
Americansystem.The cross-hatched
angularrange
demonstratesthe directionsof the secondviolinsturned

sound of the violin theme that he wanted. If all violins

are placedon the left sideof the stage,therewill not be

the wanted effect.
VI.

RESULTS

FOR

VIOLAS

to the audiencein the Germansystem.Below800 Hz,

The directivity of the violas is not so interesting,
the cross-hatched
fieldsare equalto or largerthan the
because
thereare only smalldifferences
in the position
dottedones,but especially
about1000and1250Hz the
dottedfieldsaremuchlarger.Thisis theimportantfre- of this instrumentalgroup in the various seatingarTheyarealwaysplacedontherightsideof
quency
range
ofthehigh"a" formant,
whichmakes
the rangements.
sound
especially
vigorous.
Highamplitudes
in thisfre- the stage,eitherat the edgeor a little moreto the rear.
Below500Hz, the soundradiationof the violasin the
quencybandare typicalfor the famousviolinsof
Guarneridel Gesu,asopposed
to theviolinsof Stradi- horizontalplaneis nearlyequalin all directions.About
to the left sideof the
vari. For the second
violins,the soundradiationin this 600 Hz, thereis a concentration
frequency
bandisnotgoodif theyaresittingfacingthe player,whichis normallyturnedto the audience.The
between800and 1000Hz (that is, the dark
first violinsas in the Germansystem.In the following frequencies
"a"
formant)
have their accumulationnear the 0 line.
frequency
band,whichcontains
the components
of a
are turned
nasaltimbre,the shadedplainsare larger,whereasall That meansthat normallythesecomponents
the higherfrequencies
have an accumulation
in the to the backof the stage,so the reflectionquality of the
cross-hatched
range.So the soundof the first violinsis back wall is especiallyimportant. On the other hand,
brilliantand very vigorous,
whilethe soundof the sec- the violashave a lighterand clearersoundif they are
ondviolinsis a little dark and poor.The highfrequencies moved to the left side of the stage (as seen by the
have a marked accumulation near the 0 direction, audience). This is possiblein compositionswithout
whichis perpendicular
to the bellyof the instrument. violins, like the Sixth BrandenburgConcertoby Bach,
for Orchestra
by Brahms.
Becausethe violinsare held with an inclinationof nearly or the First Serenade

In the planeof the bridge,violashave no directivity

45, this directionof mainsoundradiationreaches
the
ceilingnot abovethe stage,but at somedistance
in the below 500 Hz, but the componentsnear 1000 Hz and
auditorium. That means that, for violin reflections, many higherfrequencyrangeshave an accumulation
otherregionsof the ceilingare importantthanfor the near the 0line, perpendicularto the belly of the instru-.
merits. Therefore, these componentsneed reflections

reflectionsof the high cellofrequencies.

The difference in timbre between the first and second from the upperpart of the backwall, and from the ceil-

of the backwall.
violins(in the European
seatingarrangement)
maybe ing in the neighborhood
2004

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DIRCTIVITY

60 Hz
160 Hz

OF STRINGED

200-

INSTRUMENTS

250 Hz

Fla. 10. Principal radiation directionsfor the contrabass.

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2005

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J.

MEYER

1250
Hz

600

800

Hz

Hz

2000

Hz

3000

Hz

900

Hz

5000

eo. 270.

o.

0o

eO.

20.

0.

Hz

2,o. .

o" o.

0o

180

Fro. I1. Probabilitydiagramfor the principalradiationdirections

of a contrabaas
(planeof the bridge).Dottedregion:rangeof
angleswhichradiatedirectlyto theaudience
whenthebasses
arelocated
to theleftrearof theotherstrings.
Cyoss-hathed
region:corresponding
rangewhenthe bassesaxelocatedtowardthe right rear.
2006

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DIRECTIVITY

OF

STRINGED

0; .... 500
-15
' ' '"I000
' ' ' Iz'1500
'=

Violoncelli

INSTRUMENTS

rlBeethovenh
Bonn

Fxo.12.Sound-pressure
leveldistribution
intheBeethovenhalle,
Bonn,
relative
tothatattheconductor's
position,
produced
bythe
cellogroup(American
seatingarrangement).

Beethovenhalle
Bonn
Fxo.13.Relative
sound-pressure
leveldistribution
intheBeethovenhalle
duetotheviolins.
Solid
curves:
firstviolins.
Dotted
curees:

second
violins(American
seatingarrangement).

The Journalof the Acoustical

Societyof America

2007

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MEYER

Stadthelle

Breunschweig
/
/

L_

Fro. 14. Sound-pressure

levelrelativeto that at the conductor's
location,for variousinstrumentalgroupsin the Stadthalle,Braunschweig.Column (a) of diagraxns
is for the casewhenall stringswereplacedat the samelevelon stage,with the woodwindsand horns
onestephigher and the brassestwo stepshigher.Column (b) is for the dottedportionof the stagelowered.
VII.

RESULTS

FOR

CONTRABASSES

the differencesof the variouspositionsare not very

important. But if the contrabasses
must play a theme
Last of all is the contrabass
group.As thisinstrument
quite alone,while the other stringshave higherparts,
is very big, we havemeasuredthe directivityonly in the
it is very difficultto balancethe intensityof the instruplaneof the bridge,that is, in a horizontalplane.Some
ment groups.Suchan exampleis foundin the Jupiter
simplifiedfiguresof the 3-dB rangeare shownin Fig. 10.
Symphonyof Mozart, where the contrabasses
have to
It is interestingthat evenat very low frequencies
there
play the theme of the fugue as the last groupof the
is no equal sound radiation into all directions.The
strings.Here the bestpositionon the stageis necessary,
resonance
frequencyof the air volumein the contrabass
in orderto get the intensityand clarity of the theme.
is 60 Hz. At this frequency,Fig. 10 showsonly a 3-dB
The Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra uses another
angularrangeof a semicircle,and the situationis much
positionfor the contrabasses,
whichis advantageous
for
the samenear 160Hz. At mediumfrequencies,the sound
good radiation of soundthroughthe whole spectrum.
is moreintenseto the right sideof the playerthan to his In concerts in the Musikvereinssaal in Vienna, the
left. Therefore,for getting a full contrabasssound,it
contrabasses
stand on the last step of the stagebefore
seemsbetter to place this instrumenton the left sideof
the backwall, sideby sidebehindthe wind instruments.
the stage.The preferredradiationrangeof the highest
The singlestepsof this stageare very high, so thereis
frequencies
is symmetricalto the player'sdirectionof
little maskingby the othermusicians.
view.
The codedareasin Fig. 11 show the differencesin
timber and intensitybetweencontrabasses
on the right
or left sideof the stage.The dottedrangeis turned to
the audienceif the contrabasses
are standingon the left
side behind the first violins. The cross-hatched areas

VIII.

MEASUREMENTS

IN

CONCERT

HALLS

The discussion thus far has dealt with measurements

of directivity made in an anechoicchamber,and an

interpretationof their implicationsfor the soundeffect

correspond
to a positionof the contrabasses
on the right in concert halls. Measurements were also made with a
side of the stage. Some differencesare apparent, es- real orchestra in the Beethovenhalle in Bonn. Six
pecially at the medium frequencies,where the cross- microphones
wereplacedat differentplacesin the room
hatchedfieldsare larger.That meansthat the position shownat the right in Fig. 12. Oneat the stage,directly
of the contrabasses
on the left sideof the stageis more at the conductor'sposition,servedas a referencemicroadvantageous.
Normally the contrabasses
play together phone,becausetherehe mustadjust the balanceamong
with the cellosor the bassoons
in octaves.In thesecases, the instrumentgroups.
2008

Volume51

Number6 (Part 2)

1972

ded 10 Nov 2010 to 150.18.241.69. Redistribution subject to ASA license or copyright; see http://asadl.org/journals/doc/ASALIB-home/info/

DIRECTIVITY

OF

STRINGED

INSTRUMENTS

The graphsat the left of Fig. 12 showthe sound-pres- placesfor listening.An acoustical
problemis presented
surelevelover the frequencyrangeat the severalaudi- by the balconies:Very little reflectionreachesthem, so
encelocations,relative to that at the conductor'sloca- the soundintensityis relativelysmall.
tion, whenthe soundwas producedby the violoncelli. The reductionsin sound-pressure
level betweenthe
Two microphones
wererelativelynear the orchestra audience locations and the location of the conductor are
seatedin the Americanarrangement.The celloswereon represented
by the smalldiagramsat the right of Fig.
the right sideof the stagedirectlyat the edge.It is very 14. There are two columnsof results,obtainedwith two
interestingto notethat the sound-pressure
levelat most different orchestralseatingarrangements.Each block
frequencies
on the right sideof the roomis lowerthan on of a smalldiagramrepresents
the lossin sound-pressure
the left side, whereasthe distance to the instruments level, without frequencyweighting,for a differentin(locatedin the shadedarea on the stage) is smaller. strumentalgroup--first for the violinsandviolas,second
The microphonebesidethe cellogroupshowsa great for the cellosand contrabasses,
third for the woodwinds,
loss,especiallyin the frequencyrangebetween400 and and finally for the Frenchhorns.
700Hz. At higherfrequencies,
too, the soundis stronger
The left column (a) of the diagramrepresentsthe
where the playerscan be seen.This is the result one first measurements,
when all the stringswere on the
would expect from the accumulationcurves.At the sameplaneof thestage,withoutsteps.The contrabasses
otherlocationsin the auditorium,moreequalizedcurves werestandingvery near the edgeof the stagebehind
of soundreductionwerefound, the best one beingthe the violas and cellos. Both rows of the woodwinds and
diagramfor the lateral balcony.The microphonein the the Frenchhornswereon the first step, and the other
back part of the main floor showsa curve similar to that brassinstrumentswereon the secondstep.Thesesteps
of the microphone
near the cellos,but with moresound were relatively low.
at the middlefrequencies.
Even in the backbalconythis
After evaluationof this first acousticalmeasurement,
characterof the curveis to be seen.Sothe disadvantages the seatingarrangementwas varied as follows: The
of the lateralpositionof the cellogroupare to be found middlepart of the stage,whichis markedby dotted
in mostparts of the auditorium.
lines in the figure, was made lower. As indicatedin
Figure 13 showsthe resultsof suchmeasurements
of column(b), by this arrangementthe shadowing
of the
both violingroupsin the samehall. The curvesin dotted stringsby the musicianswas reduced.For the violins
lines demonstrate that the second violins never are
and the cellogroup,the soundradiationbecamebetter,
louderthan the first violins,if both groupshave the especiallyin direct radiation of the higher-frequency
same intensity at the location of the conductor.The soundto the audience.There was thus more intensity
greatestdifferencebetweenthe two groupsis measured in the audience,especiallyin the balconyand the higher
by the microphonenear the first violins, becausethe floor.
maskingof the secondviolins by the musiciansof the
The radiation of the woodwindsbecamebetter too,
first violinsis strongesthere.The first violinsare rela- as they wereplacedon two highersteps.Each row of
tivelyloudhere,especially
in thelowerfrequency
range, musiciansgot its own step. The brasswas seatedon a
wherethey have no directivity. The higher-frequency third step. The French horn requireddampingfor the
sounddoesnot reachthis placein the angularrangeof right lateral part of the floor (the hornsare sitting at
preferredsoundradiation,nor by a reflectionfrom the the right endof the wind groups).To do this, the conceiling,sothespectrumat thisplacehasa quitedifferent trabasses
wereplaceda little fartherback,sothat they
characterthan that at other placesin the hall. In the built a shadowingwall for the Frenchhorns.
curveobtainedat the lateralbalcony,the valley around
The numbersbesidethe diagramsin Fig. 14 mark the
1400 Hz is interesting:It can be explainedby the ac- differences between the levels of the loudest and the
cumulationcurves,as we have seen.
softestinstrumentalgroupat eachmicrophone
location.
The foregoing measurementswere made without The balanceof the instrumentalgroupsin the hall was
varying the orchestralseatingarrangement.Following improved,sothat the conductorcan moreeasilymainis an exampleof how the soundeffectof the orchestra tain a desired balance.
was correctedin a concerthall by alteringthe position
of some instrument groups. These we made in the
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Stadthallein Braunschweig.
The author is very indebted to Mr. Warren Creel,
Figure 14 showsthe floor plan with the positionof
the lnicrophones.
One microphonewas directly at the Albany Medical College,for his aid in preparingthe
conductor'sposition on the stage, the other micro- Englishversionof this paper.
phonesat different locationsin the audience.The
ground-floorplan of the room is hexagonal. At the left

and right sides,the hall is enlargedby two balconies * Presentedat the "Symposiumon Violin Acoustics,"Seventylike big boxes.In the intermediatepart of the main SeventhMeeting of the AcousticalSociety of America, Philafloor,the rowsof seatsrise,so that theseare very good delphia,Pa., 11 April 1969.
The Journalof the AcousticalSocietyof America

2009

ded 10 Nov 2010 to 150.18.241.69. Redistribution subject to ASA license or copyright; see http://asadl.org/journals/doc/ASALIB-home/info