Instead of a professional theater, we are holding our year end band, guitar and choir concert in the school's gymnasium. I've been told it's going to be too hard to set up the sound. What do you think?
Gyms are hard acoustically because they are usually so large and open. That being said, all my high school band and choir concerts were in the gymnasium. If you want to do it there you can always find a way.
Wayne Parham Messages: 18790 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
It isn't the "large and open" that's the problem unless you don't have enough power. It's the hardness of the walls and the fact that there's nothing in there to absorb any sound (except the people). It will sound very different once people are inside and won't sound too bad but when it's empty or if there aren't many people there, it will be way too lively. Directional speakers help.
audioaudio90 Messages: 623 Registered: October 2010
Illuminati (1st Degree)
Yes, it's the hard surfaces that make it sound terrible during rehearsal. We also had concerts in the gym, though, and once the entire school was packed in there, they absorbed a great deal and made it sound better.
That's interesting, I remember back in high school band I also used to think it was the gym being so open that affected the sound the most. I imagine that is a common misconception. I remember my band teacher used to freak out about the sound when we would rehearse there before the concert. I wonder if she knew much about acoustics. Now that I've learned a little more, the fact that the sound absorption is the issue makes perfect sense. No wonder our actual concerts usually turned out fine.
In high school, events such as concerts and other performances were almost always held in the gym. I also thought that it's the space being open and large that creates a difference in the sound. I wasn't aware that it's the hard surfaces that cause reverberations.
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