Room Acoustics

The room that music is played in can be a major factor when either playing a live show or recording a new album. The shape and materials of walls can cause sound to be either pure and synchronized or distorted and out-of-sync. The importance of room acoustics is why good auditoriums have a different shape compared to a standard room and why walls of recording studios are lined with jagged foam material. 

Just like a rubber ball, sound waves can bounce off walls or other surfaces. A standard room has a total of 6 flat surfaces, all connected by right-angles. Imagine that two sound waves, A and B, are created from the same point and projected towards you, but at different angles. Wave A is sent directly at your ear while wave B is angled so that it hits the wall to your right and then hits your ear. Wave A will enter your ear first while wave B hits a few moments later. Over large distances or many bounces against surfaces, this delay can certainly become very noticeable.

There are two primary methods to improve acoustics in a room: absorption and diffusion (Acoustic Geometry, 2013). Diffusion controls how sound spreads out in an environment by sending waves in a variety of directions, which smooths out disruptive sounds. This is done by replacing the flat surfaces of walls, floors, and ceilings with a variety of geometries, such as jagged edges or curves. Noise traveling in a non-diffuse room would sound differently depending on the observation point. Absorption works to reduce the strength of a sound wave that bounces against the wall by transforming the energy into heat.

Room Diffusor - Wikipedia

Another interesting application for this is anechoic chambers. These rooms are designed to eliminate outside sources of sound and echoes within the chamber. They are so well-designed that you can even hear the flow of your blood if you enter one. Below is a video of a sound recording room being built; if you click through it while wearing headphones, you can really tell a difference in the sound quality.

 Recording Room / Foley Room Sound Absorption - Imphenzia

Sources:
Acoustic Geometry. (2013, Aug. 1). How Sound Works (In Rooms). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPYt10zrclQ

Imphenzia. (2016, Jan. 4). Sound Recording Room / Foley Room Sound Absorption. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRyHItC2278

Wikipedia. (2016, Nov. 4). Architectural acoustics. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectural_acoustics