8 Chapter 5

Chapter 5
Contemporary Performance Spaces
5.1 Introduction
Music flourished in temples and palaces during the glorious era of royal patronage. The reign
of kings began slowly declining with the rise of British rule in India. As a result, musicians
who were performing in the courts of kings were displaced and were forced to find other
avenues. Places like Madras, now Chennai, started emerging as seats of music with many
musicians from the Tanjavur court going and settling there (Subramanian 2011:41).
Musicians travelling from other places to Tanjavur also halted in Madras, enabling musical
exchanges (Sambamoorthy 1975d:235). Similarly, this happened in many other places where
royal patronage existed like Mysore, Tiruvāṅkūr, to name a few. In this way, there emerged
many patrons in various other towns who organised concerts by musicians in their homes.
This can probably be seen as the beginning of Saṅgīta Sabhas.
Concerts moved out of the sacred space of temples to public spaces. Democratisation of
music resulted in greater accessibility of this art form to people from all walks of life. All
these happenings brought about the creation of a larger number of performance spaces of
greater variety. Concerts which were held in homes moved to small halls and then to
acoustically designed auditoria. The emergence of radio and television turned their respective
studios into performance spaces. The dawn of the digital era further stimulated the growth of
studios meant for recording music, as performance spaces. Today, musical performances take
place in a variety of spaces like auditoria, concert halls, studios, homes, and even open
spaces.
5.2 Terms and Concepts- Auditorium Acoustics

Acoustics is a well-researched topic in the domain of science, especially in European
countries. There are precise parameters and international standards of measurement for the
same that are used in different scenarios like symphonies, halls for speeches, etc. But when it
comes to Indian classical music, such standards have not been set48. However, some of the
terms used in that domain are applicable to all kinds of music including Indian classical and
are discussed in this section.
48
Discussion with Dr. Menino Allan Tavares, Acoustics Researcher and Consultant, during “Acoustics-2013”-
an International Conference on Acoustics at National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, during November 2013.
128
i. Background Noise
Unwanted noise that is a part of the surroundings in a concert is called background
noise or ambient noise. This could be in the form of noise from the movement or
conversation of people in a temple concert setting, noise from traffic permeating into
a performance space situated close to a road, or even an electrical disturbance from
the sound system.
In concerts held close to airports, the drone of the aeroplanes contributes to

background noise. A concert of the stalwart Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, dubbed
“airport concert”, is a very good example for this. The drone of aeroplanes from the
nearby airport kept interrupting the concert.
In most cases, one has little or no control over background noise.
ii. Balance
Sound is said to be balanced when the sound from each of the performers on stage is
heard in the correct proportion. Sound from any one performing artiste should not
override that of the others at any given time.
iii. Bandwidth
This term is most commonly used in relation to frequency. It is the difference between
the highest frequency and the lowest frequency. This can be defined in various
contexts. For example, the bandwidth of an amplifier gives the range of frequencies
that it can effectively amplify. The bandwidth of an instrument specifies the lowest
and highest frequencies that it can produce.
iv. Clarity
This defines the distinguishableness of rapid phrases in music. This could be in the
form of fast movements in an ālāpana or svarakalpana in the higher tempo. In case of
percussion instruments, it defines the intelligibility of fast phrases, for example,
pharaṇs. This is also known as „definition‟.
129
v. Colouring
Tonal colour is nothing but the timbre or quality of a musical sound, characterised by
various components such as harmonics and overtones. Colouring is the altering of this
characteristic quality due to unwanted reflections which might contribute additional
harmonics, remove some of the frequencies, or even add some disharmonic
frequencies.
vi. Dead spots

The term “dead” refers to less reverberation. Acoustically speaking, one space can be
“more dead” than another. For example, studios are more dead in comparison to
temple performance spaces.
A “dead spot” or “dry spot”, however, refers to a region in an auditorium where sound
is either very feeble or absent due to phenomena such as shadowing or destructive
interference of sound waves. Shadowing is described later in this section.
vii. Distortion
Distortion is the altering of the basic characteristic of any sound, be it the waveform
or the quality. Distortion of a sound wave can occur during amplification or due to
unwanted reflections. A common example of the former is that when a person sings
into a microphone, the voice heard on the speaker sometimes seems very different,
almost unlike that of the person singing. This is because of the natural harmonics of
the voice getting altered during the process of amplification.
viii. Envelopment
This is the feeling in the audience, of being surrounded or enveloped by sound. This is
brought about by having reflections from the sides.
ix. Flutter Echo

This is a special kind of echo that caused by multiple reflections between surfaces like
two parallel walls. While echoes generally involve longer paths travelled by the
sound, flutter echoes have shorter paths and greater number of repetitions (Barron
2010:26).
130
x. Glare
This is a term commonly used with reference to light, indicating very bright light that
almost causes temporary blindness. Similarly, when it comes to sound, glare signifies
too much brightness which is a result of excessive reflections of high frequencies
from flat surfaces (Long 2006:654).
xi. Immediacy
The feeling that a hall is responsive is called immediacy. If the reflections from
surfaces close to the listener (or performer, as the performer needs to hear hihe or sher
own sound) are good, then it gives an impression that the hall is quick in responding
to the music.
xii. Intimacy
Intimacy is the feeling of being close to the source of sound, or acoustically
identifying oneself as being close to the performer. It is also the feeling that the
performance is taking place in a space that is comfortably small for the listener. In big
halls, it is possible to bring about this feeling in the audience by adjusting several
parameters, one of them being, having adequate early reflections.
Intimacy is also known as „presence‟.
xiii. Lateral reflections

Reflections coming from the sides, from surfaces like walls are termed as lateral
reflections. They are important and can make a difference in the way the sound from
the performance is perceived by the audience.
xiv. Liveness
The liveness of a room is directly proportional to the reverberation time. A room with
a longer reverberation time is said to be more “live” or “lively”.
xv. Masking
Consider a performance space where there is a constant background noise, such as a
water pump. If another sound is played inside the hall such that its frequency is higher
131
and it is louder than the sound of the water-pump, such a sound is said to “mask” the
sound of the water pump.
Masking can be intentional or unintentional. The example given above is one of

intentional masking. An instance of unintentional masking is when a sound in a hall
decays slowly and the next sound is already produced before this dies down. The
decay of the first sound masks the second sound. This is unintentional and
undesirable. In simple words, if a musician is singing fast svara passages, suppose he
or she has sung sa and has proceeded to ri and ga, the decay of sa might prevent the
listener from hearing ri and he or she might hear sa-ga instead.
xvi. Resonance
Consider the following example. When a string is plucked, it is displaced from its
mean position, so it travels back the same distance from its mean position in the
reverse direction, and repeats this process until it finally comes back to its mean
position. In other words, the string oscillates or vibrates about its mean position. The
frequency with which it oscillates is its natural or resonant frequency.
Every object has its own resonant frequency. When another body vibrates at the same
or nearly the same frequency close to this object, the object starts vibrating on its own
at this frequency. In auditoria, each component will have its own resonant frequency
and when some of these components resonate with the music being performed, it can
cause acoustical problems.
xvii. Scattering
This is also known as „diffusion‟. When sound waves are incident on an uneven
surface, they get reflected in many different directions. This phenomenon is called
scattering or diffusion of sound waves. This is used to prevent excessive reflections
that cause echoes or focusing of sound by concave surfaces.
Diffusers are elements in a space that perform the function of scattering sound waves.
132
xviii. Shadowing
When a surface or structure blocks sound from reaching a part of the auditorium, the
phenomenon is called shadowing. In simple words, just as an object in the path of
light casts a shadow behind it, an object in the path of sound casts a shadow of sound
behind it. Listeners sitting in the shadowed regions of auditoria cannot hear the sound
from the performance clearly.
xix. Sound Concentration

When sound is reflected from a concave surface, the reflected waves converge at the
focus (focal point) of the concave surface49. This results in the concentration of sound.
This feature is commonly seen in domed structures. The acoustical marvel of Gol
Gumbaz, Bijapur, is based on this principle. When a speaker stands at one of the two
foci of the ellipse that the dome can be imagined to be a part of, the listener standing
at the other focus of the ellipse can hear it quite clearly.
xx. Sound Insulation

An auditorium is said to be sound insulated when its outer boundaries are reinforced
in such a way that unwanted noise from outside does not seep in.
xxi. Spaciousness
The impression in the listener‟s mind that the concert is being performed in a
significantly large space is called spaciousness. This can be induced by adjusting
certain acoustical factors like lateral reflections (Everest, Pohlmann 2009:105) and
placing suitable acoustical elements like diffusers at strategic points in the auditorium
(Everest, Pohlmann 2009:349).
xxii. Tonal colour

This is nothing but the timbre or quality of the sound produced which is determined
by various components such as its innate harmonics and overtones. It is to be noted
that tonal colour is different from colouring or colouration of sound described earlier
in this section.
49
If the concave surface can be imagined to be a section of a sphere, the geometrical centre of the sphere is
where the focal point of the concave surface lies.
133
xxiii. Uniformity
Uniformity is the even distribution of sound throughout the performance space. This
calls for not having very loud sound at regions close to the speakers and very soft
sound at regions furthest away from the speakers.
xxiv. Warmth
Higher reverberation time at lower frequencies, especially below 500Hz, gives the
listener a feeling of musical warmth (Adelman-Larsen 2014: 28)
5.3 Characteristics of Auditoria

Auditoria are among the most important performance spaces of today. They are closed spaces
and the science of acoustics has been understood and developed in such spaces. Most of the
terms described in the previous section are phenomena seen and studied in such closed
auditoria. However, these concepts can be understood and applied to other spaces too.
Numerous scholars in the field of auditorium acoustics have studied various auditoria and
come up with many desirable and undesirable characteristics for an auditorium to provide
good listening as well as performing experience. While most of these characteristics are
applicable to music in general, some of them are specific to certain kinds of music, such as
orchestral music or symphonies.
The following sections are limited to only those terms which are related to auditoria in
general, and those which are applicable to Indian Classical music.
It is to be noted that in any auditorium, the audience is one of the best absorbers of sound.
Also, an open window is assumed to be the perfect absorber of sound with absorption co-
efficient 1.
5.3.1 Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics in Auditoria

Modern auditorium acoustics owes its development to Wallace Sabine, who is celebrated as
one of the pioneers of architectural acoustics (Long 2006:1). In one of his earliest papers on
the subject, he mentions three most important requisites for any auditorium to be good
acoustically-
i. It is necessary that sound should be sufficiently loud.
ii. The simultaneous components of a complex sound should maintain their proper
relative intensities.
134
iii. The successive sounds in rapidly moving articulation, either speech or music, should
be clear and distinct, free from each other and from extraneous noises. (Sabine
1915:1-20)
Sabine says that these are the necessary and sufficient conditions for good hearing.
The first condition is self explanatory. If the sound is feeble at the source, it will not have
sufficient energy to travel throughout the auditorium. In such cases, the sound needs to be
amplified before it can reach all sections of a hall.
Every sound is a complex one that includes the fundamental note along with its harmonics
and overtones. Thus, the sound produced by any instrument, including the human voice, is in
reality a spectrum of sound. When such a spectrum is produced, the fundamental note and its
harmonics must maintain the relative proportions of intensity that they had at source.
Otherwise it is possible that one of the harmonics will sound louder than the fundamental and
the listener gets to listen to a sound that is quite different from the one actually produced. For
example, the sound produced by a musician may be the ṣaḍja of pitch A at 220Hz, but a
listener, due to the acoustical structure of the room, might get to hear its octave note, that is
tārasthāyi ṣaḍja at 440Hz, more clearly than the original note produced. The octave note is a
part of the spectral structure of the sound produced. Thus, the listener hears a coloured
version of the original sound. This could occur with any of the component frequencies of the
spectral structure of the musical sound produced, depending on the space. Sabine elucidates
the roles of the phenomena of interference and resonance while explaining this point.
The third condition has to do with reverberation time, which was Sabine‟s greatest
contribution to the field of acoustics. When a series of sounds are produced, if the first sound
takes more time to decay and the second sound is produced within that duration, the residual
of the first sound overlaps with the second and so on, creating a distortion. As a result, the
listener cannot distinguish between two successive sounds. This especially comes into play
when fast passages, either in the ālāpana or svara kalpana, or even brisk compositions, are
being sung. Excessive reverberation is destructive in such situations.
With greater progress in this branch of study, a number of later scholars enumerated various
characteristics that were necessary for an auditorium to be acoustically good. Many of these
characteristics are applicable to concert halls and opera houses designed for western music.
Some of these, however, can be adapted to the scenario of Indian classical music as well.
135
The first three points mentioned by Sabine can be applied to Indian classical music as well. In
addition, the following are necessary characteristics for an auditorium to sound good.
iv. Envelopment
The listener should feel as if the sound is coming to him/her from all the directions. In
other words, he or she should feel enveloped or surrounded by the sound.
It is natural to think that a listener should feel as if the sound is coming from the
stage, that is, from the front of the auditorium. But with excessive directionality, the
listener would lack the feeling of belonging and would experience an additional
amount of strain in listening.
Strong lateral reflections ensure the feeling of envelopment. The reflections from
surfaces on either side of the audience, like the walls, need to be good.
v. There must not be any echo- normal or flutter. Parallel walls are the most common
cause of echo. The side walls can be made non-parallel, or absorbers and diffusers can
be put in where necessary to ensure that there is no echo.
vi. Warmth
The audience should feel a sense of musical warmth. This is achieved by having good
reverberation time for lower frequencies.
vii. The auditorium should support a bandwidth that is wide enough to accommodate the
various musical instruments that are used in an Indian classical music concert. This
would typically be in the range of about 50 Hz to 2,500 Hz.
viii. There should be no background noise.

In order to eliminate noise from outside the auditorium, there needs to be good sound
insulation for the auditorium.
Unwanted noise from inside the auditorium, such as those from machines and
electronic equipment, need to be controlled to the greatest possible extent. Noise
generated by the audience, such as footsteps or whispers, need to be avoided through
136
a conscious effort by the audience. Noise from fans and air conditioning machinery
needs to be controlled through good maintenance.
The auditorium needs to be insulated from outside noises through proper sound
insulation. A note on sound insulation follows this section.
ix. There should be no shadowing of sound.

Shadowing of sound takes place when there is a barrier that prevents direct or
reflected sound from reaching a listener. Deep balconies, pillars and other such
objects in the auditorium are what typically cause shadowing. Shadowing can cause
relatively dry spots or even dead spots. Dead spots are those regions in an auditorium
where a listener cannot hear anything. These spots need not be constantly dead or dry,
but can be rendered so for certain frequencies. In such cases, the listener seated in
such a region does not experience the entire true sound of the performance and goes
back with an unfulfilled feeling.
It can be ensured that sound reaches probable dead spots by suitable placement of
speakers and reflecting surfaces.
x. An auditorium should not colour the sound of music produced. When sound travels
through an auditorium, it undergoes various processes such as reflection, refraction
and diffraction. Two sound waves reflected from opposite walls interfere with each
other. All these processes can end up adding new frequencies to the original sound
spectrum or remove some frequencies from the same. In this way, the sound that the
listener hears may be quite different from the one that is originally produced.
xi. Sound should not get concentrated in any spot where a listener is seated. This means
that there should not be any concave surfaces whose focal point is in the vicinity of
the audience seating area.
xii. The listener should get a feeling that the auditorium is spacious enough while
listening to the music.
xiii. A feeling of intimacy helps the listener feel connected with the musician and the
music being produced.
137
xiv. The musicians on stage should be able to hear each other clearly . This is especially
important in Indian classical music , since it is based mostly on manōdharma or
creativity. The researcher has witnessed a number of performances as a part of this
study, where the mr ̣daṅgam artist ends up playing slower or faster than the main
artiste as a result of not being able to hear the main artiste distinctly. This is often a
result of excessive reverberation on stage. Having the right balance of absorptive and
reflective surfaces near the performing artists helps in controlling this problem.
xv. A plain wall or similar reflecting surface behind the performing musicians can prove
to be a disaster for the sound, as the sound from the musicians gets reflected again
onto the microphones, initiating feedback noise. This can be avoided by covering such
surfaces with curtains or cloth50.
xvi. Sound distribution in any auditorium should be uniform throughout the auditorium. It
is common experience in many performance spaces of classical music in India that the
music is extremely loud near the speakers, sometimes almost touching the threshold
of pain51, and very soft at the points farthest away from the speakers. This is not
desirable and often contributes to bad listening experience. This can be remedied by
using arrays or hanging speakers at “Front of House” (FOH), that is, in front of the
stage.
xvii. Resonance should not cause a boom problem at any of the frequencies within the
bandwidth of the performance. The materials used in the auditorium and the natural
frequencies of these materials go on to determine this quality . For example , a
musician may be performing at 220 Hz (ādhāra śruti is A which is an octave less than
Middle A). Let us assume that the resonant frequency of a beam used in the
construction is 330 Hz. In such a case, whenever the musician comes to rest on
pañcama, the beam will be triggered to resonate. This resonance might be very small
in magnitude, but may be enough to give a boom in the sound system. This can be
very disturbing and can intrude upon the acoustical experience of a concert52.
50
Interview with Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma, well known Mr ̣daṅgam artiste and Karnāṭak Vocalist, 26th
April 2013, Bengaluru
51
The Threshold of Pain is the sound intensity at which the listener starts feeling pain in the ears due to listening
to the sound.
52
Interview with Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma, well known Mṛdaṅgam artiste and Karnāṭak Vocalist dated
26th April 2013, Bengaluru
138
It is a challenge in any auditorium to keep some of the parameters such as reverberation time
independent of the audience size. Human beings are very good absorbers of sound. If an
auditorium is designed to have a certain reverberation time when empty, it is bound to change
in the presence of audience. Since people absorb sound, the reverberation time can be
expected to decrease. On the other hand, if an auditorium is designed keeping in mind a full
house audience, reverberation time is sure to increase if there is a less-than-full turnout to the
performance on any particular day. In order to combat this inconsistency, it is a prevailing
practice to use cushioned seats. Such seats imitate human beings in sound absorption. This
way, one can have greater control over the acoustics of a performance space.
These are some of the characteristics of auditoria that are extant worldwide. It may be
necessary to tweak some of the stated features in order to suit the particular type of
performance on any day. For instance, a Saxophone performance may require a different
acoustical ambience as compared to a Vīn ̣ā concert, since the Vīn ̣ā is a softer instrument.
5.3.2 Sound Insulation

Sound insulation is one of the most important and most challenging aspects of acoustics. It is
a process by which outside noises are prevented from entering the auditorium (or any closed
space) by employing various methods. Noise from traffic, birds chirping, conversations, etc.
can be very distracting in a concert setting. Minimum background noise is one of the basic
necessities before dealing with other acoustical problems such as echoes and glare. A quiet
background will enhance the aural experience of the listener as well as the performer.
There are many methods by which background noise can be reduced.

i. Keeping the performance space away from the noise of busy roads helps right away in
reducing noise. But this is not a practical solution as other considerations like
approachability of the space take priority here.
ii. Trees and shrubbery help in reducing noise penetrating into the area of the
performance space (Everest, Pohlmann 2009:290). Vegetation is a good absorber of
sound53. Though it may not be successful in combating very high noise levels, it is
very effective at keeping out moderate to high levels of noises. Greater the noise,
larger the amount of vegetation needed. This aspect is effectively experienced in
Swathi Sangeetotsavam at Kuthiramalika Palace in Trivandrum. The concert takes
53
Interview with Ravi Upadhya, Architect, dated 17th June 2013, Bengaluru
139
place in an open space just beside the busy area of the Padmanabhaswami Temple,
but the near-absence of background noise is quite remarkable. There is plenty of
vegetation in the area which helps absorb the ambient noise.
Figure 5-72 Swathi Sangeetotsavam at Kuthiramalika Palace
iii. Thick and heavy walls help keep away outside sound (Talbot-Smith 2002:35). Sound
propagates through compressions and rarefactions. It needs a reasonably elastic
material that can accommodate this process. In the presence of an inelastic barrier,
sound cannot penetrate. When a wall is heavy, it has greater mass and does not easily
vibrate. This prevents external sound from seeping into a space.
iv. It is important to have thick doors which do not allow noise to seep in. There must not
be any gap between the door and the surrounding walls or floor.
v. Reinforcing the walls with absorbing material helps in making them impenetrable for
sound.
vi. Air-conditioning is necessary in order to insulate auditoria from outside noise.

However, air-conditioning brings along with it some problems, too. Singing in a full-
throated manner, which is characteristic of Indian classical music, in an air-
conditioned room is a challenge to vocalists. They need to manage their singing in
such a way that the voice remains unaffected. Moving in and out of air-conditioned
140
halls for performing can affect and cause damage to the voice. Voice maintenance
becomes one of the major challenges of having air-conditioned auditoria. In the case
of instruments, variation in temperature can cause variation in pitch. While air-
conditioning lowers the temperature, the use of stage lights increases the temperature.
This can be a tricky situation for instrumentalists to deal with.
Air-conditioning being unfavourable for the environment too, there is a need for
research on and implementation of methods to provide sound insulation along with
having natural air circulation in moderately noisy surroundings.
Sound insulation, by itself, is a vast topic and has been studied and written extensively by a
number of authors. This study only highlights its importance, but does not attempt to delve
further into this vast topic.
5.3.3 Shapes of Auditoria

It has been seen in a previous chapter (Chapter 3) of this thesis that Bharata in the
Nāṭyaśāstra has mentioned three shapes of playhouses- oblong, square and triangular. These
shapes, in combination with three sizes gave us nine types of playhouses. The Greek
amphitheatre is one of the earliest performance spaces that are in existence today. Greek
amphitheatres were situated on mountain sides and spread out in a fan-like shape from the
centre. The Romans added a structure like a background behind the stage and the
amphitheatre started evolving into a closed space. The Roman amphitheatre was a fan-shaped
space closed on all sides. The famous Roman Colosseum evolved from the amphitheatre.
Colosseums are usually circular or near-elliptical. The modern-day opera houses can trace
their origins back to the Greek amphitheatre.
Thus, we get some of the major shapes of auditoria from very early times in the history of
performance spaces. They are
i. Rectangular
ii. Square
iii. Fan-shaped
iv. Semicircular
v. Near-elliptical
141
Triangular and circular spaces may not be conducive for music as the reflections are difficult
to control and regulate. Performance spaces of Indian classical music in the current period are
mostly rectangular or fan-shaped. A few performance spaces may be in some of the other
shapes mentioned. The pros and cons of a few common auditorium shapes are discussed here.
i. Shoebox/Rectangular halls
The classic rectangle shaped hall is also termed as “shoebox hall” owing to its
shape. This is one of the most popular shapes in auditorium acoustics and has
produced consistent results over centuries (Barron 2010:454).
One of the biggest advantages of this style is the assurance of strong lateral
reflections. This results in a feeling of envelopment for the audience. Since this
design has been used frequently in history and has been acoustically effective, it
has also created the perception of being the most fool-proof plan with little room
for acoustical disasters (Barron 2010:50)
ii. Square/Cubical halls

Rooms whose dimensions namely length, width and height are equal, pose many
problems to acousticians. Since all three sets of surfaces (two pairs of walls, one
floor and one ceiling) are parallel to each other and are equidistant, there arise
problems of multiple echoes and room modes or stationary waves. When such a
phenomenon occurs, a listener hears one sound when he or she is at one place in
the room, and something different when he or she moves to the left or right. As a
result, this shape is not recommended for music. If one should desire to still have
this shape, one should do so in consultation with an acoustician.
iii. Circular/Semicircular halls

Concave surfaces tend to focus sound at their focal point. In a circular room,
reflected sound gets focused at the centre. The time delay between the direct
sound and the strong reflected sounds would cause multiple echoes. Thus, circular
rooms are not recommended for musical performances.
In semicircular rooms, there is again a problem of focusing of sound by the

concave rear wall. There are a greater number of people closer to the stage and the
direct sound will reach them with good strength. The reflections from the rear
142
walls will be beneficial for the listeners in the last few rows. However, there will
be an absolute lack of lateral reflections for most of the audience except the ones
at the extreme ends, due to the absence of side walls. This results in a lack of the
feeling of envelopment. While it might give a reasonably good acoustical
experience in small halls, larger halls of this shape are not recommended for
musical performances (Barron 2010:448).
iv. Domes
The Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur is one of the best known domed structures. It is well-
known as an acoustic marvel. The structure is such that if a person stands and
whispers at one point near the edge of the dome, another person standing at the
diametrically opposite edge can hear what is being said quite clearly. This is to do
with the geometry of the structure. The sound wave incident on point A in the
figure gets reflected onto point B and then to the listener. On the other hand, when
a person talks facing towards the space inside the dome, one can hear multiple
echoes.
Figure 5-73 Sound travelling in a dome
This is due to the various angles at which sound gets reflected. Sound from the
source travels in multiple paths in order to reach the listener. The time taken to
travel each path may be different. This results in the sound from each path being
incident on the listener‟s ear with time delays, causing the perception of echoes.
Royal Albert Hall in London has an interesting acoustical history owing to the
domed structure. It is an auditorium covered by an enormous dome at the top.
During the inauguration, the speech by the Prince of Wales was distorted by
143
echoes, which was reported in the newspapers on the next day to “repeat the
words (of the prince) in a mocking emphasis”. These echoes also made the sound
seem to originate from different regions of the hall (Barron 2010:134). Various
remedial measures such as placing reflectors at suitable points were taken and the
hall was made fit to be used54. Thus, domed structures by themselves can have
disastrous acoustical effects.
Ceilings embossed with a number of small dome-shaped structures are helpful in

diffusing sound. When the extended spheres are much smaller than the auditorium
and the heads of the audience are much below these extended spheres, sound
getting concentrated at the centre of these spheres (which are the focal points of
the small domes) does not impact sound perception adversely. On the other hand,
since they reflect sound in different directions, they act as diffusers (Kayili
2005:9).
v. Fan-shaped/Reverse-splayed halls
A fan-shaped hall is one where the side walls diverge from each other at an angle.
This design traces its origin to the Greek and Roman amphitheatres. The biggest
advantage of this shape is that it accommodates a greater number of people close
to the stage than a rectangular shoe-box hall. This offers visual advantages, with
more number of people getting a clear view of the stage. The related acoustical
advantage is that a greater number of people get the direct sound at good strength.
However, owing to the angles at which sound gets reflected from the side walls,
there is very little scope for lateral reflections and multiple reflections,
diminishing the feeling of envelopment in the listener. The source-broadening is
also less owing to the angles of lateral reflections. The reverberation at the rear
end of the hall is lowered due to lack of late sound (Barron 2010:95). Fan-shaped
halls with narrower angle between the side walls are better than ones with a wider
angle (Barron 2010:51).
54
For a detailed description of the remedial measures, one can refer https://www.royalalberthall.com/about-the-
hall/news/2017/january/from-the-archives-acoustic-mushrooms-and-the-albert-hall-echo/ , referred by the
researcher on 16th April 2018 at 1 p.m.
144
Figure 5-74 The Fan-shaped Hall
The reverse-splay, on the other hand, gives a good sense of envelopment and
source-broadening (Barron 2010:49). Thus, while the fan-shape is visually more
beneficial, the reverse-splay is acoustically better.
Figure 5-75 Reverse-splayed Hall
While the above comments can be applied to basic fan-shape and reverse-splay
designs, a combination of the two, or small tweaks in the design, can have
significant impact on the overall acoustics of the space.
145
5.3.4 Disambiguation
When one looks at scientific literature on acoustics, one comes across a variety of terms for
performance spaces. The definitions of some of these as given in Oxford Dictionary are given
here.
i. Theatre: A room or hall for lectures with seats in tiers55
ii. Concert Halls: A large public building designed for the performance of concerts56
iii. Amphitheatre:
a. (especially in Greek and Roman architecture) an open circular or oval
building with a central space surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators, for
the presentation of dramatic or sporting events or,
b. A semicircular seating gallery in a theatre.
iv. Auditorium:
a. The part of a theatre, concert hall, or other public building in which the
audience sits or,
b. A large building or hall used for public gatherings, typically speeches or
stage performances57.
v. Hall: A building or large room used for meetings, concerts, or other events58.
In the context of this study, the term “auditorium” has been used mostly in the context of
acoustically treated halls. The term “concert hall” is used to refer to untreated or partially
treated halls in which concerts take place. A “hall” can refer to any performance space which
is closed. “Theatre” has been used to refer to spaces where performances of plays take place.
5.4 Some contemporary performance spaces of Indian classical Music

Indian classical music is performed in a variety of venues today. In Western music, there are
usually separate venues that house operas, plays, classical concerts, symphonies and
orchestras. The acoustical needs of each of these performances are different. Accordingly, the
acoustical parameters of the spaces that host each of these performances are suitably set.
However, the scenario in India is quite different. While there are a few spaces meant
exclusively for plays or for music, most venues have to cater to many different types of
programmes. A hall may be used for a classical music concert today, a film music orchestral
programme tomorrow and a political meeting with only speech and no music on another day.
55
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/theatre, 11th February 2018, 10 45 p.m.
56
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/concert_hall, 11th February 2018, 10 45 p.m.
57
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/auditorium, 16th April 2018, 1 p.m.
58
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hall, 16th April 2018, 1 p.m.
146
Thus most halls, even if built with a particular purpose in mind, end up being used for
multiple purposes.
Notwithstanding the same, this study focuses on the different varieties of performance spaces
in which Indian classical music is performed. These spaces can be studied under various
headings. It is to be noted that these classifications are not necessarily in chronological order
of their advent in India.
5.4.1 Acoustically Treated Auditoria

These spaces are relatively new entrants into the world of Indian classical music. Some of the
well-known auditoria for classical music in India, to name a few, are National Centre for
Performing Arts- Mumbai, Shanmukhananda Hall- Mumbai, Chowdiah Memorial Hall-
Bengaluru, Music Academy- Chennai.
5.4.1.1 Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bengaluru

This is a state-of-the-art auditorium built in 1980. It is an auditorium constructed as a tribute
to the great violinist of yesteryears, T. Chowdiah. T. Chowdiah is most known for his unique
innovation- the 7-string violin. The uniqueness of this building lies in its structure. It is
shaped like a Violin. It is situated in Vyalikaval, Bengaluru. One can get a beautiful bird‟s
eye view of this structure from the road bordering Sankey‟s tank in the vicinity.
147
Figure 5-76 Outside view of Chowdiah Memorial Hall
Image courtesy- https://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g297628-d9999227-

r409856246-Chowdaiah_Memorial_Hall-Bengaluru_Bangalore_District_Karnataka.html,
30th April 2018, 9 p.m.
The inside of the auditorium is as beautiful as the structure is from the outside. It is a slightly
fan shaped auditorium, almost bordering on rectangular. The seating capacity is 1011
(Vikranth 2012:52).
One of the remarkable aspects of this auditorium is that no matter which part of the audience
area a person sits in, one is assured of a good view of the stage as well as a good aural
experience. Aurally, a person sitting in the last row would get almost the same musical
experience as a person in the first row.
Chowdiah Memorial Hall (CMH) is a completely air-conditioned hall with good sound
insulation from outside noises. A corridor surrounds the auditorium and outside is a garden
and parking space for vehicles. The floor of the auditorium is completely carpeted and has a
gentle gradient. This gives the audience a good view of the stage and also solves the problem
of grazing of the sound. Each member of the audience gets adequate direct sound in such a
setup and tonal colouring and shadowing are avoided. The ceiling is slightly curved and
148
designed in a manner so as to diffuse sound. The upper parts of the walls are also designed
similarly. The resident sound engineer59 mentioned that the walls and ceiling contain Plaster
of Paris and gunny bags filled with glass wool, designed like pillows, in order to absorb
sound. The upper walls and ceiling are perforated and thus absorb some sound and diffuse the
rest. The lower portion of the side and rear walls are panelled with wood. The wood is
smooth and plain and absorbs only a part of the sound and reflects the rest. This contributes
to lateral reflections and gives the audience a sense of envelopment. The seats are well
cushioned. Cushioned seats imitate the absorptive characteristics of human beings. Thus,
there would be little variation in the sound characteristics of the auditorium with variation in
audience size. This is a very beneficial factor, as audience size for a classical music concert
can vary greatly based on the popularity of the performing artistes. The researcher herself has
witnessed the hall when hardly half-full, as well as sat down on the carpet in the aisle for a
concert by a legendary artiste due to shortage of seats. Carpeted flooring and well cushioned
seating go a long way in reducing the variation in acoustical parameters in such auditoria
which happen to be popular concert venues.
The stage is quite spacious and can easily accommodate even an ensemble of musicians.
Speakers are placed in fixed niches in the wall on either side of the stage. An array system is
used to cater to the spreading of sound throughout the auditorium. The back of the stage is
covered with a curtain, preventing feedback noise due to reflections from the wall behind the
stage. The speakers are also placed at a slight angle, enabling maximum reach of sound.
The thoughtful acoustical planning of Chowdiah Memorial Hall gives the sound engineer a
greater control over the sound. The sound engineer‟s cubicle is at the rear end of the
auditorium, enabling easy visual contact with the musicians on stage. With such good
acoustics, sound balancing can elevate or mar a concert. While bad balancing also gets
enhanced, most of the concerts in Chowdiah Memorial Hall have good sound monitoring and
leave both, the audience as well as the performing musicians, with a sense of joy and
satisfaction after performance.
5.4.1.2 The Music Academy, Chennai

The Music Academy on TTK road, Chennai, is one of the premiere institutions in India
dedicated to the promotion of classical music and dance, especially the South Indian genre.
After its inception in 1928, the venue for concerts and conferences kept shifting till the
59
Srinivasamurthy , Interview dated 27th March 2013, Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bengaluru
149
current building was officially inaugurated in 1962. The main auditorium was air-conditioned
and named after T.T.Krishnamachari, politician and one of the founder members of Music
Academy60 in 1966. It was last upgraded in 2007-2008 when the seats were improved and a
Bose sound system was installed61.
While Music Academy is considered by many to be the most testing stage for any Karnāṭak
musician, what attracts many connoisseurs and scholars to this space is the ambience and the
acoustics. The cushioned seats and temperature-controlled environment are definitely an
attraction, but even more remarkable is the clarity of sound at every position in the hall. Even
the seats under the deep balcony have good audibility. This is mostly achieved through
placement of speakers at vantage points. The balcony is quite big and steep. The audibility is
good, but the view of the stage from the upper levels of the balcony may not be comfortable
for people with acrophobia. This discomfort tends to take away a little from the otherwise
good listening experience, given the contraction of muscles close to the ear in dealing with
such discomfort.
5.4.1.3 Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai

“Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Auditorium” is better known among
musicians and connoisseurs as Shanmukhananda Hall. It was destroyed by a fire in 1990 and
later resurrected. It is a huge auditorium with two levels of balconies and can hold about 2763
people62. There is a wavy design on the front of the balcony which prevents reflection of
sound back to the stage. The side walls are stepped and have grill designs made of wood,
behind which jute material is visible. The upper half of the walls is perforated. This prevents
excess echo. The perforated roof prevents unwanted reflections from the ceiling and the
carpeted floor helps absorption of sound. The cushioned seats imitate members of audience
and reduce variations in the acoustical ambience due to variation in audience size for
different performances. The slight gradient in seating ensures the transmission of direct sound
to every member of the audience. The balcony at the first level is quite deep. Speakers are
hung below the edge of the balcony to ensure that there is no shadowing below this balcony
due to its greater depth. The main speakers of the auditorium are hung down from the ceiling
in front of the stage. The wall at the back of the hall also has grilled wood with jute behind it.
60
www.veethi.com/india-people/t_t_krishnamachari-profile-8979-19.htm, 15th February 2018, 8 15 p.m.
61
https://musicacademymadras.in/explore/ttk-auditorium, 15th February 2018, 8 15 p.m.
62
http://www.shanmukhananda.com/profile.html, 21st February 2018, 6 p.m.
150
The auditorium has most of the features that are necessary for a good performing and
listening experience. The actual experience would depend on the balancing of sound and how
it is distributed throughout the auditorium for any particular performance.
5.4.1.4 Acoustical Features in Some Auditoria

Acoustics is a major branch of science today and its study has facilitated the use of acoustical
treatment in performance spaces. Acoustical treatment is an art as much as it is a science,
with various architects and interior designers coming up with their own innovative ways of
providing the necessary elements to deliver the required acoustical conditions in any
auditorium. It is very interesting to examine these features and view it through eyes of art and
analyse the same with a scientific way of thinking. While many of these features contribute
positively to the acoustical environment, they are not sufficient conditions to provide a good
sound experience. Some of the features of acoustically treated performance spaces in India
that contribute to the acoustical environment either positively or negatively are examined in
the following section.
i. Though there are a number of design formats or architectural elements that are
standardised and used throughout the world, architects continue to be creative and
come up with newer and newer innovations. One such example is seen in the Tata
Theatre at National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai. It is a fan-shaped
hall with hive-like triangular cells on the roof. The uniqueness of this design is that
one triangle is concave and the adjacent one is convex. While this can be thought of
as a sound diffuser, it also serves to direct sound towards various regions of the
auditorium. The concave hive-like design continues onto the walls. The advantage of
this design on the walls is that it remedies the lack of lateral reflections that are typical
of a fan-shaped design. The angle of the “v”-shaped structures on the wall are such
that the sound from the stage is reflected back to the audience, working towards
reinforcing the sound. The floor is carpeted and seats are cushioned, thus lessening
the variation in acoustical ambience due to variation in audience size.
Another unique feature of this auditorium is that it has a rotating stage. It is made of
wood and designed in such a way that the fulcra plane forms the background of the
stage. This is more useful in theatre than in music, where the side of the fulcra plane
that is facing away from the audience is prepared with the props for the next scene.
151
The design, which enables one to either use the rotating feature or use it as a normal
stage, is worthy of mention.
Figure 5-77 Tata Auditorium, NCPA
ii. Acoustical treatment enables the enriching of sound experience in concerts, but only
when used optimally. This requires a balance of absorption and reflection. Many
times, the concept of treatment is misunderstood to mean setting up of absorbing
surfaces everywhere. This results in some performance spaces being dead or lacking
sufficient liveliness.
iii. Good acoustical treatment also presumes a certain amount of sound insulation. When
one invests on good material for treatment, one needs to ensure that doors and
windows are closed when there is noise outside. Otherwise, the background noise in
the auditorium will be high, destroying the ambience and rendering the acoustical
treatment useless. Thus, it is not desirable to keep the doors of auditoria open when
there is noise outside.
iv. Sound balancing is the most crucial aspect for a good sound experience. A hall with
well-balanced sound absorption and reflection, but with very loud sound from the
speakers, gives very bad sound experience. The person handling the sound system
must have a good knowledge of how loud the sound can be in a given auditorium and
152
what limit must not be exceeded. Otherwise, in worst cases, the audience may be
driven out of the auditorium by the loud sound.
v. Cushioned chairs which fold back when there is nobody seated are an asset from the
perspective of acoustics. The fold-back mechanism must, however, be working with
silent perfection. Creaky chairs cause annoyance and disturb the audience, resulting in
discontent in the listening experience.
vi. Stepped walls in shoebox auditoria help prevent excess reverberation and echo due to
multiple reflections and also direct sound towards the audience.
vii. One of the most important features necessary for good acoustics is the even
distribution of sound. However, not all acoustically treated auditoria ensure uniform
sound. The sound that a person in the first row hears should be the same as the sound
heard in the last row. The sound at the extreme ends of each row should be the same
as the sound at the central region of the auditorium. In reality, this is experienced in
very few auditoria. The sound near the speakers is very high and the sound at the
points furthest from the speakers is quite low. However, in some auditoria like
Chowdiah Memorial Hall, a person can sit anywhere in the auditorium and have a
good aural experience.
viii. In many performances, artistes experience a hum or feedback noise at a certain

note/some notes every time it is sounded. For example, in a Karnāṭak classical vocal
concert, while performing the rāga Kalyāṇi, there may be a recurring hum at
madhyama. Every time the vocalist holds madhyama or the violinist plays madhyama
there will be a feedback noise requiring the sound to be adjusted again. One possible
reason for this is as follows-
Some of the materials used during construction of auditoria have resonant frequencies
that lie in the same frequency range as the day‟s performance. This could be a beam
or steel used in the construction phase, or any other material whose area is significant
enough to have an impact on the sound . The Kalyān ̣i madhyama or prati madhyama
frequency of that day might be the same as the resonant frequencies of one or more of
the beams. In that case, these beams start resonating with the svara (or frequency) and
153
produce enough resonance to incite a slight hum in the sound system whenever that
note is played. This, in fact, can be observed in quite a few auditoria 63. This can be
remedied by reducing that particular frequency in the mixer. When particular
frequencies are not available, one needs to know which area of the frequency range-
whether high, low or mid- that frequency lies in, and reduce the volume for that range
slightly. The latter will affect all the notes in that range, but if it is not very noticeable,
this will effectively remedy the hum64.
It should be noted that these hums can also occur because of room modes, in which
case the remedy is much more complex and has to be addressed in consultation with
an acoustical engineer.
ix. Shadowing is effectively avoided in many auditoria such as Shanmukhananda Hall,

Mumbai and Music Academy, Chennai by hanging speakers at the lower edge of the
balcony.
5.4.2 Concert Halls

For the purpose of this study, a concert hall is defined as a hall in which concerts take place.
In this section, only concert halls that have not been acoustically treated are examined.
Temples and palaces are excluded from this section as a separate chapter has already been
dedicated for the same. Some performance spaces which have a ceiling, but in which one or
more walls are missing have also been considered in this section.
A typical concert hall for classical music in India, without acoustical treatment, would consist
of the walls with windows and doors, a smooth floor (in most cases), a platform with or
without side wings and a ceiling made usually of concrete and less frequently of other
material. Concert halls are mostly not air-conditioned and require the windows and doors- a
few, if not all- to be kept open. The windows, in many cases, are not curtained and just
consist of glass shutters.
While this gives a bird‟s eye view of the scenario of concert halls, describing most features in
detail is quite a complex task. A few observations made as a part of this study, along with the
analysis, are described in the following section.
63
Interview with Anoor Anantakrishna Sharma dated 26 th April 2013, Bengaluru.
64
Interview with Pramath Kiran dated 13th January 2018, Bengaluru.
154
i. The size of the hall assumes a lot of importance when it comes to untreated spaces.
Excessively large concert halls make way for echoes and excessive reverberation.
This leads to loss of clarity.
ii. The walls are important reflecting surfaces. The material from which the walls are
made can enhance or mar the listening experience. Walls with surfaces made of
smooth material like granite or ceramic tiles are highly reflective and can distort the
music. Depending on the size and structure of the space, it can also cause multiple
echoes and muffle the sound. It is better to have a slightly rough-finished wall that can
diffuse sound. In case of unamplified performances, the walls can be as smooth as a
normal painted concrete wall with diffusing surfaces at the required places. But very
smooth surfaces like granite are not desirable for walls in a performance space of
Indian classical music.
iii. The floor, in most spaces, is either made of mosaic tiles, or other smooth tiles like
vitrified or granite. Smooth floors create unwanted reflection. Laying out carpets
definitely reduces the amount of unwanted reflections, but in case of extremely
smooth floors, a thin layer of carpet may not be very helpful.
iv. The seats in concert halls are usually chairs made of plastic or metal and are not
cushioned. As a result of this, the difference in sound between a concert with full
audience and one with very little audience will be very noticeable.
In concert halls with many smooth surfaces, a full or almost-full audience will be
introducing a significant amount of absorption, which will counter the excessive
reflection and result in a better overall sound. However, a very small audience may
not have a very pleasing aural experience as the absorbing surfaces are comparatively
less. So a person attending two concerts on consecutive days, one of a very popular
musician and the other of a lesser known or upcoming musician, may have very
different aural experiences on the two days, besides the musical experience.
v. The doors and windows of concert halls are usually open, given the fact that they are
not air-conditioned. Windows are usually large in order to ensure that the space is
airy. The walls, too, are normal concrete walls. These factors are sure to make way for
155
plenty of background noise. In cities, concert halls next to busy traffic junctions are a
bane to perform in because of this problem. A musician may be performing a beautiful
Śubhapantuvarāli/Tōḍi
̣ rāga, when a loud horn tuned perfectly to the antara
gāndhāra/kōmal gāndhār of that day‟s concert śruti may blare out loudly. This
destroys the mood being created by the musician, and may also result in loss of flow
of manōdharma. Repeated disturbances like this would mar the day‟s concert
experience for the listeners as well as the musicians. Concert halls situated in peaceful
areas can afford to have all windows and doors open, as there is no background noise
to be worried about. The free air-flow might make for a better listening experience of
melodious music in pleasant breeze. But the sound levels of the performance must be
moderate so as not to disturb the neighbourhood. The discretion of organisers in this
regard is very important.
vi. Ceilings made of asbestos sheets or similar material can be very annoying as they
distort sound, especially when in an inverted “V” shape. It results in sound getting
lost, and a lot of information is missed out. The musical experience is thus brought
down by several notches. It is better to install a false ceiling in such circumstances.
Some of the reputed performance spaces like Seva Sadan in Malleswaram, Bengaluru
and Mylapore Fine Arts Club in Chennai which had artificial ceilings installed to
combat this problem have been quite successful in eliminating many of the associated
problems.
vii. Uniform distribution of sound can be a challenge in many concert halls. Given the
fact that the walls, floor and ceiling are the most important contributors to the
dynamics of reflection, it is very important to keep the speakers at the correct angle to
ensure that no section of the audience is either being bombarded with sound or sitting
in a dry spot, due to superposition of direct and reflected waves or due to shadowing.
This can be extremely challenging to any sound engineer, since he or she has
absolutely no control over the reflecting surfaces. Using the right amount of sound is
also crucial and this is a hard decision. A little increase could mean too much
loudness near the speakers and a little decrease could bring too much softness to the
central regions of the audience and the points furthest away from the speakers.
Machinery like fans should be kept in excellent condition with regular maintenance.
This will ensure that they run with minimum or no noise.
156
These are some of the factors that need to be kept in mind while having a performance in an
untreated concert hall. However, while the above stated are only a few general facts, the
problems in each concert hall are unique and need to be addressed independently.
5.4.3 Multipurpose Halls

Multipurpose halls are halls which are used for more than one kind of activity. These halls
need not be dedicated to music, but can be used for a variety of purposes such as religious
functions, weddings, social gatherings, and a plethora of other activities.
In India, multipurpose halls are widely existent and are necessary. The need for, or the reason
for the existence of such a great number of multipurpose halls can be understood from the
facts stated here-
i. India is a land of many cultures and many traditions. It has a rich cultural heritage and
great diversity in language, religion and art. Performing arts are also multifarious and
traditional performing arts vary from region to region.
ii. India is also the second most populated country after China, according to the latest
data65.
iii. Music forms an integral part of our culture. Starting with a mother‟s lullabies to make
her child sleep, music plays an important role in every function, wedding and almost
every occasion. This would call for music concerts to be organised on different
occasions like weddings and they take place at the venue of the function, a wedding
hall for example.
iv. Indian classical music is also being used as therapy to help soothe patients in
hospitals. While the practice of playing records has already been there, a more recent
practice is to conduct concerts in the common areas within the hospitals and broadcast
them to the rooms of patients. This brings hospitals also under the purview of
performance spaces.
v. Music concerts are conducted in restaurants too. This could serve as entertainment to
the customers, while at the same time serving the purpose of popularising the art form
by taking it to a place of daily life activity of the public.
vi. India being so densely populated, the cities and towns are quite crowded with a lot of
buildings. Given this scenario, it is a challenge to have separate spaces for each
activity and cater to all cultures equally.
65
http://www.prb.org/publications/datasheets/2017/2017-world-population-data-sheet.aspx, 6th March 2018, 10
30 p.m.
157
These facts make it quite clear why multipurpose halls are in such abundance in India. It
should be noted that for the purpose of this study, wedding halls, hospitals, restaurants and
other such places of a different kind of activity where music concerts take place are all
classified under multipurpose halls. They may not be referred by this name in common
parlance.
The greatest hurdle for good listening experience in a multipurpose hall is the absence of any
kind of specification regarding the acoustical parameters. The other obstacle is the
background noise which is almost always impossible to eliminate. They are examined case by
case here.
5.4.3.1 Wedding Halls

Wedding halls are the most common spaces which come under the category of multipurpose
halls. In a typical South Indian wedding scenario, the concert is usually organised as a part of
the reception, which is in the evening. The bridal couple is standing on the main stage. The
guests form a queue on one side of the hall, leading to the stage from the entrance. The
platform for the concert is erected on the other side of the hall, facing a direction
perpendicular to the bridal couple. In the central portion of the hall, are the people, seated and
conversing. There are children running about and playing, and old people conversing in loud
tones.
It is important to understand that in this kind of scenario, the music concert does not take the
place of prime importance. People come to meet their relatives and friends and are happy to
listen to the concert for some time. With this understanding, we can proceed to look into the
solution.
The researcher has observed during the course of this study that in many weddings, a section
of the chairs are turned towards the performance platform. Here, only the people exclusively
interested in listening to the concert are seated and are completely involved in the concert.
The chairs that are situated away from this platform are turned towards the main stage and are
meant for people who may want to converse with others. This is a good practice, as it gives
the musicians a quiet setting immediately around their platform and helps them focus better
on the performance.
The speakers are generally kept on either side of the performance platform and the concert is
sometimes broadcast in the dining hall. The people closer to the speakers, or the performance
158
platforms, are the ones interested in the concert. These speakers should cover a range planned
to seat this section of the people, and soften beyond that. This makes it easy for people
beyond this section to talk in softer tones and not have to shout above the music. Since the
interested people are within the louder range of the speaker, they may not find the other
conversations so disturbing. It is important to find the right volume of sound to strike the
perfect balance. This has to be done through continuous monitoring at the venue during the
performance.
In wedding halls, visuals are given more importance than acoustics. As a result, one can
almost always expect smooth floors and walls and even dome-like structures in the ceiling.
The reverberation is almost always in excess. Having some thick fabrication in the area of the
performance platform may help to some extent in improving the performing experience. The
monitors need to be of good quality and well-balanced to ensure that the performing
musicians receive good feedback of their performance.
The researcher attended and observed a performance at Royal Senate Hall, Bangalore Palace
Grounds. The bridal couple were in the main hall and the stage for the musicians was erected
in an adjacent space. Here, a number of chairs were arranged for the audience interested in
the concert, behind which food was being served and dining tables were laid out. This was a
percussion ensemble concert. The huge space which opened out into a large open area helped
in absorbing sound well. The noise of people dining and conversing was also quite far away
from the performance area and did not disturb the performers and at least on half of the
audience. The benefit of having a separate space for the performance is that only people
interested in listening come to the performance area, thereby reducing background noise to a
very great extent.
159
Figure 5-78 Performance at Royal Senate Hall
5.4.3.2 Hospitals
Hospitals are primarily quiet places. The foyer will have a less quiet atmosphere as there are
transactions and interactions at the reception. A concert in a hospital should not be very loud
as the music is being used as therapy. If the concert is conducted in the foyer which is the
main area of the hospital, like the way it is done in HCG hospitals, Bengaluru, there can be a
couple of speakers for the people. These should be soft and not jarring as one should
remember, the people may be worried about their relatives who are in the hospital. The
monitors should be well-balanced and loud enough to give the performing artists a good
feedback of their music. The background noise will usually not be very high as most hospitals
are designed to that specification.
5.4.3.3 Restaurants
Restaurants are also promoting Indian classical music by organising concerts. These concerts
take place in the dining area. It is often difficult for the performers to focus on their music
because of high background noise. Vocalists may find the aroma of the food to be deterrent to
singing. It is desirable to have a small area in front of the stage with only chairs for the
audience to be seated and listen to the concert. The dining area can lie beyond this sitting
area. This might reduce background noise for the musicians to some extent. The volume of
160
the music should be just enough so that people in the sitting area can enjoy the music, and
people dining can converse comfortably and still listen to the music.
5.4.3.4 Other Multipurpose Halls

Some halls which are used for various purposes on other days are used exclusively for
musical concerts on some days. These may be halls used for religious purposes, social
gatherings or even speech. These may have highly reflective floors and walls or may be as
absorptive as a concert hall for presentations.
In case of highly reverberant spaces, carpeting the floor and using thick curtains may reduce
the reverberation to a certain extent. Introducing articles made of wood also helps 66. The
researcher has also seen the use of a sāmiāna or marquee covering the side walls to have
helped make a highly reverberant space slightly less reverberant so that there is more clarity
in sound67.
It is also necessary to cover the back of the stage with a little absorbent material so that there
is no boom in the audio system.
In case of highly absorptive spaces like conference halls, there should be adequate number of
speakers for good sound distribution. There should be a slight element of reverberation
introduced into the sound system through the mixer to give good musical effect for the
performers as well as the listeners. The air-conditioning should be moderate to accommodate
vocalists as well as the different accompanying instruments.
When one knows that a space is going to be used for music on certain days, it is desirable to
design the place with variable acoustics. This will be discussed later in this study.
The researcher observed in a concert series in Auckland, New Zealand, that was organized
within the auditorium of a school. The space also seemed to serve as an indoor sports arena,
apparent by the markings on the floor. However, it served to be a good space for Indian
classical music. There was almost no background noise and no undesirable echoes. The
sound was perfectly balanced. This proved to be one of the superior aural experiences that the
researcher has had during the course of this study.
66
Interview with Pramath Kiran dated 13th January 2018 at his studio, Bengaluru.
67
Ramanuja Samudaya Bhavana, Malleswaram, Bengaluru
161
Multipurpose halls may be of many more varieties, but the commonly found ones are
discussed here. The researcher spoke to Jens Holger Rindel, a well-known designer of many
opera houses, about multipurpose halls in the Indian scenario. He was of the firm opinion that
each genre of music needs its own performance space, as the acoustical parameters for each
will be different. If it is not at all possible, one can consider having variable acoustics, but he
would not really advise it68. However, multipurpose halls cannot be eliminated because of the
reasons stated earlier in this section. Especially given the fact that classical music is a part of
life in many other ways, performances which are a part of weddings and religious ceremonies
cannot always be organised in separate spaces. Furthermore, multipurpose spaces are on the
increase with classical music entering public life in many more unique ways. After hospitals
and restaurants, music concerts are being organised in public spaces like airports. This bodes
well for the popularising of Indian classical music, and one has to keep coming up with ways
to tackle new problems arising with new spaces.
5.4.4 Outdoor Performance Spaces

Concerts are organised in a variety of spaces and open spaces are one of them. Open spaces
include spaces where the stage is temporarily erected with no covering above, as well as
buildings like schools and colleges where the stage is a permanent covered structure that
opens out onto a ground or play area where students normally gather. Concerts are also
regularly organised in parks and gardens when people come for their morning or evening
walks.
Concerts in parks usually take place on a temporary stage set up in the open. In such concerts,
the most important aspect is the sound system, as that is the carrier of sound from the
performers to the audience. Natural vegetation is a good absorber of sound. The speakers
should ideally be close to the stage or where seats are arranged for the audience, and the
loudness should be moderate so as not to scare away birds. Concerts take place at the Band
Stand at Cubbon Park in Bengaluru too. Here, the stage is a covered structure. The audience
are seated at a certain distance from the stage. The music adds to the atmosphere and the
atmosphere inspires the musician. Concerts in such natural settings are being experimented
with at unamplified and informal levels too.
68
Interview with Jens Holger Rindel, November 2013, at Acoustics-2013- International Conference on
Acoustics organized jointly by Acoustical Society of India and French Acoustical Society at National Physical
Laboratory, New Delhi, India.
162
Figure 5-79 Concert at Band Stand, Cubbon Park, Bengaluru
Figure 5-80 Band Stand- The Audience
163
Rāmanavami concerts take place in venues like Seshadripuram College and Vani School
(Basaveshwaranagar) in Bengaluru. These are typical examples of spaces where the stage is
covered and the audience area is open. The audience area is surrounded by the building. The
speakers are placed near the stage and also at other points where necessary in the audience
space. The building is either made of concrete or stone and reflects sound. When the listener
is far away from the stage and the space is large, one experiences a slight delay in sound.
Excessively loud sound can be quite jarring as it is reinforced by the reflected sound. So, in
such spaces, the sound should not be too loud. In case the space is very big, it is better to
have an array system of speakers catering to different ranges of distance. It is not desirable to
have very loud sound on the speakers to enable it to carry it to the farthest distance, as the
listeners near the speakers would find it too loud. The direction of the speakers is also
important. This should be optimised at the start of the event so as not to have undesirable
reflections or dry spots. The angle should also be adjusted such that the sound is not too loud
at any point of overlapping of waves.
Figure 5-81 Concert in progress at Vani School, Basaveshwaranagar
164
In buildings located close to busy streets, background noise can pose a problem as there is no
sound insulation in an open space. Providing properly balanced monitors will help the
performing musicians in such circumstances, but the problem of background noise will
always persist in such spaces.
5.4.5 Residential Spaces

The concept of organising concerts at homes probably started with the decline of royal
patronage. The travelling musicians were requested to perform at the houses of zamīndārs or
landlords before an invited audience. Today, this practice continues in the form of patrons
inviting musicians to perform at their homes.
Concerts at homes can be amplified or unamplified, depending on the size of the hall or room
where the performance is taking place. These are some of the aspects that need to be kept in
mind while organising concerts at homes.
i. If the house is located close to a busy street, there is bound to be a lot of background
noise. Noise from horns of vehicles can be jarring and tends to disturb the performing
artistes as well as the concert ambience. Measures must be taken in such scenarios to
reduce the amount of noise from the street seeping in. This can be achieved by closing
windows facing that direction and probably having thick curtains covering the
windows. This will not block the sound completely, but may reduce it to a certain
extent.
ii. If the hall is medium in size, it is preferable to have an unamplified concert. However,
if some instruments being used in the concert are louder than the others, a minimal
amount of amplification can be used for the softer instruments. For example, if there
is a vocal concert going on and the vocalist‟s voice is too soft when compared to the
volume of the mṛdaṅgam, minimal amplification can be given to the vocal and the
violin in order to even out the sounds. If the amplification becomes more, the purpose
of having amplification for some instruments and not for all gets defeated.
iii. If the hall is quite large, there needs to be amplification for all the performing artistes
to enable the audience to hear all the nuances clearly. However, a smaller sound
system is sufficient for a concert in a house. Large speakers such as the ones used in
concert halls may not be necessary. A couple of strategically placed speakers are
165
adequate for the audience. There needs to be a monitor system for the performing
artistes.
iv. Most houses will have smooth floors, so it is desirable to spread out carpets for the
audience. In case of smooth tiled walls, one can place chairs with cushions along such
walls which will help reduce the excessive reverberation.
v. Noisy fans and other machinery should be avoided as far as possible.
5.4.6 Studios
Studios became popular performance spaces after the establishment of Doordarshan and All
India Radio. Since the advent of cassettes and compact disc (CD) and audio technology, they
have become spaces of bustling activity. Today, they are used for not only audio, but even
video projects and have grown further than audio CD and cassettes.
As performance spaces, the dynamics of studios are vastly different from any of the other
spaces mentioned previously in this chapter. It is essential to understand these dynamics in
order to understand this space.
Firstly, studios are spaces where music is created and produced. It is not in the same space
that an audience listens and enjoys, as opposed to a concert. In a concert, the music is
produced, delivered and received in the same space at the same time. In a studio, all these
three processes do not happen simultaneously. A musician produces hihe or sher music which
is captured into a system. Once it is captured, effects like reverberation can be added to the
music using technology. Once all the desired effects have been added, the music in its
processed form is put into a CD or any other desired device. It is only this final processed
form that is enjoyed by the listener at home. This is the main difference between a studio as a
performance space and any other performance space. With this background, one can proceed
to analyse and understand the studio as a performance space.
i. It is crucial for studios to be free from any kind of background noise. Since the music
being recorded would stay for posterity, even a small beep or rustle may get captured
and stay on in the recording. Hence, good sound insulation from outside noise is
crucial.
166
ii. The equipment in studios are of superior quality and are very sensitive. It is feasible to
have such equipment because of the absence of extraneous noise and dust. It is
essential to have sensitive equipment so that subtle nuances and inflections can be
captured. This can be either an advantage or equally a disadvantage over the normal
concert setting. The advantage is the capability to capture subtle nuances, which may
not be possible in a regular concert. The disadvantage is that some undesirable sound
like the sound of breathing can be enhanced and the musician needs to be careful
during recording. Technology also comes in handy in editing out anomalies like this.
iii. Sensitive equipment are capable of capturing not only the desired sound, but also the
sounds in the surrounding. This necessitates the creation of multiple sound-proof
cabins for different instruments. While some of the cabins can be opaque, it may be
necessary for some musicians to be able to see each other while performing. This
creates the need for see-through glass windows. These windows, again, need to be
sound-proof. This can be achieved by having two layers of glass separated by a gap.
iv. The sound engineer in charge of recording needs to be continuously in touch with all
the musicians. This calls for an effective system of communication.
v. The console needs to be of a high quality, capable of handling the range of

frequencies and volume being produced by the musician.
vi. The console room is the space where the music produced is listened to in its original
form. It is absolutely necessary that the console room does not add its own music to
the music. Decisions about adding effect like reverberation are taken after listening to
the sound in the console room. Hence, it is necessary not to have reverberation in the
console room. Console rooms are given interesting shapes to avoid parallel walls, like
the ink-bottle shape69.
vii. It is desirable to have a minimal amount of reverberation in the instrument room70.
viii. The vocal room should ideally not have reverberation71.
69
In Pramath Kiran‟s studio. Visit and interview dated 13th January 2018, Bengaluru.
70
167
ix. Noise from machinery like air-conditioners must be minimised.
The construction of studios is a vast topic in itself. There is plenty of literature available on
the same. It is a separate subject studied by sound engineers before designing their own
studios. This study will not delve into the details of studio construction as it is an extensively
studied and written topic.
5.5 Methods to Improve Acoustics- Some Examples

Through the history of music, there have been numerous efforts to combat the effects of bad
or defective acoustics. While some of them may have been successful in solving the problem
at hand, some have not. A few such efforts have been described in this section.
i. Sambamoorthy has mentioned the use of aqueducts in Sangeetha Mahal, Tanjavur,
which helped carry the sound from the stage to the farthest points in the audience
space. While it is true that sound travels faster in water than in air, there is no trace of
the aqueducts today to substantiate this.
ii. B.M. Sundaram mentions the presence of a column of water around the stage in
Sangeetha Mahal, Tanjavur, to help propel the sound. The same concept was used in
an opera house in Italy, the Teatro d‟ Argentina. There was too much absorption in
the space, due to the abundance of curtaining and other cloth used. As a result, the
audience could not hear the sound very well. A trough was constructed underneath the
stage and filled with water. This provided a highly reflective surface and helped
project much more sound to the audience, thus reducing the lack of audibility (Egner
2003:6)
iii. Inverted earthen pots were used in the Navarātri Maṇḍapam adjacent to Śrī
Padmanābhaswāmi Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. These could have been used to
diffuse as well as deflect sound.
71
168
iv. Jute material has been draped over the walls at the auditorium in Vani School,
Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. While this might have helped to some extent, this may not be
very effective in reducing echo72.
v. A śāmiāna was installed all around the hall in Rāmānuja Samudāya Bhavana,
Bengaluru, for a music programme. This is a multipurpose hall used for different
types of functions like weddings, religious functions and others. It is known to be a
highly reflective space with lots of undesirable reverberation. This can be extremely
disturbing for music programmes. The installing of this śāmiāna helped alleviate the
echoes to some extent.
vi. Stone surfaces can be used to deflect or amplify sound. Tiger Cave in Mahabalipuram
is a good example of how a stone enclosure can naturally amplify sound.
Figure 5-82 The researcher at Tiger Cave, Mahabalipuram
vii. Carvings on stone surfaces can be used to diffuse sound. Stone is highly reflective and
plain stone surfaces may end up producing excessive reverberation. This can be
moderated by using suitable designs on the surface of stone.
viii. Indigenous material or scrap material can be used to improve acoustics. Gunny bags
filled with shredded cardboard and embedded on the wall, with a certain amount of
72
Interview with Pramath Kiran dated 13th January 2018, Bengaluru
169
thickness, can help in absorbing sound. Ananya auditorium has compressed wooden
shavings used to absorb sound, along with other material.73
These are some of the methods popularly employed in an attempt to improve the acoustics of
some spaces.
5.6 Concluding Remarks

With the decline of royal patronage, music started moving out of temples and palaces to the
houses of landlords and then to public spaces as public performances. Once concerts began to
be performed for the public, there emerged a number of other performance spaces. In this
chapter, various types of such performance spaces have been examined. Auditoria are the
most planned spaces when it comes to acoustics. The desirable and undesirable qualities of
auditoria have been discussed. Other performance spaces like concert halls, multipurpose
halls, open spaces, homes and studios have been studied. These are the different types of
spaces in which concerts take place, each of them having their own acoustical dynamics.
Ultimately, a lot depends on the concert and the music being performed, which will have its
own dynamics. This aspect is examined in the next chapter.
73
Interview with R V Raghavendra dated 30th July 2018, Bengaluru
170

8 Chapter 5

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

8 Chapter 5

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

8 Chapter 5

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 5

Contemporary Performance Spaces

5.2 Terms and Concepts- Auditorium Acoustics

In concerts held close to airports, the drone of the aeroplanes contributes to

In most cases, one has little or no control over background noise.

vi. Dead spots

ix. Flutter Echo

Intimacy is also known as „presence‟.

xiii. Lateral reflections

Masking can be intentional or unintentional. The example given above is one of

xix. Sound Concentration

xx. Sound Insulation

xxii. Tonal colour

5.3 Characteristics of Auditoria

5.3.1 Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics in Auditoria

viii. There should be no background noise.

ix. There should be no shadowing of sound.

5.3.2 Sound Insulation

There are many methods by which background noise can be reduced.

Figure 5-72 Swathi Sangeetotsavam at Kuthiramalika Palace

vi. Air-conditioning is necessary in order to insulate auditoria from outside noise.

5.3.3 Shapes of Auditoria

ii. Square/Cubical halls

iii. Circular/Semicircular halls

In semicircular rooms, there is again a problem of focusing of sound by the

Figure 5-73 Sound travelling in a dome

Ceilings embossed with a number of small dome-shaped structures are helpful in

Figure 5-75 Reverse-splayed Hall

5.4 Some contemporary performance spaces of Indian classical Music

5.4.1 Acoustically Treated Auditoria

5.4.1.1 Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bengaluru

Image courtesy- https://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g297628-d9999227-

5.4.1.2 The Music Academy, Chennai

5.4.1.3 Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai

5.4.1.4 Acoustical Features in Some Auditoria

Figure 5-77 Tata Auditorium, NCPA

viii. In many performances, artistes experience a hum or feedback noise at a certain

ix. Shadowing is effectively avoided in many auditoria such as Shanmukhananda Hall,

5.4.2 Concert Halls

5.4.3 Multipurpose Halls

5.4.3.1 Wedding Halls

5.4.3.4 Other Multipurpose Halls

5.4.4 Outdoor Performance Spaces

Figure 5-80 Band Stand- The Audience

Figure 5-81 Concert in progress at Vani School, Basaveshwaranagar

5.4.5 Residential Spaces

v. Noisy fans and other machinery should be avoided as far as possible.

v. The console needs to be of a high quality, capable of handling the range of

vii. It is desirable to have a minimal amount of reverberation in the instrument room70.

viii. The vocal room should ideally not have reverberation71.

5.5 Methods to Improve Acoustics- Some Examples

Figure 5-82 The researcher at Tiger Cave, Mahabalipuram

5.6 Concluding Remarks

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.