[Dixielandjazz] Speaking of acoustically designed buildings ...

Wed Sep 12 09:42:45 PDT 2007

Sound unfortunately works two ways.  An acoustically perfect hall that can 
carry a voice to the top rows without amps can also carry sound from the top 
row to the stage equally as well.  I mentioned the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt 
Lake City being acoustically perfect.  It also brings sound back to the 
focal point of the lectern.  When we played there they have a stage in front 
of the massive organ pipes, behind and around the lectern.  The percussion 
section was to the left of the lectern and we did a sound check.  The drums 
were greatly amplified and came back to us about 1/2 second late.  It was 
impossible to play with that.  Fortunately we found a "dead" space on the 
stage and that fixed it.  They were too close to that sound focal point and 
couple that with the size of the place which caused the sound delay.

We don't build in stone any more.  We want cushioned seats.  I would suspect 
the stone work in the Roman amphitheaters helped to bounce the sound too. 
Those places were much more cone shaped than today's theaters.
Larry
StL
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ministry of Jazz" <jazzmin at actcom.net.il>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 4:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Speaking of acoustically designed buildings ...

> Shalom Jazz Fans,
>
> Here in Israel we have several Roman amphitheaters that were built 2000
> years ago to hold 5000 to 8000 people. I have not yet performed in one of
> these babies, but I hope to do that before I'm through. Anyway, you can
> stand on the stage and speak in a normal voice, and be heard throughout 
> the
> seats. If you play an instrument or talk or sing with a bit of projection,
> you can be heard with no problem. And this is outdoors. No roof and no
> walls. Just the stage and the seats and the "orchestra", all stone.
>
> I don't know if people were more cooperative and polite at these places 
> 2000
> years ago. One might think that 8000 people would create quite a din 
> during
> a performance, but they won't if they sit still and shut up and listen to
> the show!
>
> I typically bring along a banjo or horn and do a brief demo when I'm 
> taking
> guests to visit these theaters. One of these days we will do a concert in
> one of them.
>
> Of course, today when there is a show of any consequence in such an
> amphitheater, they bring in a killer sound system. Aside from the fact 
> that
> this kills the experience of being in an amphitheater, in my opinion, this
> is usually probably not necessary, except that 1) Israelis think they 
> can't
> hear if whatever is going on is not blasted at them above the threshold of
> pain, and 2) they are not very good at sitting quietly and listening.
>
> I have had even small events where people never stop gabbing while I'm
> playing, and yet they complain that they can't hear me. I don't bother to
> bring sound equipment to offset this. Sometimes I play more quietly to try
> to encourage them to shut up and listen. In my book, they can't have it 
> both
> ways. Either I'm background and they talk all they want, or I do a show 
> and
> they shut up and pay attention. If they don't hire me again under these
> circumstances, it's fine with me. I'd just as soon not work for them 
> again.
> I've worked in restaurants where they keep asking me to play quieter 
> because
> they want to talk. Fine with me, if that's what they want, as long as they
> don't then complain that they can't hear.
>
> In other news, has anyone been to the Phantom of the Opera theater in Las
> Vegas? I saw the show there last year. All I heard before hand were raves
> about how the state of the art theater was built from the ground up for 
> this
> show. When I got there, I saw very elaborate high tech ornamentation all
> over the walls and ceiling, with lots of moving pieces and hardly a hard
> flat surface in the place. It seemed to me that they sacrificed the 
> theater
> to the special effects, and then tried to compensate with a sound system 
> on
> steroids. The sound throughout the show was painfully loud, but you could
> not understand the words of the songs or much of what the actors were
> saying. And I had a good seat! I would have gladly traded the fancy 
> effects
> for an acoustically functional room. The modern mentality appears to be 
> that
> if you crank up the volume loud enough, the rest does not matter. Well, it
> matters to me, whether performing or listening.
>
> Elazar
> Doctor Jazz Dixieland Band
> Tekiya Brass Ensemble
> Jerusalem, Israel
> www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
> +972-2-679-2537
>
>
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