Research Papers: Music-Induced Vibrations in a Concert Hall and a Church

Abstract

Sound and vibrations are often perceived via the auditory and tactile senses simultaneously, e.g., in a car or train. During a rock concert, the body vibrates with the rhythm of the music. Even in a concert hall or a church, sound can excite vibrations in the ground or seats. These vibrations might not be perceived separately because they integrate with the other sensory modalities into one multi-modal perception.This paper discusses the relation between sound and vibration for frequencies up to 1 kHz in an opera house and a church. Therefore, the transfer function between sound pressure and acceleration was measured at different exemplary listening positions. A dodecahedron loudspeaker on the stage was used as a sound source. Accelerometers on the ground, seat and arm rest measured the resulting vibrations. It was found that vibrations were excited over a broad frequency range via airborne sound. The transfer function was measured using various sound pressure levels. Thereby, no dependence on level was found. The acceleration level at the seat corresponds approximately to the sound pressure level and is independent of the receiver position. Stronger differences were measured for vibrations on the ground.

Auditory-Tactile Experience of Music

“…This study focuses on seat vibrations, such as those that can be perceived in a classical chamber concert hall. Measurements in an exemplary concert hall and a church confirmed the existence of seat vibrations during real music performances [27]. If a kettledrum is hit or the organ plays a tone, the ground and chair vibrate.…”

“…7.1a, which shows a rising and falling succession of notes covering a broad frequency range, as well as steady-state tones with a rich overtone spectrum that dominate the composition. Strong vibrations would be expected in a church for this piece of music [27]. The second sequence, Dies Irae, abbreviated as VERDI, is a dramatic composition for double choir and orchestra.…”

“…In this chapter, algorithms are described that were developed and evaluated to improve music-driven vibration generation, taking into account the above questions and complaints. The content is based on several papers [3,27,28] and the dissertation of the first author with the title 'Auditory-Tactile Music Perception' [23] with kind permission from Shaker Verlag.…”

Auditory-Tactile Music Perception

“…Additionally, steady state tones with a rich overtone spectrum dominate the composition. Strong seat vibrations would be expected in a real church for this piece of music [2]. The sequence from 'DVORAK' is a calm orchestral piece, dominated by bowed und plugged strings.…”

“…Perceptible whole-body vibrations, which show a strong correlation with the sound, have been measured in real concert venues [1,2,3]. Taking into account the rising threshold of vibration perception towards higher frequencies, these vibrations correspond basically to a low-passed version of the audio signal.…”