Sound Advice for an Ampitheater
From Adviceopedia
The earliest sound advice for an amphitheater was created to imitate nature, and that advice still applies today.
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Sound Advice for an Ampitheater
Amphitheater Design
The first amphitheaters were probably natural formations that people discovered had the ability to amplify sound without distorting it. They often provided gently sloping areas where people could sit and listen or watch making it a natural theatre. After these discoveries, builders as far back as ancient Greece used these natural features and concepts to construct their own amphitheaters. These theaters were vital parts of life in Greece and Rome for dramatic and music performance as well as sports and public debates. Audiences socialized, placed bets and traded sports betting advice, ate, flirted, and often even paid attention to the stage.
Sound Design in Early Amphitheaters
The first constructed amphitheaters were made of wood with hard surfaces that provided the powerful resonance required to carry sound to the highest and most distant seats. However, while wood was relatively cheap and easy to use, these amphitheaters were unsafe. They:
- Sometimes collapsed if over-crowded
- Were vulnerable to fire and very difficult to escape in case of a fire
As a result, designers turned to stone, which had the same excellent sound needed for an amphitheater and was sturdier and fire resistant.
Contemporary Sound Advice for Amphitheaters
Amphitheaters are round or oval, which provides more visibility for more people than the rectangular shape of the traditional theater. Many contemporary outdoor amphitheater complexes also feature extensive lawns outside the amphitheater itself. This allows for a considerably larger audience for concerts. For example, the famous Hyundai Pavilion in Devore, California, seats 11,000 in the amphitheater but 54,000 in the lawn section. Because the lawn seats usually have very limited visibility except for projection screens, lawn tickets sell for a fraction of the price of seating in the amphitheater itself.
These auditory considerations still apply today for amphitheater design. The ideal amphitheater offers:
- A shape that can amplify sound to all areas of the audience without trapping acoustics so that they create reverberations that trap and thus dull or blur the sound
- Materials that create resonance, but again, don't trap the sound. Instead of stone, today's materials include concrete, metals, and wood (usually for seating). These materials are chosen for their ability to dampen low frequencies (which is what most background noise is made up of) and amplify higher frequencies coming from the stage.
- Design that accounts for hundreds or thousands of human bodies
Additional contemporary sound requirements for amphitheaters include sight lines for visual recording, locations with optimal sound for audio recordings, and in some locations, dampening or shielding sound from nearby loud street or air traffic.
Today, many amphitheaters are designed with “shells,” or curved domes over the theater that further amplify sound and removable structures that can shield the theater or audience from rain.
