A Note on the Acoustics of Orchestra Rehearsal Rooms

The acoustical conditions of rehearsal rooms are of primary importance during the training process of an orchestra. Therefore these spaces should be specifically designed to allow the musicians to clearly hear themselves and each other. At the same time an appropriate sound level should be maintained to avoid extensive exposure to high pressure levels. Despite the peculiar role of these rooms in the musical production, the criteria for their acoustical design are not still sufficiently clarified. This paper deals with a description of a design process which, starting from simple formulas of a reverberant field, leads to investigate the relevance of geometrical and acoustical parameters on the final performance of a rehearsal room. The influence of the values of the ratio V/N (Volume/Number of musicians), S/N (floor surface/number of musicians), W/N (Sound power/Number of musicians) on objective acoustic parameters such as STEarly (Early support) will be described. Aguideline for the acoustic design of an orchestra rehearsal room will be finally proposed. Some specific case histories of rehearsal rooms will be discussed.