Thoughts on How Loud an Acoustic Gig Should Be

Copyright ©1999 Howard Coleman

Why a gig is usually LOUD (I don't necessarily agree with these points!)

• Loudness adds excitement. Yeah, let's recreate the Isle of Wight Festival in this room!
• Everyone else does it. It's trendy.
• So you can feel the bass.
• So they can hear it at the back. If it is a long room you need it loud for those at the back to hear clearly.
• The audience can move back if they don't like it.
• To impress people with the power of the PA.
• The speakers are designed for it.
• To help balance the volume between the loudest and quietest instruments.
  

Points for making it NOT SO LOUD

• Acoustic instruments sound unnatural at high volume. This is not a technical point but something that is obvious - they are not naturally loud instruments.
• Damaging to hearing. We have all heard that sound engineers tend to make the volume too high because they have damaged their own hearing and are therefore incapable of judging the volume for others.
• Going to a concert where the volume is uncomfortably loud can be unpleasant and disappointing.
• Our ears are not designed for hearing detail among loud sounds. It is as though we mentally shut off to protect ourselves. We feel the sound distorting in our ears and cannot hear the lyrics. (What a waste!)
• Loud music at a gig makes people think it's OK to talk to each other because their conversation will not disturb anyone. This problem normally escalates when the music volume is turned up to compensate.
• Music that is too loud can upset the management and spoil the chances of a return booking.
  

Points for making it a bit QUIETER THAN THAT

• It becomes more intimate - as though the performer is singing or playing just to you.
• To hear more subtlety.
• To remove the threat of feedback which can unnerve and distract the performers and make the audience uncomfortable.
• Respect for the audience creates respect for the performers.
  

Tips on getting by WITHOUT BEING LOUD

• Minimise the background noise. Speak nicely to the bar staff about it.
• A room that is too acoustically lively (echoes and reverberation) may need more soft furnishings to damp it (or you can give up and choose another venue!) The aim for maximum intelligibility is to get the audience to hear more of the direct sound from the speakers than the reflected sound.
• Point the speakers inward to a point about 70% down the length of the room. This takes advantage of the fact that the high frequencies tend to beam so can be aimed away from the side walls. This prevents them from hitting the back wall and being reflected back to the stage. This reflection (almost an echo) is very noticable to the performers and can contribute to feedback problems.
• For long rooms a compromise is needed. The sound needs to be loud enough for intelligibility at the back but not so loud that those at the front get blasted.

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Last revised: November 01, 1999.