Sound is vibrations that travel through the air as sound waves, which are measured in decibels. The amplitude of the wave determines the loudness of the sound. Acoustics help absorb or reflect sound waves. Soft materials like carpet are good for absorbing sound and preventing echoes, while hard materials allow sound waves to bounce off walls and cause reverb. Interior locations are better for recording sound due to control over acoustics, unlike exterior areas with unpredictable noise levels. However, sound panels are sometimes not used for live performances so sound can reach all audience members.

1. What is sound? Sound is
vibrations that travel
through the air. Sound is
measured in sound waves
and the units for sound are
DB or decibels. The amount noise produced, will always
depend on the how high the amplitude of the wave is. For example, the higher the
amplitude, the louder the sound and lower the amplitude the quieter the sound. The
acoustics in sound, are things which help absorb reflective sounds. Reverb is a
collection of reflective sounds. Reverb sounds are created when a sound source stops,
but the sound waves continues to travel, until the waves
lose its energy and dies out. This is linked to
how acoustics help prevent the spreading of
sound and this is done by using rooms or areas
that cover in soft materials. Soft materials such
carpet or foam are good for recording and
stopping sound waves travelling around the
room because they have a low frequency. This
means that the sound gathers up in the corner
of a room and loses energy. But hard materials, are the thing which cause reverb,
because they allow the sound waves to continues travelling because they have a high
frequency and this means they bounce of the walls and cause pinging or echoing
sound when a source of sound is produced. Interior locations tend to be better for
music or sound related recordings because you are able to control the acoustics of the
room or location you are in. Whereas, with exterior locations, it is impossible to
control the acoustics as they can’t be changed because of things such as weather and
the amount noise in certain areas are unpredictable. This is why sometimes in live
news reports, the news reporter things it hard to hear because the wind may very hard,
it may be raining or just the noise being made in the background (cars or people). But,
in some cases, such as live opera or
orchestra performances, sound panels aren’t
used because, the sounds needs to keep
travelling around room or hall for everyone
to hear the sound and this is why sound
panels aren’t used during these type of
performances.
Whereas, structured interviews will be
located in places depending on the type of person they are interviewing. For example,
if a music artist was being interviewed they would tend to use a studio, because it has
controlled acoustics and the sound doesn’t travel around causing reverb sounds.