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Last night Marie and I went to an interesting presentation by the Smithsonian and the Washington Performing Arts at the McEvoy Auditorium in the National Portrait Gallery in DC. It was one of three presentations that focused on rhythm, melody and harmony and how we listen. This one was on melody. The two people doing the presentation were the jazz pianist Aaron Diehl and the playwright and lyricist Murry Horwitz. There was a lot of explanation of the structure of melody and how it was used in various venues to create different effects. The descriptions were liberally illustrated with various selections played by Diehl.

This was the first time I was in McEvoy auditorium and they did a very good job with the acoustics. It seats 346 people so it is not a huge hall. We were in the 5th row center which were great seats to get the maximum benefit of direct vs reflected sound. The control of reflections was accomplished through several techniques. The side walls and area under the front of the stage have wood slats that act a louvers that have absorbent material behind them. The ceiling has curved floating panels to help diffuse the sound. And of coursed there was a lot of carpet and cushy seats with people in them to absorb reflections, my bald head aside. A photo is included (not of my head).

Not only was the presentation great but the music was outstanding. Every time I hear live music I realize how far I have come in being able to re-create music. Unfortunately I also realize how very, very far away I am from the sound you get in a live presentation in a good venue. It is both rewarding and at the same time depressing. Up close in that hall with just the one piano creating the music, the texture, dynamics and effortless presentation of the music no mater what the level was overwhelming. Listening in a room like that reminds you of how much the average listening room in homes kills the music. Your room is absolutely your worst enemy.

But I'm a glutton for punishment. When we build our new house it will have a dedicated listening room. and I will keep trying with no expectation of complete success. One thing that really surprised me was that Marie thought the room looked very nice. She said that she would not mind having a room that was built like that. Yes, and I just have to win the Powerball lottery to afford it.

Interesting. I visited that theatre for the first time and saw a similar performance there last year and would describe the space as quite dead, or dry. Much like a recording studio control room. I assumed it was from the low ceiling, and being underground. Good for a lecture though.

Jim G wrote:....I assumed it was from the low ceiling, and being underground....

...and all the absorbent material, of course.

Coincidentally, Sharon and I saw the NSO at the Kennedy Center last night. Rachmoninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 was what drew me to get the tickets, and got the standing ovation, but all three pieces were fantastic. There's nothing like live, unamplified music to let you know where your efforts to recreate the absolute sound are.

Jim G wrote:Interesting. I visited that theatre for the first time and saw a similar performance there last year and would describe the space as quite dead, or dry. Much like a recording studio control room. I assumed it was from the low ceiling, and being underground. Good for a lecture though.

Good point for a room where the music is created. In this case it allowed all the nuances of the piano to come through. Might not work as well to get a sense of coherence from a group. In any case, at home, the room simply adds reflections that depending on the room can detract from the original sound. There is no one solution and sometimes live is not so great. David and I went to a concert at the Meyerhoff in Baltimore where they had a choral group in the rear of the orchestra with many mikes and reinforcement with speakers. It was terrible. There was nothing the room could do to save it.

With no standards in the recording industry it's hard to know what your listening to in any system.

Unamplified Live music is a “reference” but you can still get weird sound. I recently saw the BSO with Gabriela Montero at the Strathmore. My seats were 10th row dead center, my mom (has a music degree in performance piano) was seated in the first balcony and we both thought the piano had a wierd thin, almost harpsichordy like sound to it? The performance was good overall and enjoyable but the piano sounded off.