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PRE-CLASS ACTIVITIES
The LinkedIn Learning video "What is reverb?" has already been covered in my AUD 176 pre-class activity in week 6 here.
How Sound Works (In Rooms) - video.
John giving an example of what a said sound sounds like in a space with no acoustic treatment. The reverb is noticeable due to the many surfaces the reflections can bounce off.
I found both these are examples informative as I had never heard a comparison of an untreated room and an acoustically treated room
Next example is the same sound, same space but the room has been acoustically treated with absorbers placed in spots to absorb the sound. The tail end of the sound's envelope is reduced significantly as there is such a short reverb, due to the reflections being absorbed.
the Wikidrummer - video.
This video was a fun video that showed some fun comparisons as to how sound, in particular the reverb, reacts to different spaces. Personally, I liked the shots that were done in the under cover barren lots like the one pictured here.l
IN-CLASS SUMMARY
During the first 40 or so minutes of the session, Sam went through and dissected our third and final project's brief. The aim and focus of the project was to pick a space either on or off campus to analyse and propose a low-cost solution to enhance the acoustics of that said room. This could be done using many DIY techniques and at home materials to produce a near professional level result. It seems I would need to include both best case scenario (with professional out-fittings of rooms) and worst case scenarios (with DIY and at home budget friendly techniques).
Sam noted that he wasn't exactly sold on the idea that this project needed to be completed in our groups. He said that the added communication, time management and scheduling we would have to do in groups would be unnecessary, so he made the decision for this project to be an individual one.
Topic of today's session was reverberation, reflections, RT60, absorption and, diffusion. A lot of these topics have been mentioned and touched upon during previous weeks and in my first week research notes I included some extra information regarding reverb and absorption. This session, along with the upcoming project, are definitely key learning experiences if we wish to acoustically treat certain spaces or enter a field that requires this knowledge, like an acoustic engineer.
The two terms that were covered that I was not too familiar with were diffraction and RT60. I learnt that diffraction was when sound waves bend around small obstacles and spread out beyond small openings. Sound waves do connect with each other eventually but they don't have as much amplitude when they meet back together. RT60 is a calculation, or calculator, that formulates the co efficiencies of certain materials in their spaces to find how long the reverb time reduces below -60 dB.
The session was divided into 3 groups to analyse and record certain parameters of spaces on campus for a small activity. My group measured the dimensions and materials of the kitchen and SAE back foyer space. When all the parameters were recorded we inputted them into the RT60 calculator which gave us the following results for the foyer room:
FOYER ROOM AT 1000hz
Estimated probable RT60 value= 4.84 seconds.
Probable worst case scenario RT60 value= 5.7596 seconds.
Probable best case scenario RT60 value= 3.9204 seconds.
POST-CLASS REFLECTION
It's week 9 and I feel I am finally engaging sufficiently in this module. This session wasn't as full on as I have found some of the other sessions this trimester, that's maybe due to there only being a handle full of terms covered and half of them being terms we have touched on before or I have done extra research on outside of the session. Either way this is an example of when you put in that extra research outside of campus hours to prepare yourself for what is to come. The language is slowly but surely being engrained into my me.
Sam touched upon the profession of being an acoustic engineer, if we were interested and how it is a growing market due to more spaces wanting acoustic treatment. This interested me as I am not totally aware of all the options that are available to me when I leave campus though I know there are a lot. In this week's research notes I will look deeper into this profession. Another piece of advice that he gave us that I found invaluable was the method of playing three sine waves (one at a low frequency, one at a mid frequency and, one at a high frequency), putting them into a frequency analyser and seeing how they are reacting to your room. Then play a track you know has been recorded really good, playing that back through your monitors and analysing it through that said frequency analyser.
Looking back on my previous reflection last week, I think I was a little too harsh on myself. I'm not quite sure what head space I was in; it most likely had something to do with me having both AUD176 and this module's project's class due. Although I was harsh on myself, I'm not going to change it because I feel it is good to look back and reflect on how you were feeling in that point in time and there's always a lesson to be learned in that sort of situation.
My self reflection is improving every week and I'm starting to learn how to be critical of my self as that helps with my self confidence. Although most of the transferrable skills relate to group projects, I am pleased I am going to be using these skills for my upcoming project individually. My first project was pretty much solo as Mushin was barely involved, so I should be more prepared than last time.
For this project I will need to lean into my creative thinking, outsourcing and time management skills as they will be essential if am to do well in this project. The project requires us to be creative but analytical in the sense of how we are going to acoustically treat this room, which is where creative thinking and outsourcing will come into play when planning my concept and outsourcing materials needed to execute the plan. Lastly, as with every project, I'll need to be more proactive with my time management and start setting aside time each day to slowly but efficiently chip away at this project.
Between now and next session I need to start taking photos of my room, grabbing dimensions and researching into what budget friendly materials there are out there to acoustically treat my room. This may also entail going out and purchasing some of the materials that may be suggested for the room.
Next session Sam said he would provide the feedback for my learning journal for my holistic grade that I missed out on last session. I'll need to write down any questions I may have for him.
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