Acoustics of a Choral Rehearsal Room

A choir rehearsal room was recently refurbished as the previous acoustics had insufficient reverberation according to ISO23591:2021. Although the refurbished acoustics has adequate Tmid for as specified in the standard, it is received unfavourably by the choir. This project investigates the reason behind the choir’s dissatisfaction by studying the effect of acoustic criteria on the singers’ perception for rehearsal use. The key aspects include singing effort, ability to hear oneself and others, Tonal Balance and Sound Strength G. Field measurements ISO3382-1:2009 and feedback from the choir were taken to critique the suitability of ISO23591:2021 for the choir rehearsal room. In light of the answers, a calibrated computer simulation was produced in CATT-Acoustics to predict necessary changes for improvement. Proposal for future researches to improve the next iteration of ISO23591 is made at the end of the research. The study included musical language so that acoustics can better understand musician’s experience for more constructive conversation in the future.