Researchers report a correlation between the visual environment of a venue and the perceived timbre of music.
The color of a concert hall can influence a listener’s perception of sound, according to a study from Germany’s Technical University of Berlin published in JASA, on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America. The findings suggest that the visual design of a performance space has a measurable effect on the perceived timbre of music.
“Room acoustics perception is multidimensional,” says author Stefan Weinzierl. “So, we perceive halls as more reverberant or less reverberant; we perceive them as louder or softer, but we also perceive different timbres of a hall — a hall can appear warm, [or] it can appear bright or metallic in sound.”
Virtual Reality Study Design
To test the effect of color on sound perception, the researchers used virtual reality platforms to simulate 12 different-colored concert halls. Participants listened to recorded music in environments colored red, green, and blue, with variations in hue, brightness, and saturation. The immersive experience was enhanced with headphones using binaural technology, which adjusted the sound based on the listener’s head movements.
During the study, participants listened to four different musical performances—two on violin and two on clarinet—and were asked to rate them based on liking, strength, reverberance, and timbre.
Visuals Impact Timbre and “Liking”
The researchers found a clear correlation between the hall’s visual design and the perceived timbre of the music. More saturated colors, particularly cooler greens and blues, were associated with a “colder” sound color. Conversely, brighter colors led to a perceived warmer tone. The study also noted that participants reported higher “liking” scores for music performed in darker concert halls. The perceived loudness of the music was not influenced by the venue’s color, a finding consistent with other psychological studies.
The results suggest that visual elements play a significant role in the overall auditory experience, a factor that Weinzierl believes should be considered in venue design.
“Considering the effort that is done to improve acoustical properties—all the money that is spent for making a concert hall sound well—I think it should not be overlooked that the visual appearance makes its contribution [to] the sound of the hall,” Weinzierl says. “If you design a concert hall, don’t forget to think about the visual appearance. It will have an effect on how the sound is perceived.”
Featured image: Image stills from the various colors of concert halls that were tested on listeners in the study. Photo: Drouzas, et al.
