Orchestral seating rearrangements change the stereo image listeners actually hear.
Evidence
The rather extraordinary string part writing in the final movement of Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony in the passage shown in Figure 5.15 is also often noted in this context because it is generally perceived as the four-part passage shown (track 67 on the accompanying CD). This can again be explained by the principle of grouping by frequency proximity. The effect would have been heard in terms of stereo listening by audiences of the day, since the strings were then positioned in the following order (audience view from left to right): first violins, double basses, cellos, violas and second violins. This is as opposed to the more common arrangement today (audience view from left to right): first violins, second violins, violas, double basses and cellos. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1628
Categorization
- QUESTION: Do period-performance orchestras restore the old viola/cello seating specifically to recover Tchaikovsky’s intended perceptual blending?
- XREF: Connects psychoacoustic grouping principles to historical performance practice and orchestral seating history. — connects to: Reversing stereo channels or turning around can replicate hearing music from behind the orchestra — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1638; Off-center listeners lose the stereo illusion but retain musical content — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 395; Orchestral seating aligns with a pitch-to-side perceptual bias in listeners. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1632 (+17 more)
Broader Connections
- Reversing stereo channels or turning around can replicate hearing music from behind the orchestra
#expands(1.00) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1638 - Orchestral seating aligns with a pitch-to-side perceptual bias in listeners.
#qualifies(1.00) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1632 - Turning around on a live recording reverses perceived orchestral space
#exemplifies(1.00) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1682 - Stereo recordings strip away the delayed sounds essential to live music
#contradicts(1.00) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 805 - Headphone and loudspeaker playback of stereo differ yet yield similar spatial order.
#expands(0.95) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1935 - Visual cues of room size override what the ears actually hear.
#qualifies(0.95) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1843 - Stereo presentation masks audible differences between loudspeakers found in mono.
#responds-to(0.95) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 443 - Off-center listeners lose the stereo illusion but retain musical content
#complicates(0.90) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 395 - Relative loudspeaker amplitudes shift the perceived direction of a phantom image.
#complicates(0.90) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2202 - Near-field listening removes room reflections that mask stereo colorations
#qualifies(0.90) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1415 - Listeners adapt to loudspeaker flaws and still enjoy reproduced sound
#qualifies(0.90) - Audible stereo-bass spatial effects occur mainly above 80 Hz
#complicates(0.90) - Sound direction and field type change perceived loudness at a fixed level.
#complicates(0.90) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1173 - Stereo and multichannel listening make listeners more forgiving of loudspeaker flaws
#qualifies(0.85) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 467 - Listeners perceive the larger of two superimposed spaces in sound reproduction.
#qualifies(0.85) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 465