Principle #2 of good acoustics: increase clarity
clarity (n.)
Free from obscurity and easy to understand; the comprehensibility of clear expression.
Once we have minimized distracting external noise, we can focus on making sure that the sound or message that we want to get across is as clear as possible.
Clarity of sound in a physical space involves maximizing the amount of direct sound from the source to the hearer and minimizing sound reflected from the environment.
In the context of media communications, we might translate this principle to something like:
Communicate to your audience as directly as possible, but don’t communicate so much that you confuse your central message.
Reflected sound is not all bad though. When controlled and used properly, it becomes the central ingredient in the third principle of acoustics, ambience.
More on that tomorrow.
