The stage sound design process of popular music concerts in audio performance event engineering

The indoor venues for popular music concerts include theaters, opera houses, etc., and the outdoor venues have stadiums and some empty places, but the theaters and opera houses usually have fewer seats, which is too much for concert investors to return on ticket income. Less, therefore, an outdoor stadium that can seat tens of thousands of people is a popular choice for popular music concerts.

Popular music concerts often require a two-box performance layout, one compartment is the stage, the other compartment is the auditorium. Therefore, there are two main systems for pop music concert audio, one is the audio feedback system of the band and singer on stage, and the other is the auditorium audio system.

The audio feedback system on the stage is an independent system operated by a dedicated person. The audio equipment is a special return mixer and return speakers. The operating principle is that the actors on the stage can clearly hear themselves and others. At the same time, the sound of the return system cannot affect the audience. The return system basically guarantees that every player has a return all the way. It is best to use headphones or place a small speaker. The closer to the player's ear, the better. The return system of a singer is more complicated. Many sound designers will place multiple return speakers within the range of the singer. The return tuner needs to send the return signal to the nearest return speaker according to the position of the singer. The return speakers and microphones on the board should be turned off to reduce interference and noise. In recent years, the application of wireless return input earphone system has reduced the conflict and contradiction between the return input system and the auditorium system.

The audio system in the auditorium mainly processes the voices of the actors on the stage and transmits them to the ears of the audience. The layout of the system depends on whether the stage layout is single-sided or three-sided or middle.

The sound layout of the single-sided table mostly imitates the home stereo sound, and a set of speakers are set on each side of the stage. The multi-channel replay of home stereos and home audio-visual systems is designed to be enjoyed by one person sitting in the "Emperor" (the best position). Therefore, the layout of the home stereo in the hall imitating the home stereo is only sitting in the "Emperor" One person can benefit, and the audience in the other seats feels differently about their voices.

The sound layout of the three-sided table and the middle table is mostly a group of speakers vacant in front of the audience and in the middle of the table. There are three groups on the three-sided stage. If the stage is on the north side, one set of speakers is placed above each of the east, south, and west stage entrances and Taichung. The middle stage hangs a group of speakers each above the east, south, west, and north sides of the stage and above Taichung. Each group of speakers is reproduced in mono, and some sound designers have designed speaker layouts specifically for stereo. A group of speakers are placed at the left and right of the desk to imitate the 2-channel stereo layout of home audio.

The technical requirements for pop music concert performances are a maximum volume of 105dB ~ 110dB ± 3dB, and a bandwidth of 50Hz ~ 16kH.

The timbre needs to have a clear level and positioning, and the voice of the singer should make the audience feel intimate. The intimacy mentioned at the performance venue is the effect of the early delay of the direct sound and the first reflected sound. The shorter the early delay, the better the intimacy of the venue. Popular music concerts are produced by electroacoustics. If the intimacy of the venue is not enough, the electroacoustic system can also assist. The intimacy in electroacoustic music lies in low frequencies. For example, when a singer uses a unidirectional microphone, the closer the sound source is to the microphone, the stronger the low frequency effect. The proximity effect of unidirectional microphones is a technique used by many popular music singers to increase the intimacy of singing.

In addition, popular music as a whole pays attention to the balance of high, medium and low frequencies, and is adjusted according to the type of music. For example, lyrics should not only pay attention to the intimacy of singing, but also pay attention to the warmth of accompaniment music (low frequency effect). When adjusting the system, the "mountain peak" type balance can be added at a frequency of 100Hz to add 3dB ~ 6dB, in order to enhance the warmth of the system.

When a pop music band performs, all band members perform on stage. The pop drum is placed on the middle and rear of the stage. Because there are other players in front of it, it is usually placed on the high stage. On the left and right sides of the platform, arrange other players such as guitarists and keyboard players. The lead singer is placed in the middle of the front of the drum, next to other singers.

Whether it is a band performance or a personal sing, in addition to using microphones for drums in the sound pickup layout, the signals of other musical instruments such as keyboard instruments, electric guitars, etc. are directly input into the mixing console through the effector.

The direct output signals or microphone signals of all musical instruments played on the stage are uploaded from the stage to the distribution box and then divided into two. Connect all the way to the return mixer, and the other to the mixer of the audience system. The signal returned to the mixer is processed and mixed according to the needs of the individual players, and then transmitted to the individual monitors of the individual players. The signal of the mixing console of the audience system is processed and mixed and then transmitted to the speaker in the auditorium, and then to the ear of the audience.

In recent years, the sound quality of popular music concerts has become increasingly demanding. In order to adapt to this requirement, in addition to the application of input headphones to reduce the interference of the input audio to the auditorium audio, the application of electronic musical instruments including electronic drums and electronic orchestral music is also increasingly popular. This will help eliminate the mutual interference of the microphones placed between the instruments, thereby improving the overall clarity of the singing and the clarity of the instrumental music.

In summary, the sound design requirements of popular music concerts are relatively high, so the requirements for the tuner are very clear. While listening to the ears, we must adjust the volume, timbre and balance of singing and music. For each song, the distribution of musical instruments, music layout, and sound effects of each section and paragraph need to reach the realm of free application. It is the ideal goal of the sound design of popular music concerts to reproduce the characteristics of songs and instrumental music when recording the original sound system that originally passed through the auditorium.