Wherever a concert takes place be it a, club, theater, arena, or stadium, the most important live concert production element is the sound quality as perceived by those listening to it. That fact hasn’t changed since the very beginning of time and live music performances. What we know today as live concert audio is the direct result of the technological innovations in sound reinforcement and the skill of audio engineers to interpret and optimize the venues where performances occur.
The performance venue sound is completed using the sound reinforcement system and those sound techs who use the sound mixing board to take the multiple performance input signals, adjust their levels, and distribute them to speakers. All these components make up what is considered outstanding live concert sound production.
While there are many other live music innovations impacting live concert productions, this article will focus on the innovations in sound reinforcement systems that have brought us to what is standard practice today for a sound system for major concerts. Next to the artist, the live concert production audio is the second most important component of any concert performance. We have also seen venue design changes to enhance the audio experience for concert attendees.
The Evolution of Live Music and Concerts
Over the centuries, performances of composed music and their settings have evolved. Music compositions were initially the province of churches and religious festivals. A flute made from the femur of a cave bear has been found from prehistoric times as long as 40,000 years ago.
Live music performances were an important part of culture for ancient Rome and Greece. It was in this time period that we saw direct literary references to music and its importance in ancient society.
During the Middle Ages as religion swept the Western world, churches became early music venues. Instruments were also introduced, such as the organ to accompany religious services
During the 17th and 18th century, composers like Mozart and Beethoven brought their music for audiences into ballrooms and the parlors of European nobles. The violinist John Banister took it a step further by creating what is the first known public concert for which admission was charged at his home in London in 1672. The audience were given the chance to demand what music Banister performed as long as made a payment of one shilling.
Opera as a form of entertainment also became popular and with it came the construction of large music halls with acoustics in mind during this period by the wealthy. The world’s first public opera house was inaugurated in 1637 in Venice, Italy creating specific music venues for the first time.
Classical music was the most popular and known genre for centuries until Jazz came onto the scene in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Beginning in the 1900s jazz and blues were played and danced to in bars across the United States.
It was the 1950s and Rock ‘n’ Roll exploded onto to the music scene and created a huge demand for live concerts. The live concert model continued to evolve over the following decades to what we have today where live concerts are the most popular forms of entertainment the world over.
What was now needed was the technology and structures that could cater to thousands of fans. Which brings us to the next topic.
The Evolution of Live Concert Production Sound
In many ways, today’s sound systems are consistent with the saying that “necessity is the mother of invention.” Performing to thousands of fans required a sound system capable of delivering the sound to everyone at the event.
That required inventions like the microphone, loudspeaker, and amplifier. It also solidified the importance of acoustics where performances take place. Let’s take a journey in time to trace the developments and innovations that created the modern live concert production sound.
Before the onset of amplified sound, live music settings were designed to create less sound attenuation, enabling it to be carried further so people could hear the music. Roman amphitheaters are an early example of such settings. Another example is opera houses built during the 17th and 18th century. During the classical music period, music was actually written to be performed in specific types of settings.
Getting to Today’s Modern Sound Systems
All sound systems contain three fundamental features:
- A way to capture sound vibrations and convert them into an electrical signal.
- A way to increase the amplitude, or volume, of the electrical signal.
- A way to convert the electrical signal back into sound vibrations.
To achieve these features would require the invention of the microphone, amplifier and loudspeaker.
Invention of the Microphone
The first modern microphone was invented in 1875 by David Edward Hughes. Hughes named his invention the microphone because he thought it was the audio equivalent to the microscope: a device that takes small sounds and makes them larger. He chose not to patent his device believing that it was a gift to mankind. One year later, a refined design was used by Alexander Graham Bell when he patented the first telephone. The physical principles he used to create the first microphone are still the foundations of all modern-day microphones.
Invention of the Loudspeaker
While the invention of the microphone enabled the conversion of sound vibrations into electrical energy, it was not until 1898 when Oliver Lodge invented the first moving-coil loudspeaker that provided a way to convert the electrical signal back into sound vibrations. By applying an electrical signal to a magnet surrounded by moving coil which was attached to a cone, the electrical voltage causes the cone to move back and forth generating sound vibrations. Lodge’s fundamental design is still the basis of all of today’s loudspeakers.
Invention of the Amplifier
To make sounds audible across large distances required the invention of the amplifier. That occurred in 1906 when Lee DeForest invented the first device capable of amplifying an electrical signal. His invention became known as the vacuum tube, or valve amplifier, and was widely used throughout the 20th century in telephones, radios, televisions, and early computers to amplify electrical signals.
Creating the PA System
Edwin Pridham and Peter Jensen set up a laboratory in the 1910s and experimented with combining a microphone, amplifier, and loudspeaker to see how far they could project a human voice. They named their company Magnavox (Latin for “Great Voice”), and in 1915 showcased their system at San Francisco’s annual Christmas event where guest singers sang Christmas carols to what turned out to be 100,000 people. This event was the very first amplified public music performance and turned out to be a great success ushering in new sound companies to support the growing radio, telecommunications and cinema industries.
By the 1930s sound systems were commonly used for live concert production. In the late 1940s the invention of the transistor replaced DeForest’s vacuum tube and allowed manufacturers to build more powerful and cheaper amplifiers. With the use of electric guitars, artists pushed the limits of amplifiers, and a new music genre was created. The age of Rock and Roll had arrived.
The first stadium concert performed by the Beatles in 1965 showed that the sound systems available were not adequate for stadium concerts. The amplifiers and column speakers were not up to the performance and the audience could barely hear their music. It also pointed out another issue. The band couldn’t hear themselves playing because of all the noise in the stadium.
The demand for large-format concerts required that sounds systems improve to address these shortcomings. The ambitions of bands and expectations of audiences drove innovation on both sides of the Atlantic during the 1960s and 70s.
In the 1970s, the touring industry saw significant changes with the rise of stadium concerts and the introduction of new technology. With larger venues and bigger audiences, stage setups became more complex, and sound systems began to evolve to meet the demands of these larger spaces.
During the 1960s and 1970s, it was common for bands to mix their own microphones from the stage. As concert sound systems got bigger and more complex, it became clear that a dedicated sound system operator was necessary. Live sound engineers were a new class of touring professionals in the 1970s.
Mixing Consoles
It was during this time period that the live mixing console or sound board was developed, separate from the amplifiers. A byproduct of its innovation was the use of the front-of-house mixing position allowing them to hear the music mix the way the audience heard it. Before that innovation, it was common for the sound to be mixed from the side of the stage.
Stage Monitors
To enable bands to hear their own music, Bill Hanley, who created the sound system for Woodstock, developed custom speaker enclosures that sat on the stage floor at a 45-degree angle. Mixing consoles, either dedicated or with monitor outputs were used to mix the speakers for individual band members. These stage monitor wedge speakers are still in wide use today.
In 1987, Garwood Communications produced the first commercially available wireless in-ear monitoring (IEM) system. In addition to solving stage volume issues, wireless IEM systems also gave musicians the freedom to move around large stages and still hear their monitor mix without being tethered to a single position with a wedge monitor. The same year digital audio mixer was also introduced. Digital mixers had many advantages over analog mixers and were rapidly adopted by concert sound production companies.
Line Array Loudspeakers
Until the early 1990s PA loudspeakers were usually ground stacked, point source systems. They produced high sound pressure levels close to front of the stage but lost volume as distances increased. In 1993, Christian Heil of Heil Sound provided a solution with the unveiling of the world’s first line array speaker system.
Line array loudspeaker systems work on the principle of closely aligned adjacent speaker drivers, which reinforce each other and push the sound further. Line array loudspeaker systems provide more consistent volume levels over distance, wider horizontal dispersion and less vertical transmission. Using line arrays results in enhanced frequency response balance and volume throughout a performance venue.
These technology innovations make up today’s modern live concert production sound systems.
The Future of Concert Production Sound Systems
Spatial Audio
Spatial AudioSpatial Audio uses a third dimension which provides people with a sense of the exact location of sound sources from all around. Dolby Atmos is one of the audio formats that allow musicians to put their audio in a 3D space during the mixing process.
Using 3-dimensional audio for live concert sound production changes the entertainment experience. It creates an immersive experience for live concerts by allowing sounds to come from all around the listener. Spatial audio allows artists to add more instruments, vocal harmonies, and other elements without making the arrangement feel overcrowded. Sounds can move around the listener’s headspace, creating a more active and dynamic arrangement.
The number of venues with spatial audio is still small. There are a number of them including the Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas. Others exist in San Francisco, Inglewood, and New York.
The newest and most famous is the Sphere in Las Vegas. The audio system for Sphere (Sphere Immersive Sound) is the world’s largest concert-grade audio system and was specifically developed for Sphere’s unique curved interior. The system consists of approximately 1,600 permanently installed and 300 mobile HOLOPLOT X1 Matrix Array loudspeaker modules and includes a total of 167,000 individually amplified loudspeaker drivers. The system utilizes HOLOPLOT’s next-generation 3D Audio-Beamforming and Wave Field Synthesis technology to transform how audio is delivered in large-scale venues.
Sphere Immersive Sound additionally utilizes HOLOPLOT’s unique Wave Field Synthesis capabilities, a spatial audio rendering technique that leverages virtual acoustic environments. With conventional audio technology, the perceived origin of a sound has traditionally been the location of the loudspeaker. Using Wave Field Synthesis, sound designers can create a virtual point of origin, which can then be placed in a precise spatial location. This enables audio to be directed to the listener so that it sounds close, even though the source is far away – for example, an audience member could hear a whisper that sounds like someone is talking directly in their ear.
Cost is the biggest barrier to the widespread use of spatial audio systems
Conclusion
Venues and live concert production audio have evolved with various music genre developments and the need for larger venues to hold the thousands of fans who want to hear their favorite artists. Large concert events require sound systems capable of providing quality sound to the fans located at some distance from the stage. Greater stage volume has also resulted in the monitoring system developments so musicians can hear themselves as they perform.
Expect to see more immersive sound using spatial audio systems in more and more venues for live concerts in future years. It provides for a greater concert experience for fans.
Related Posts:
Live Entertainment and 3D Audio: Where Is It Heading?
Understanding the Basics of Concert Sound Production
Other Source Material
https://pro.harman.com/insights/av/the-history-of-live-sound-part-2/
https://pro.harman.com/insights/av/the-history-of-live-sound-part-1/
https://emiatl.com/2024/01/harmony-through-decades-evolution-of-concert-production-techniques/
