aHochschule für Musik Detmold
bDetmold University of Music
Abstract :
Ensemble sound is a topic where, to date, only little research
has been conducted. A fundamental question that still needs to
be answered is how many instruments of the same section are
required for a group to blend together as an ensemble.
As part of the ACTOR project, a violin phrase from Tchaikowsky’s
6th Symphony has been recorded with one, two, three, four, six
and ten violins using piezo microphones, spot microphones, a
decca tree, room microphones, and a dummy head. Based
upon these recordings a listening test was designed, in which
participants had to (1) guess the number of violins and (2) state
whether the recording sounds like an ensemble. Results reveal
that a majority of listeners perceive an ensemble sound for a
relatively low number of instruments whereas the number guess
task fails for lagern numbers. The microphone location relative
to the instruments is of major importance.