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Sound quality in the upper circle of concert hall?

Discussion in 'The RedBanned Bar & Grill' started by Gareth Thomas, Oct 18, 2017.

  1. #1 Gareth Thomas, Oct 18, 2017
    I've just booked tickets to see my first orchestral concert, music from game of thrones and lord of the rings at the London Palladium.

    The only seats that were available were in the upper circle (cheap seats).

    Obviously I'm going to enjoy the music but I also wanted to go as part of a learning experience of how an orchestra sounds.

    But I'm not sure if I'm going to learn much because the seats are so high up and in the back.

    What do others think?
     
  2. #2 Mike Verta, Oct 19, 2017
    To get an idea of how an orchestra sounds, you'd be as well finding old, scratched mono recordings of orchestras on records. What makes an orchestra sound great is 80+ playing together, and only secondarily the sound. It is hard to make a good orchestra sound bad. This is why some of the best, most impactful and moving orchestral recordings ever aren't necessarily sonically great. It's also why you generally don't "mix" an orchestra. You set up mics in the right place, and the balance takes care of itself. If you are in the hall, you'll hear the most important parts of what makes the sound the sound. That said, you could not possibly hear the sound of an orchestra enough; go as often as you can, sit many places, listen to recordings across a broad spectrum of qualities. Telarc CD's are fantastic benchmarks for a well-recorded orchestra using modern techniques, and remember, a recording is different than a live performance. This is why when we record an orchestra, we don't judge it by how it sounds in the room, but by how it sounds in the recording. It is as different an experience as being outside versus seeing a photograph of outside.
     
  3. #3 T.j. Prinssen, Oct 19, 2017
    It will be just fine, I'm lucky in that I can see a lot of opera's played by some of the best orchestras.
    I often try to change up my seating positon, sometimes switching places during breaks.
    Generally the higher up, the more of a blend. But that's not a bad thing necessarily;

    In the room you will hear mostly vocals overpowering the orchestra.
    1st floor, vocals will travel forward a lot so go 'under' you a bit, while the orchestra projects upwards more (I prefer this).
    2nd floor, similar to 2nd but even less vocal presence.

    All that being said, you're not gonna internalize every single note that's being played. that's what transcribing / scores are for.
    If you 'learn' anything it will be the feeling of being in the same room as a 80-120 piece orchestra, and just how limited virtual instruments really are
    Enjoy the sound, try closing your eyes and see if you can still tell all the instrument combinations (you can now check to see if you were right).

    They might break out the big drums and soundfx for the game of thrones parts.. not sure as I don't remember the score particularly well.
    Just in case I'd bring earplugs (i never leave home without anyway..)
     
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