Musicians have certain nightclubs and concert halls where they love to play. Sometimes it鈥檚 the look, the feel and the history. But what鈥檚 even more essential is the sound. WKSU鈥檚 Kabir Bhatia finds out more in this week鈥檚 鈥淪huffle.鈥�
Groups like , and loved Cleveland鈥檚 old . The dark, crowded, low-ceilinged club was once one of the most famous music venues in Northeast Ohio. But the Agora burned down in 1984.
Twenty years later, Cleveland started building a musical reputation for itself again, this time among jazz musicians who play in Ohio City. plays there frequently.
鈥淭hey might have food, but they were built for the music, which means that the owner cares about the music. Some people might not think that鈥檚 a big deal, but let me tell you: it鈥檚 a huge deal.鈥�
Designed for sound
That鈥檚 why the club 鈥� or 鈥渞oom,鈥� as musicians call it 鈥� was designed with soft lighting and cabaret-style seating in a long, narrow and slightly curved room that鈥檚 dominated by the stage.
鈥淲hen they built it, they had people come in specifically to say, 鈥楾his is for music; what can I do to acoustically make it work for the music?鈥� And not just for musicians, because the interesting thing is ... acoustics are a funny thing. Sometimes it may not sound the best it can on stage, but, man, when you鈥檙e out listening, it sounds amazing. As far as I鈥檓 concerned, that鈥檚 more important. I want it to sound great out.鈥�
Sound and vision
The designers of the Bop Stop positioned the mirrors over the bar to reflect sound evenly or to have it absorbed by porous bricks on the back wall. Plus, Selvaggio likes that the musicians can all see and hear each other.
That鈥檚 important for all types of music. even uses visual cues to describe the sound at , which she calls magic.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a beauty in the sound. It showcases that beauty very easily. I can remember my audition here. See, it鈥檚 honest because if you play something out of tune, you鈥檙e all alone on stage. And you play an out-of-tune note and then it comes back at you, and you鈥檙e like, 鈥楨wwww. That was out of tune.鈥� You can hear it right away.鈥�
The concert hall opened in 1931, and that鈥檚 also part of what makes it inspiring for Bormann.
鈥淚 think part of it is knowing the history of this orchestra. To me, this is kind of hallowed ground. It鈥檚 kind of like the Stradivarius violins, right? And Guadagninis and Amatis and Guarneris: Why could they do this so well, hundreds of years ago; what is it that鈥檚 so special about that?鈥�
Tuning the room
Severance Hall underwent redesigns in 1958 and 1998, which involved everything from replacing certain types of carpets to installing an acoustical shell behind the orchestra to provide audiences with better sound. The work seems to have paid off for the audience and the players.
鈥淪everance Hall has been known for years as having one of the best-sounding stages,鈥� says Tom George, director of installations at , a sound design company in Cleveland.
鈥淥ne of the reasons it makes the Cleveland Orchestra so good, I鈥檓 told, is that everyone can hear each other. That鈥檚 not necessarily good for a rock and roll show; however, for an orchestra that鈥檚 incredibly important.鈥�
George recently completed the renovation of the , which was built for speeches, lectures and plays.
To 鈥渢une鈥� the room for music, his design included a new sound system and plenty of acoustical foam.
鈥淏ack a hundred years ago, everything was designed differently. There weren鈥檛 electric guitars; everything was orchestral or a band. So everything was designed with the idea that you would be projecting off the stage. Theaters were designed [for] the person speaking; sound would be easily projected off the stage and be heard out into the audience. So the ideas of this have been around for a long time, it鈥檚 just now taken to a new level.鈥�
So, whatever the type of music, whatever the venue -- old or new -- when someone like George takes that 鈥渞oom鈥� to the next level, it not only looks good, it sounds better. And that鈥檚 nirvana for musicians and audiences alike.
Editor's Note: This story was orginially published on January 4, 2018
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