The
Art Of Church Acoustics Acoustic
designer provides smoke-damaged church the acoustics they need for
a beautiful sounding facility
By Eddy Hall, Church and Worship Technology March, 2004
Acoustics
is a hidden force that can help or hurt a church service; when the
acoustics have been shaped and controlled, the sermon will be clear
and understandable, and the music will be more energetic and uplifting.
But poor acoustics can create problems for all parts of the service,
and they can be difficult to correct. Too much acoustic treatment
can drain the life from a service, while too little can make the
service sound cluttered and uncomfortable.
Instead of sinking money into hiring an expensive
acoustic consultant, or purchasing products without knowing how
to apply them or if they will work, many places of worship nationwide
have found solutions with Art Noxon.
No Cookie-Cutter Solution
Noxon is the president and founder of Acoustic Sciences Corporation
(ASC) in Eugene, Or., which manufactures a wide range of complete
acoustic products for a number of applications. As an inventor,
acoustic engineer and physicist, Noxon has been designing acoustic
products and voicing critical listening spaces for 20 years. His
designs have been at the center of countless recording studios,
home theaters, commercial/ industrial spaces and churches.
But what makes Noxon and ASC so unique in the acoustics
industry? The answer is in how Noxon approaches his client's acoustic
problems. He knows that there is no cookie-cutter solution to any
acoustic issue. That idea drives Noxon to offer his clients comprehensive
design as part of any product package.
Since his work at an acoustics research laboratory in the 1970s,
Noxon has known that his life would be centered on acoustics. After
obtaining master's degrees in both acoustics and physics, Noxon
became licensed by the State of Oregon as a certified acoustic engineer.
He created Acoustic Sciences Corp. in 1984 to manufacture his patented
TubeTraps—cylinder shaped acoustic devices that have revolutionized
how people control sound in a variety of spaces. Soon, his Tube
Traps were adapted into half-cylinders that could be mounted on
the walls, and the doors opened up for Noxon to apply his acoustic
products to church sanctuaries and fellowship halls.
While ASC's products have been well regarded in
the industry, it is not enough for Noxon to merely ship an order
to a church or similar customer.
"We know that it doesn't do any good to have a pallet of acoustic
material and not know what to do with it," says Noxon. "You
have to take the stuff off the pallet and put it in the right places.
Depending on where you place the products in the room, the sound
of the room changes."
As an added benefit to purchasing an acoustic package and installation
plan, Noxon will walk clients through a process of consultation
and design, so that the client can purchase the right package for
his acoustic needs, and not waste money on installers and costly
outside consultants.
One good example is The New Life Center in Springfield, Or. The
church was looking to refurnish the interior of his sanctuary after
smoke damage. The church essentially had a blank canvas to work
with, and acoustics was the element of the reconstruction that needed
the most attention. Pastor Todd Wagner and others at the church
had a range of choices for acoustic products and consultation opportunities,
but after hearing from the sound engineer and one of their parishioners
about Noxon, the New Life Center felt confident in what he could
provide.
A Beautiful Process
The church was faced with a number of acoustic problems. It is often
difficult for untrained church staff to recognize acoustic problems,
and it is common for a church to resort to electronic fixes—new
speakers and microphones.
"When you find yourself buying a new sound system to replace
a perfectly good sound system, you know that your problem is acoustics,"
says Noxon. So Noxon uses engineering, and a lot of interviewing,
to discover his client's acoustic problems.
"We felt like Art knew what he was doing, and we approached
him with specific problems," says Pastor Wagner. "He wanted
to know the church's goals, what we do during services, because
there are different styles of worship."
The information Noxon gathered about the New Life Center is the
same information he seeks when working on any church, no matter
the location.
"We have a pretty good system of getting all the right information,
so that a church doesn't have to spend money to fly me out to the
site," says Noxon. This helps to keep the church's investment
purely in the materials, rather than sink money into travel expenses,
blueprints, and consultation fees, and allows Noxon to work with
clients across the country.
The information Noxon gathers includes technical data—room
dimensions building materials, and the sound equipment used during
the services—as well as more unique and personal information.
Noxon likes to know the style of worship, and he will speak with
members of the choir, ministry and congregation, to make sure that
he has a good understanding of all of the church's acoustic issues.
"I don't try to impose a design for them to adapt to,"
says Noxon. "I instead try to facilitate what they do. I leam
what they do during services, and then try to acoustically optimize
each part. It's a beautiful process, because each part is able to
function as part of the whole."
With services that utilize multimedia presentations, a choir, piano
and praise band, the New Life Center had to find a balance between
all of the elements. But a balance was hard to achieve in an untreated
space. The choir members felt isolated, unable to hear one another
and failing to connect with one another.
The praise band, complete with acoustic and electric instruments,
was wrestling with the monitors and microphones, so they would not
overpower the room.
Finally, the musicians needed a controlled environment that allowed
them to hear themselves and play at comfortable levels, while still
filling the sanctuary with a balanced amount of sound. But acoustic
problems were affecting the entire space, not just the choir and
praise band.
"There was so much reverberation and echo, we needed to smooth
out the room," says Pastor Wagner. Noxon discovered that members
of the congregation were not hearing sermons and readings as clearly
as they could, and when singing hymns, they felt isolated and without
energy.
Breathing New Life
So how did Noxon approach the problems with the New Life Center's
acoustics? With seemingly conflicting needs for the various parts
of the service, the challenge was to not compromise one element
for the other. The solution came from breaking down the sanctuary
into different spaces, and making sure that each part had its acoustic
needs met, and matched well with the other parts.
Noxon's constant communication with various members of the church
was helpful in creating solutions that balanced the acoustics. For
example, Noxon discovered that the choir members could not hear
themselves, and so he brought back the traditional choir loft found
in many older churches. To experiment with the idea, he had the
members of choir rehearse in their usual spots, but with no carpet
and no padded seats. Then, by setting up cafeteria tables around
the choir, he was able to box them into a reverberant and lively
space.
"They heard it, and they loved it, because they could hear
each other," says Noxon. "It was more real, more natural,
and more of what they should expect." So Noxon had the church
install a knee-high wall to surround the choir, and gave them an
active and ambient choir loft that can be heard in the congregation.
The opposite was done to the praise band space, which was also closed
in with a short wall. This time, Noxon called for ASC Sound Planks
to absorb and diffuse the sound, making the praise band space sound
more like a session studio. The sound that flowed over the top of
the wall was filtered, clean and crisp, with no more monitor, microphone,
or sound system feedback problems. So each side of the stage has
a different acoustic theme that addresses the need of each group:
an acoustically "live" space for the choir, and an acoustically
"dead" space for the praise band.
For the rest of the sanctuary, Noxon incorporated a field of Sound
Planks on the back wall, letting the sound from the stage flow through
the audience, but preventing it from bouncing back and cluttering
up the sound. No acoustic products were placed on the side walls,
so the congregation could hear the many side-to-side reflections
that their singing, clapping, and speaking would create. The result
is a controlled reverberant space that can build up the volume and
energy of the congregation as it sings a hymn or applauds, making
services more emotional and confident.
Other solutions Noxon designed into the package included two sets
of Sound Planks that were custom designed for the face of two laminated
beams.
"The first thing done was the treatment on the beams, and that
was a noticeable difference," says Pastor Wagner. The beams
were interfering with the ceiling-mounted speaker box, and the Sound
Planks helped remove the noise and clamor that the congregation
heard from the sound system.
A Win-Win Situation
With the range of solutions Noxon offered, the New Life Center has
come back from its smoke and fire damage far ahead of where it was
before. The confidence of the congregation has increased, and the
services have become more smooth and energetic. But with acoustics,
good design should make problems disappear.
"I want the whole experience of sound during a worship to be
transparent," says Pastor Wagner. "If it's right, you
don't think about it."
Noxon's design has proven that he can create good acoustics without
compromises, as long as his clients trust his system.
Basic floor plan of the New Life Center,
Springfield, Or.
"It's easy for a consultant to come into your church and do
a big pony show of tests that look impressive, but church acoustics
is personal. What works the best is to focus on what the people
of the church need," says Noxon.
Noxon shows a sense of pride in how he has been able to improve
the acoustics at churches like the New Life Center. The New Life
Center was a unique project because Noxon was allowed the opportunity
to create a brand new acoustic space from top to bottom.
"The New Life Center was great to work with because—
outside of the basic shape of the hall—I was given a blank
canvas," says Noxon. "When you start over with a clean
state, you can carve something out that's beautiful and complete,
and I was happy to be a part of that."
To think of acoustics often means to think about ways to compromise,
but Noxon knows otherwise. He asks, "How often do you have
a win-win situation?" With help from Noxon, church acoustics
is one place where compromise is not needed.