A performers guide to venue acoustics.

Whether in high school or the Vienna Symphony, musicians have little control over their performance venues. An instrument can be upgraded or replaced if there is an undesirable aspect, but replacing a venue is often far too expensive to be a tenable solution. A musician’s perfect venue will also change piece to piece—an incredible venue for lush Wagner operas can cause issues for someone performing an intricate Paganini concerto and vice versa. What then are these effects? Why do they take place? How can a performer anticipate and combat undesirable aspects of venues while drawing out their featured characteristics for an optimized performance?