The Head Related Transfer Function HRTF is the sum of all the effects your ears and head have on the sound heard from each direction on what you finally hear. If you are seated in front of an orchestra you get to use much better localsisation cues. When you listen to a pair of speakers in a stereo system these two are what are usefully used to encode position. like the balance control on a stereo system) is more. Phase is one, simple change of relative level between the ears (i.e. Location of sound sources uses a mix of effects. The set up of the orchestra has been developed over the centuries and is the optimal way to have the correct dynamics (not to mention that the music is composed assuming this setup). In order to adjust the dynamics, the orchestra has more strings than anything else, and they are placed near the front. The brass and percussion can play far louder than strings. You have eight double basses, but only one tuba. Note that you have 16 first violinists, playing in unison, but only three trumpets. It does have to do with the dynamics of the instruments. Interference maybe? Or just lack of volume projection. I don't know exactly how the sound waves work, but I think if you put the tubas and drums in front and the flutes in the back that you wouldn't be able to hear the flutes nearly as well. And the percussion section would need to be together to 1) keep time effectively and 2) facilitate the way percussionists have to switch instruments so frequently. A flautist standing in front of you playing at max volume is unlikely to melt your face off (figuratively of course), but a tuba definitely could. I don't have a citation for this, but I believe (from my years in concert band) that the smaller instruments are in front because they don't project volume nearly as well as the big ones sitting in back. What I don't get is this: strictly from the standpoint of how the music reaches the listeners' ears, does the placement of the musicians matter? If the musicians were seated at random, would a blindfolded listener in the audience be able to tell that something was amiss? I understand the benefits of placing the musicians where they are in the orchestra (eg, all the strings together, all the percussions together, etc.) having similar musicians in the same place so they can all take direction from the conductor, the aesthetics of watching all the violinists' bows moving in perfect unison, etc. I've put the original question in italics, and some of the more interesting answers follow. This is a very interesting discussion on this subject: Įdit: adding some of the above link content on request.
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