Connor Misltead

Recording for Musicians

12/12/19

On November 16th, I saw a concert by the incredible guitarist Marcin Dylla at the Linehan

Concert Hall which featured works mainly in the 20th century style. He played along for about an

hour and half without a microphone or any type of amplification. I have also previously played in

the hall myself in February of 2017.

The hall itself is extremely large, with a lower floor and mezzanine. and almost completely

covered in smooth, matte wood. Almost every single element of the room is covered in wood: the

walls, the chairs, the railings, the floor, and even the ceiling features reflective sound panels also

made of wood. The only observable dampening materials are the cushions in the seats, the small

portion of drywall exposed at the top of the hall, and the chain-link (reminiscent of chainmail)

curtains that cover the passageways behind the mezzanine seats. There are no sharp corners

throughout the entire room, except for at the back of the stage.

The result of all of these architectural features is a very live room: a decent amount of

reverberation, instrumental overtones are amplified, and sound is reflected across the room relatively

equally except in the case if an audience member was sitting by one of the curtains. The latter feature

is especially great in the case of a quiet instrument like the lute or guitar as sometimes the upper

registers of some instruments tend to sound thin and die pretty quickly. The ability for the room to

reflect the higher frequencies of the instrument results in a fuller sound that actually lasts, which is

greatly appreciated. That being said, the overtones of the instrument are also amplified, which

creates a very busy sound, but generally that doesn’t (and didn’t) happen in the case of the concerts I

went to there. Also in the case of reverb, for how reflective the room is, the reverb does not last as

long as you’d think: just enough to create a presence in the room, and a slight lasting effect after

short, loud notes.

 As a performer in the hall, the feedback that you get from the room is great as well. The

sound doesn’t die when you play; in fact it comes directly back to you exactly the way you play it. It

doesn’t take much to fill the hall either. My only complaint, both as listener and performer is that it

can at times be too bright. I don’t mean to say that it is thin, but just that the lower frequencies aren’t

as emphasized at the middle- to higher-ranges: sometimes the low notes of the guitar aren’t as

present. You can still hear them, but when played with other ranges, sometimes they pale in

comparison.

Overall, the concert hall is really incredible; especially considering that it’s multi-use for the

humanities students at UMBC. The guitar sounds great in there, and having also recorded in there

and been a part of the process, recording guitar is particularly nice.