How did large congregations of people hear speeches (i.e. Lincoln’s address, and countless other older speeches) without the use of microphones?

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How did large congregations of people hear speeches (i.e. Lincoln’s address, and countless other older speeches) without the use of microphones?

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17 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

If people are quiet, and there is no traffic or other sources of noise nearby, the voice of a single shouting man can be clearly heard for quite a long way away. In addition the large congregations were usually held at big amphitheaters which are specifically designed to help the sound from the stage carry outwards. The stages usually had reflectors and resonators at strategic places to make this happen. Where there were problems hearing the people speaking they would use megaphones. These are large cones that a speaker could shout into in order for his voice to become louder and more directed so that more people could hear them. Popular speeches would also be written down or memorized so they could be retold. A lot of the people attending political congregations would be campaigners who would go back to their home towns and recite the speech word for word so that even more would be able to hear it.

Anonymous 0 Comments

We’ve actually known about audio engineering for quite a while. Understanding that audio waves bounce is why medieval cathedrals were constructed the way they were, to maximize the echo. If everyone agrees to be quiet, the echoes amplify sound.

A really cool American version of this is at the Old South Meeting House in historic Boston. In the 1700s, they were able to understand echoes well enough to come up with a manual amplifier, namely a solid disk over the lectern.

Anonymous 0 Comments

There were almost no machines. A person in a field could yell a message for many KMs.

Everyone at Gettysburg respected Lincoln, so they all shut up.

Anonymous 0 Comments

I’ve forgotten the actual name of the thing, but I once stood as a tourist in the back of an enormous Mormon meeting hall in Salt Lake City and was able to clearly hear a person speaking from the podium in a normal tone of voice without amplification. It was very impressive architecture.

Anonymous 0 Comments

What’s so special about the cheesemakers?

Anonymous 0 Comments

Some people have powerful voices, and politicians and orators would practice and take lessons to speak in a way to be heard by crowds. Benjamin Franklin did an experiment in which he kept backing away from a preacher addressing an outdoor gathering. When he got as far away as he could, and still hear the speaker, he calculated how many people could stand in a circle that big. It turned out a speaker could address a crowd of 5000 or more without amplification.

There are early recordings of singers and orators who were used to theaters and auditoriums without amplification, you can hear that they are belting it out in a way you don’t hear anymore.

Anonymous 0 Comments

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Anonymous 0 Comments

So I know of old churches that have “speaking stones” they were stone slabs that hung over the speaker to reflect their voice to give more clarity and volume to the audience. Humans have found lots of ways to amplify sounds beyond microphone/speaker technology.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Blessed are the *cheesemakers*?

Anonymous 0 Comments

I’ve heard that Lincoln’s voice carried well because he had a particularly high voice. Apparently high voices carrie further than low/deep voices. That’s why Daniel Day-Lewis portrayed him with that kind of voice in the *Lincoln* movie.