I know that at concerts when a large crowd cheers loudly it’s heard more as a distorted roar but i’m curious as to why this happens. I’ve been to concerts where it’s a scream (eg when taylor swift came on stage) but I still heard it as a loud, overpowering roar and crackle. Why does this happen?
In: Other
Nearly all sounds you ever hear are from complex, rapid changes of the air pressure in your ear. These air vibrations are actually dense combinations of pure, simple tones. Instruments and voices which you would say are producing a single “note” are just producing simple, sustained combos of pure tones, with certain tones being especially loud.
Sounds that are more like hissing or roaring are much more random combinations of all possible pitches at once; there’s nothing sustained, nothing for your brain to latch onto and follow. Concert crowds produce this kind of noise, which is made worse by echoes and the relatively slow speed of sound (distant sounds arrive later than near ones, so there’s inevitably overlap).
Crackle is a form of distortion I associate more with excessively loud sound going through microphones and loudspeakers. I never hear it in real life.
Latest Answers