Establishment of the Room Acoustic Criteria for the Korean Traditional Music Halls Using Subjective Listening Tests

The present study aims to investigate the design standard for acoustic criteria of Korean traditional music which could be used for the design of Korean traditional music halls. In order to do this, subjective listening tests were undertaken to musicians using auralized sounds which were convolved with the impulse response of traditional instruments recorded in an anechoic chamber. 94 pairs of sound were made which have different value of acoustic parameters including RT, BR, Brilliance, G, C80, ITDG, IACC. A paired comparison method (PCM) was used to analyze the results from the subjective listening tests. The results show that the preference of acoustic criteria for the Korean traditional music is far different from those of western music. As a result, specific range of acoustic criteria were suggested for the appropriate acoustic conditions of Korean traditional music. Also, a guideline of the acoustic design of halls for performing the Korean traditional music was suggested which could be used as a basic reference in the future works.