THE PREFERRED INITIAL TIME DELAY GAP AND INTER-AURAL CROSS CORRELATION FOR A JAVANESE GAMELAN PERFORMANCE HALL

Abstract

This paper discusses the application of a method based on human subjective preference to the acoustic design of a Javanese gamelan performance hall. Some important distinctions between Javanese gamelan ensembles and Western classical orchestra are the tuning system, orchestral blending process, and technique of playing. The results of subjective preference test using the rank order method showed that the subjects preferred 24·25 ms for the initial time delay gap ( ITDG) and the smallest value of the inter-aural cross-correlation ( IACC). The preferred ITDG agree with the ITDG from the room response measured in a traditional pendopo in Indonesia, which is not a common concert hall but an open-sided hall. However, the preferred IACC is not in agreement with the measured ITDG in the pendopo .