How can an acoustician offer a proposal and fee before knowing what the problem is? What is the best way to approach these projects?
In the same way that a doctor needs to perform a thorough physical examination of a patient before prescribing treatment, an acoustician needs to perform an acoustical analysis and evaluation, i.e., an “objective” diagnosis of the causes of the subjectively “observed” acoustical problems, in order to prescribe effective, economical solutions. It’s very difficult to speculate on possible solutions before the analysis is done, because of the extraordinarily broad range and varied nature of problems. The acoustical analysis is vitally important not only in the context of the particular architectural space but, more importantly, in the context of the particular faith community. Each church is unique, as is the community it houses. Worship practices, musical styles, and other sound-related factors may vary from church to church—and from service to service in the same church. My acoustical evaluations involve an entire weekend; this gives me the opportunity to attend all weekend services, co
