Architectural acoustical oddities

Abstract

This paper offers a review of two types of acoustic oddity caused by periodic architecture. These periodic structures of interest are brick plazas and staircases with special dimensions. When an observer stands by one of these periodic structures and produces a percussive white noise, a high-pitched sound can be heard. The frequency of the returned sound is unrelated to the initial sound, and completely determined by the architecture of the structures themselves. This phenomenon is called repetition pitch. Comparative work done at James Madison University is offered to show the relationship between brick plazas at JMU and the repetition pitch effect.