Room for Singing

If someone in the 1880s bought a manor house from the early 19th century and wanted to choose one of the rooms to be their music room (used for playing musical instruments and for singing) what elements would they look for? Should the room be small or large? Stone walls or wood paneling? Lots of rugs on the floor, or bare wood floors? Would large windows be a benefit or a downside? Does it make a difference whether the room is on the ground floor or upstairs?

I can adjust the room's description as necessary, but I haven't a clue what the requirements might be.

My (admittedly brief) research indicates that great strides in acoustics took place in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Theory of Sound was published in 1877, so my guess would be that they probably had a fairly good grasp of acoustics in 1881. They wouldn't have had modern technologies, of course, but all I need is for them to choose the best possible room for playing the piano and singing.

In any case, a large room with as little upholstery as possible? Would windows make a difference? Or the type of walls and floor? (wood vs. stone vs. plaster, etc.)

espresso5 said:

Is the primary purpose of this room strictly the quality of music, or does the ability to play with minimal disturbance to other people in the house have any weight in the decision?

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Everyone in the house is a musician, so they don't mind hearing the music/singing. Quality is of the highest concern.

onesecondglance said:

Perhaps I should have phrased that better - I'm saying that it's hard enough these days to find an architect with a decent knowledge of acoustics, so what are the chances of them spending serious time designing a room or even thinking about it?

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The guy who owns the house is a musical genius who dabbles in architecture in his spare time, so he could conceivably design the perfect music room and retrofit the house. I'm not taking it that far, though. Right now, it's simply a matter of his wife moving into the house and trying to decide which room to call their music room. She's an opera singer, so she knows a little something about music and acoustics, but for the most part, she's choosing the room based on size and how it sounds when she sings in it. Once the husband arrives, he can renovate the room however he likes.

Okay, thanks everyone!

BDSEmpire said:

The best room I ever sang in was circular with a high ceiling and painted walls. The sound of our voices circled up into the heavens and bounced down at us and filled the room in a way we had never heard before. It was gorgeous and we have never sounded better.

The room was probably fifteen feet across at most with a very tall ceiling. It was meant for a string quartet or small choir. It was at a church in downtown Portland but I bet you could find a similar room in a mansion.

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It's a 18th century manor house, so I'm not sure if any of the rooms would be round (I'd have to check blueprints to see if that's possible) but I can definitely give them a high ceiling and a smallish room. Thanks!

Sounds interesting. Thanks!