P oceedings o 20
h
In e na ional Cong ess on Acous ics, ICA 2010
23-27 Augus 2010, Sydney, Aus alia
ICA 2010 1
Acous ic cha ac e iza ion o sac ed music ende ed by
a human whis le a he Di ine P o idence Chu ch in
Goa, India
Menino Allan S. M. Pe e Ta a es
(1), S. Rajagopalan (1), Sa ish Jaganna h Sha ma
(2) and An ónio P. O. Ca alho (3)
(1) Depa men o Physics, Nagpu Uni e si y, Nagpu – 440 033, India
(2) Depa men o Elec onics, Nagpu Uni e si y, Nagpu – 440 033, India
(3) Labo a o y o Acous ics, Facul y o Enginee ing, Uni e si y o Po o, 4200-465 Po o, Po ugal
PACS:
43.55.HY
ABSTRACT
The human whis le is a ep esen a ion o he human ocal singing. Singing (solo and cong ega ional) is an essen ial
componen o sac ed music o collec i e wo ship in a Ca holic chu ch. The acous ic cha ac e iza ion o sac ed music
is de ined in his pape h ough a de i ed Acous ic Com o Imp ession Index (ACII) and se e al Acous ic Wo ship
Indices (AWI), namely, Subjec i e Sac ed Fac o (SSaF), Subjec i e In elligibili y Fac o (SInF) and Subjec i e Si-
lence Fac o (SSiF). In his s udy, li e sac ed music ende ed by he human whis le is compa ed wi h ha by he cello,
cla ine , iolins and he ensemble, in he Ca holic chu ch o he Di ine P o idence (Goa, India). Among he signi i-
can esul s, ACII o he human whis le was ound o be be e han ACII o he musical ins umen s (F = 2.38, p =
0.08); his di e ence was mo e signi ican a he na e o he chu ch (music sou ce) (F = 2.94, p = 0.04) and lowe a
he choi lo (music sou ce) (p = 0.21). SInF o he ensemble music was ound be e han SInF o human whis le
(F = 3.07, p = 0.03). A he na e o he chu ch, he SInF was ound be e han SSaF and SSiF (F = 4.17, p = 0.02).
SSaF and SInF we e equally be e han SSiF a he choi lo (p = 0.02). This s udy opens he possibili y o op imized
use o he human whis le in ende ing sac ed music in a chu ch.
INTRODUCTION
A Wo ship Space needs all he ac o s o acous ics, namely
speech, music, singing and silence o be well blended and
pu pose ully used o an ac i e, conscious and o al commu-
ni a ian expe ience o he Di ine [1].
While speech is e ec i ely used o an in ellec ual commun-
ion, music is a powe ul ca alys and medium o communi-
ca e emo ion. Singing is a ma iage o speech and music ha
op imizes he anima ing and commissioning powe o bo h
music and speech while he momen s o acous ic silence
p o ide he ambience o in dep h con empla ion [2] [3].
The musical quali y o a melody ende ed by he human
whis le is a symbolic ep esen a ion o he human ocal sing-
ing. The esul s p esen ed he e, assess he subjec i e acous ic
impac o a une om sac ed music ende ed by a human
whis le in compa ison wi h he subjec i e acous ic e ec o
musical ins umen s (such as cello, cla ine , iolins and en-
semble) om di e en sou ce loca ions (namely, he na e o
he chu ch and he choi lo o he chu ch). The compa a i e
subjec i e eligious com o igge ed by he acous ic e ec is
assessed h ough a de i ed Acous ic Com o Imp ession
Index (ACII) [4] and se e al Acous ic Wo ship Indices
(AWI), namely, Subjec i e Sac ed Fac o (SSaF), Subjec i e
In elligibili y Fac o (SInF) and Subjec i e Silence Fac o
(SSiF) [5][6][7].
PRELIMINARIES
Sample Chu ch
The chu ch o Ou Lady o Di ine P o idence (1656-61) in
Old Goa, India, was designed by I alian a chi ec s Ca lo Fe -
a ini and F ancesco Ma ia Milazzo,
[8] as a minia u e e -
sion o he Basilica o S Pe e ’s a Rome, is he chu ch o he
monas e y o S . Caje an (Figu e 1). The main body o he
chu ch in e nally mani es s a G eek c oss loo plan and is
oblong ex e nally. Fou equal a ms o he na e a e lanked by
aisles. The in e sec ion o he a ms is ma ked by ou massi e
pie s which o m he suppo ing base o a lan e n c owned
ci cula dome es ing on a d um. One o he a m o he na e
ends in an apse. The co e ed g oin aul s o he na e and he
aisles majes ically en wine a di e en poin s due o hei
a ying heigh s achie ing a a e a chi ec u al luidi y which,
along wi h he ine pa e ns o s ucco sp ead ou o e he
su ace, a e a ea o he eyes [9].
The g ound loo plan o Ou Lady o Di ine P o idence
Chu ch is shown in Figu e 2 and i s a chi ec u al main da a
a e shown in Table 1.
23-27 Augus 2010, Sydney, Aus alia P oceedings o 20 h In e na ional Cong ess on Acous ics, ICA 2010
2 ICA 2010
Figu e 1. Ou Lady o Di ine P o idence Chu ch.
S
O
U
T
H
N
O
R
T
H
ZONE
'D'
ZONE
'C'
ZONE
'B'
ZONE
'A'
5m SCALE
Figu e 2. G ound loo plan o Ou Lady o Di ine
P o idence Chu ch (Sou ce: ASI, Goa)
19
18
17
14
16 MB
13
10
7
611
12
9
8
MA
5
2
4
1
3
5m
Figu e 3. The loca ions o 18 lis ene s and wo music sou ces
(MA and MB) in Ou Lady o Di ine P o idence Chu ch
Table 1. Dimensional de ails o he chu ch
DIMENSION UNITS
VALUES
ABSTOT m
2
203
CABS (α) 0.04
ATOT m
2
856
ANV m
2
143
HMAX m 30
HNV m 30
LMAX m 36
LNV m 18
VTOT m
3
7691
VNV m
3
2512
HAVG m 9
WNV m 9
WAVG m 16
WMIN_NV m 9.2
WAVG_NV m 8.85
HMIN_NV m 13.5
HAVG_NV m 21.75
LNV / HNV (Ra io)
0.81
WNV / HNV (Ra io)
0.39
LNV : WNV : HNV
(Ra io)
0.8 : 0.4 : 1.0
Music sou ces
Two loca ions we e chosen as music sound sou ces. Music
sou ce A (MA) was on he loo o he no h eas /wes na e –
sanc ua y co ne o he chu ch and Music sou ce B (MB) was
on he loo o he choi lo o he chu ch.
Lis ene s and hei sea ing loca ions
The chu ch loo was di ided in o ou zones:
• Lis ene zone A (The sanc ua y o he main apse);
• Lis ene zone B (The no he n loo o he na e);
• Lis ene zone C (The middle loo o he na e);
• Lis ene zone D (The sou he n loo o he na e).
Al oge he nine een lis ene s wi h an abo e a e age ap i ude
o music o acous ics, acquain ed wi h he li u gy in a wo -
ship space we e chosen and ained o he subjec i e acous-
ic es s. Some o he lis ene s had o be audiome ically
es ed (250 Hz – 8 kHz) o asce ain hei hea ing condi ions.
The loca ions o he music sou ces (MA and MB) and lis en-
e s sea ing o he subjec i e acous ic es s in Ou Lady o
Di ine P o idence Chu ch a e shown in
Figu e 3.
Music ypes
The human whis le as a e y p oxima e simula ion o he
human oice (in singing) was compa ed wi h endi ions by
cello (designa ed as music ype ‘P’), ensemble o cello, cla i-
ne , iolins and gui a (designa ed as music ype ‘R’) and
iolins in due (designa ed as music ype ‘S’).
The musical ins umen s o he subjec i e acous ic es s we e
chosen because o hei popula i y a di e en li u gical unc-
ions in Goa. The cellis played “Bach’s Sui e No. 2”. The
human whis le endi ion was he une o “Mo e : Fe a Pes-
sima” a adi ional Ch is ian Len en hymn. The ensemble and
he iolinis s played “Piedade Saibinni” a Goan de o ional
classic, in mino and majo . The music sco e o he endi ion
by he human whis le is gi en in Figu e 4.
23-27 Augus 2010, Sydney, Aus alia P oceedings o 20 h In e na ional Cong ess on Acous ics, ICA 2010
ICA 2010 3
Figu e 4. Music sco e o “Mo e : Fe a Pessima”
SUBJECTIVE ACOUSTIC EVALUATION OF
SACRED MUSIC
Subjec i e acous ic Imp essions
The lis ene , as guided be o e e e y es , judged o wha de-
g ee he music played in he chu ch was loud, clea , e e be -
an , well-di ec ed, in ima e, en eloping, onally balanced,
acous ically imp essi e and a ec ed by echoes and back-
g ound noise [10]. The a e aged sco es o he acous ic quali-
ies o di e en music sou ces and ypes in di e en sea ing
zones o he chu ch could be conside ed as subjec i e im-
p essions he sound egis e ed on he lis ene s. The e o e, he
a e aged sco es o he subjec i e acous ic quali ies we e
called subjec i e acous ic imp essions (SAI) and a e lis ed as:
Subjec i e acous ic imp ession o Loudness (SAI
LOUD
);
Sub-
jec i e acous ic imp ession o Cla i y (SAI
CLAR
); Subjec i e
acous ic imp ession o Di ec ionali y (SAI
DIR
); Subjec i e
acous ic imp ession o Balance (SAI
BAL
); Subjec i e acous ic
imp ession o In imacy (SAI
INT
); Subjec i e acous ic imp es-
sion o En elopmen (SAI
ENV
); Subjec i e acous ic imp es-
sion o Re e be ance (SAI
REV
); Subjec i e acous ic imp es-
sion o Echoes (SAI
ECHO
); Subjec i e acous ic imp ession o
Backg ound Noise (SAI
NOIS
) and Subjec i e o e all acous ic
imp ession (SAI
OVER
).
Acous ic Com o Imp ession Index
A di e ence was d awn be ween he desi ed subjec i e
acous ic imp essions (DSAI) in a wo ship space and he un-
desi ed subjec i e acous ic imp essions (USAI) in a wo ship
space in o de o acous ically comp ehend and op imize his
‘ eligious eeling o com o and solace’.
The desi ed and undesi ed subjec i e acous ic imp essions
(DSAI and USAI) we e e alua ed as a e ages o he eigh
desi ed dSAI
i
and he wo undesi ed uSAI
j
espec i ely. The
ne di e ence sco e be ween he desi ed and he undesi ed
was a e aged and coded as he Acous ic Com o Imp ession
(ACI) o he wo ship space.
Finally, he acous ic com o imp ession index (ACII) a each
zone o he wo ship space was e alua ed using Equa ion 1.
e
x
ACI
ACI
ACII −=1 ….(1)
whe e,
ACI
e
is he e e ence alue o ACI in he gi en wo ship
space, ACI
e
= 6;
ACI
x
is he di e ence be ween ACI
e
and he a e aged alue
o ACI in he zone x (0 - 6).
ACII is a g oss measu emen o he subjec i e com o in-
duced by he acous ics inside he wo ship space. This subjec-
i e acous ic com o enables he necessa y disposi ion o
wo ship.
Acous ic Wo ship Indices
The eligious expe ience deno ed by he Sac ed Fac o (SaF)
was comp ehensi ely cons i u ed by he mix o he acous ical
pa ame e s SAI
REV
, SAI
INTI
, SAI
ENV
and SAI
OVER
, I was
hypo hesized ha he pe cep ion o he o e all subjec i e
acous ic imp ession (SAI
OVER
) has a one o e e en ial awe
and a sub le u ge o he Di ine when i is accompanied by a
su icien bonding wi h he sou ce (SAI
INTI
) and a sense o
being imme sed (SAI
ENV
) in o a ib an ambience (SAI
REV
).
All he cons i uen pa ame e s we e no malized and (as i was
hypo hesized ha no weigh ing o he cons i uen s was e-
qui ed) he a i hme ic mean o he no malized alues o sub-
jec i e acous ic imp essions o e e be ance (nSAI
REV
), in i-
macy (nSAI
INTI
), en elopmen (nSAI
ENV
) and he subjec i e
acous ic o e all imp ession (nSAI
OVER
) was hypo hesized o
be he subjec i e sac ed ac o (SSaF).
The eligious expe ience deno ed by he In elligibili y Fac o
(InF) was comp ehensi ely cons i u ed by he pa ame e s
SAI
LOUD
, SAI
CLAR
, SAI
DIR
and SAI
BAL
. I was hypo hesized
ha he music played in a chu ch had o be pe cei ed as loud
(SAI
LOUD
), clea (SAI
CLAR
), well-di ec ed (SAI
DIR
) and bal-
anced (SAI
BAL
) in i s bass and eble ones, in o de o sa is y
he condi ions o in elligibili y o sac ed music. Again, i was
hypo hesized ha no weigh ing o he cons i uen s was e-
qui ed as explained in he case o he SaF, hence he a i hme-
ic mean o he no malized alues o SAI
LOUD
, SAI
CLAR
,
SAI
DIR
, SAI
BAL
and SSI was hypo hesized o be he subjec-
i e in elligibili y ac o (SInF).
I was hypo hesized ha in o de o op imize he e ec o
music in he sac ed li u gy an ambience o “silence” was
necessa y; he e o e, subjec i e imp essions o echoes
(SAI
ECHO
) and backg ound noise (SAI
NOIS
) we e undesi able.
These subjec i e pa ame e s when no malized we e con-
e ed and cons ued as posi i e de e minan s o he silence
ambience and as such cons i u ed he eligious expe ience
deno ed by he Silence Fac o (SiF). As, no weigh ing o he
cons i uen s was equi ed, he a i hme ic mean o he no mal-
ized alues o subjec i e silence om echoes (SS
ECHO
) and
subjec i e silence om noise (SS
NOIS
) was hypo hesized o be
he subjec i e silence ac o (SSiF).
The subjec i e acous ical measu es we e e alua ed on a se-
man ic di e en ial a ing scale wi h se en poin s
(1 o 7) [9].
Fo ins ance, loudness (o e all loudness o he sound) was
scaled om 1 (ex emely weak) o 7 (op imally loud); The e-
o e, o he no maliza ion o he DSAI he op imal e e ence
limi alue was aken as 7 and hei no malized alues calcu-
la ed using Equa ion 2,
23-27 Augus 2010, Sydney, Aus alia P oceedings o 20 h In e na ional Cong ess on Acous ics, ICA 2010
4 ICA 2010
n
X
D
S
A
I
=
1
∀ X
meas
= X
e
X
X
1nX
e
DSAI
∆
−=
∀ X
meas
< X
e
….(2)
whe e,
X
meas
is he measu ed alue o he subjec i e acous ic imp es-
sion,
nX
DSAI
is he no malized alue o he DSAI,
X
e
= 7 is he op imal e e ence limi alue o he subjec i e
acous ic imp ession,
e meas
X-X X =∆
The USAI we e also gi en an op imal e e ence alue equal
o 7 conside ing he la e o be he maximum alue ha can
be sco ed on he seman ic scale used o he e alua ion o he
subjec i e acous ic pa ame e s. Howe e , hese undesi able
subjec i e imp essions o echoes and noise we e exp essed as
hei espec i e equi alen s in e ms o subjec i e silence
om echoes (SS
ECHO
) and subjec i e silence om noise
(SS
NOIS
). Consequen ly, he no malized alues o SS
ECHO
and
SS
NOIS
we e calcula ed using Equa ion 3,
X
X
nSS
e
∆
=
∀ X
meas
….(3)
whe e,
X
meas
is he measu ed alue o he subjec i e acous ic imp es-
sion;
nSS is he no malized alue o he subjec i e silence imp es-
sion (SS
ECHO
and SS
NOIS
);
X
e
= 7 is he op imal e e ence alue o he subjec i e acous-
ic measu es (SAI
ECHO
and SAI
NOIS
);
e meas
X-X X =∆
The subjec i e da a was analysed using Excel and O igin 6.1.
RESULTS
Subjec i e acous ic Imp essions
A compa ison o he mean alues o di e en desi ed subjec-
i e acous ic imp essions (DSAI) and undesi ed subjec i e
acous ic imp essions (USAI) e alua ed inside Ou Lady o
Di ine P o idence Chu ch is assessed h ough he esul s o
he ANOVA es s on he means o hei popula ions a e aged
ac oss 18 lis ene loca ions a he na e (sou ce MA) and he
choi lo (sou ce MB) o he chu ch as shown in Tables 2
and 3.
Table 2. ANOVA es s on he means o DSAI and USAI
popula ions in he chu ch (a e aged ac oss 18 lis ene loca-
ions in he chu ch) o compa e he di e en subjec i e
acous ic imp essions o he human whis le endi ion om
he na e o he chu ch (sou ce MA)
TYPE Da a Mean Va iance N F
alue p alue
DSAI SAI
LOUD
5.11 1.05 18 1.53 0.16
SAI
CLAR
5.83 1.09 18
SAI
DIR
5.94 0.76 18
SAI
BAL
5.56 1.32 18
SAI
INT
5.44 1.08 18
SAI
ENV
5.44 1.44 18
SAI
REV
5.28 1.15 18
SAI
OVER
5.89 0.69 18
USAI SAI
NOIS
2.17 2.38 18 0.09 0.77
SAI
ECHO
2.33 3.41 18
Table 3. ANOVA es s on he means o DSAI and USAI
popula ions in he chu ch (a e aged ac oss 18 lis ene loca-
ions in he chu ch) o compa e he di e en subjec i e
acous ic imp essions o he human whis le endi ion om
he choi lo o he chu ch (sou ce MB)
TYPE Da a Mean Va iance N F
alue p alue
DSAI SAI
LOUD
5.00 0.59 18 1.79 0.09
SAI
CLAR
5.78 0.89 18
SAI
DIR
5.78 0.89 18
SAI
BAL
5.50 1.32 18
SAI
INT
5.33 1.18 18
SAI
ENV
5.28 0.80 18
SAI
REV
5.22 1.71 18
SAI
OVER
5.89 0.69 18
USAI SAI
NOIS
2.39 2.02 18 0.099 0.75
SAI
ECHO
2.22 3.01 18
ACII, SSaF, SInF and SSiF
The e ec o independen pa ame e s (chu ch a chi ec u e,
di e en sou ce loca ions wi hin he chu ch, di e en sea ing
zones and music ypes) on ACII, SSaF, SInF and SSiF is
assessed h ough he esul s o he ANOVA es s on he
means o hei popula ions a e aged ac oss 18 lis ene loca-
ions in he chu ch as shown in Tables 4 o 6.
The e ec o independen pa ame e s (di e en sou ce loca-
ions wi hin he chu ch) on ACII, SSaF, SInF and SSiF o he
human whis le is assessed h ough he esul s o he ANOVA
es s on he means o hei popula ions a e aged ac oss 18
lis ene loca ions in he chu ch o he wo di e en sou ce
loca ions as shown in Tables 7 and 8.
23-27 Augus 2010, Sydney, Aus alia P oceedings o 20 h In e na ional Cong ess on Acous ics, ICA 2010
ICA 2010 5
Table 4. ANOVA es s on he means o ACII and AWI popu-
la ions in he chu ch (a e aged ac oss 18 lis ene loca ions in
he chu ch) o assess he es ed chu ch o di e en music
ypes (P, R, S, and T)
TYPE Da a Mean Va iance N F
alue p
alue
ACII P 0.42 0.04 18 2.38 0.08
R 0.39 0.03 18
S 0.44 0.04 18
T 0.54 0.03 18
SSaF P 0.81 0.02 18 0.46 0.71
R 0.83 0.01 18
S 0.81 0.01 18
T 0.78 0.01 18
SInF P 0.86 0.01 18 3.07 0.03
R 0.87 0.00 18
S 0.86 0.01 18
T 0.79 0.01 18
SSiF P 0.75 0.02 18 1.20 0.32
R 0.76 0.02 18
S 0.73 0.02 18
T 0.68 0.03 18
Table 5. ANOVA es s on he means o ACII and AWI popu-
la ions a he na e o he chu ch (a e aged ac oss 18 lis ene
loca ions in he chu ch) o assess he es ed chu ch o di e -
en music ypes (P, R, S, and T)
TYPE Da a Mean Va iance N F
alue p
alue
ACII P 0.41 0.05 18 2.94 0.04
R 0.35 0.02 18
S 0.44 0.05 18
T 0.54 0.04 18
SSaF P 0.81 0.02 18 0.62 0.60
R 0.84 0.01 18
S 0.81 0.02 18
T 0.79 0.01 18
SInF P 0.87 0.01 18 3.61 0.02
R 0.89 0.01 18
S 0.86 0.01 18
T 0.80 0.01 18
SSiF P 0.75 0.02 18 1.36 0.26
R 0.78 0.01 18
S 0.73 0.03 18
T 0.68 0.03 18
Table 6. ANOVA es s on he means o ACII and AWI popu-
la ions a he choi lo o he chu ch (a e aged ac oss 18
lis ene loca ions in he chu ch) o assess he es ed chu ch o
di e en music ypes (P, R, S, and T)
TYPE Da a Mean Va iance N F
alue p
alue
ACII P 0.42 0.04 18 1.53 0.21
R 0.43 0.04 18
S 0.45 0.04 18
T 0.55 0.04 18
SSaF P 0.81 0.02 18 0.34 0.80
R 0.81 0.01 18
S 0.80 0.01 18
T 0.78 0.01 18
SInF P 0.84 0.01 18 1.89 0.14
R 0.84 0.01 18
S 0.85 0.01 18
T 0.78 0.01 18
SSiF P 0.76 0.02 18 1.02 0.39
R 0.74 0.02 18
S 0.73 0.03 18
T 0.67 0.03 18
Table 7. ANOVA es s on he means o ACII and AWI popu-
la ions in he chu ch (a e aged ac oss 18 lis ene loca ions in
he chu ch) o compa e he human whis le a he na e
(MA) and a he choi lo (MB)
TYPE Da a Mean Va iance N F
alue p
alue
ACII MA 0.54 0.04 18 0.02 0.90
MB 0.55 0.04 18
SSaF MA 0.79 0.01 18 0.12 0.74
MB 0.78 0.01 18
SInF MA 0.80 0.01 18 0.58 0.45
MB 0.78 0.01 18
SSiF MA 0.68 0.03 18 0.04 0.84
MB 0.67 0.03 18
Table 8. ANOVA es s on he means o SSa , SInF and SSiF
popula ions in he chu ch (a e aged ac oss 18 lis ene loca-
ions in he chu ch) o compa e he AWI o he human whis-
le a he na e (MA) and a he choi lo (MB)
TYPE Da a Mean Va iance N F
alue P
alue
MA SSaF 0.79 0.01 18 4.17 0.02
SInF 0.80 0.01 18
SSiF 0.68 0.03 18
MB SSaF 0.78 0.01 18 4.04 0.02
SInF 0.78 0.01 18
SSiF 0.67 0.03 18
OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Subjec i e acous ic imp essions (SAI)
A he na e o he chu ch, he subjec i e acous ic imp ession
o di ec ionali y (SAI
DIR
) o he human whis le is ound 84%
signi ican ly be e han he o he desi ed subjec i e acous ic
imp essions (DSAI) whe eas a he choi lo , he o e all
subjec i e acous ic imp ession (SAI
OVER
) was ound o be he
signi ican ly bes DSAI (p = 0.09). The di e ence be ween
he undesi ed subjec i e acous ic imp essions (SAI
NOIS
and
SAI
ECHO
) is no signi ican a he na e o he chu ch no a
he choi lo o he chu ch (Tables 2 and 3).
This indica es ha when sac ed music is whis led om he
na e o his chu ch he subjec i e di ec ionali y o i s endi-
ion s ands ou om he o he subjec i e acous ic imp es-
sions. The same endi ion om he choi lo impinges a
s ong o e all acous ic imp ession han any speci ic DSAI.
The undesi ed subjec i e e ec s o backg ound noise and
echoes indi idually do no s and ou o he same endi ion
om bo h he music sou ces.
Acous ic Com o Imp ession Index (ACII)
In gene al, ACII o he human whis le is ound signi ican ly
be e han ha o he musical ins umen s (p = 0.08). The
di e ence is e en mo e signi ican a he na e o he chu ch
(p = 0.04). A he choi lo , he di e ence be ween he ACII
means o he di e en music ypes is no imp essi ely sig-
ni ican (p = 0.21) (Tables 4 o 6).
The esul s imply ha subjec i e expe ience o acous ic com-
o (as cha ac e ized by ACII) signi ican ly a ou s he hu-
man whis le when he sac ed music is ende ed om he loo
o he na e o he chu ch. The choi lo seems o signi i-
can ly le el he subjec i e e ec o he sac ed music by he
human whis le.

23-27 Augus 2010, Sydney, Aus alia P oceedings o 20 h In e na ional Cong ess on Acous ics, ICA 2010
6 ICA 2010
Acous ic Wo ship Indices (SSaF, SInF and SSiF)
The means o he SInF in he chu ch show he o e all sco es
o he musical ins umen s o be 97% signi ican ly be e han
ha o he human whis le. The e ec is seen o be mo e
p ominen a he na e o he chu ch (p = 0.02) han a he
choi lo (p = 0.14) (Tables 4 o 6).
This indica es ha in e ms o subjec i e in elligibili y e-
qui ed o le sac ed music deli e he message and meaning
(as cha ac e ized by SInF) he musical ins umen s a e p e-
e ed o e he human whis le, especially when he endi ion
o he sac ed music is om he loo o he na e o he
chu ch.
The o e all impac o he chu ch and he impac o he music
sou ce loca ions on he SSa and SSiF do no show a signi i-
can di e ence be ween he musical ins umen s and he hu-
man whis le (Tables 4-6).
The subjec i e e e en ial awe elici ed by sac ed music (as
cha ac e ized by SSaF) and he subjec i e silence leading o
wo ship (as cha ac e ized by SSiF) hus seem o p e e en-
ially a ou nei he sac ed music om musical ins umen s
no he endi ion by he whis le, i espec i e o whe he he
music is ende ed om he loo o he na e o om he choi
lo o he chu ch. Pe haps he e y sac edness o sac ed mu-
sic impinges he desi ed e ec independen o whe he i is
played om musical ins umen s o whis led.
The wo music sou ces do no show any signi ican di e -
ence in he ACII, SSaF, SInF and SSiF sco es o he human
whis le (Table 7). The esul s could imply ha he human
whis le is e ec i e in inducing he subjec i e mood o wo -
ship (as cha ac e ized by ACII, SSaF, SInF, and SSiF) while
ende ing he sac ed melody bo h om he loo o he na e
o he chu ch and om i s choi lo espec i ely.
Among he de i ed acous ic wo ship indices (AWI), SInF
was 98% signi ican ly be e han SSaF and SSiF o he hu-
man whis le a he na e o he chu ch (MA) while o he
same endi ion a he choi lo (MB) bo h SSaF and SInF a e
equally be e han he SSiF (p = 0.02) (Table 8).
Subjec i e silence hus seems no o be he a ou i e e ec o
he human whis le (while ende ing sac ed music in he Di-
ine P o idence Chu ch) as compa ed o subjec i e expe i-
ence o in elligibili y and e e en ial awe.
The esul s in Ou Lady o Di ine P o idence Chu ch no
only e eal he possibili y o using he human whis le o en-
de sac ed music in he chu ch bu also indica e he possibil-
i y o knowing whe he o use he musical ins umen s o he
human whis le, when a pa icula loca ion in he chu ch is
chosen o endi ion ( loo o he na e o he choi lo o he
chu ch).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The au ho s wish o hank he Socie y o Pila , Goa, Mos
Re . Filip Ne i A chbishop o Goa, pa ish p ies o he
chu ch and ASI - A chaeological Socie y o India (Goa) o
pe mission o conduc his esea ch. The au ho s a e g a e ul
o ou lis ene s, speake s, musicians, a chi ec s, he eco ding
eam and esea ch colleagues o hei help and o Da id
Lubman (UK), F ancesco Ma ello a (Ba i, I aly), Pe ci al
No onha (Goa, India) and S.S Bhoga (Nagpu , India) o hei
in e es in he wo k.
The au ho s hank he FCT - Fundação
pa a a Ciência e a Tecnologia and CEC Cen o de Es udos
da Cons ução (FEUP), Po ugal, El is Gomes, Pe e Vaz
and Model builde s, Goa o pa ially suppo ing he ac i i-
ies o ou esea ch p og amme.
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