i'm trying to name / describe a wall that is expensive and is known for not allowing sound to travel through it. to put it into context, what i'm trying to do with this wall is demonstrate the character's wealth, and his isolation. the sentence i have right now is "Of course, through the thick granite walls of the study the night’s ambiance is nearly inaudible" does anybody know a better type of wall than granite that would suggest the above? or just another way of phrasing the idea i'm getting at? thanks yo
I think your sentence sounds good enough. If you want a second option, and I don't know if this fits into the context, I would write it as: "Of course, not much of the night's melody could be heard through the thick granite walls of his cold little study." As said, I don't know the context so that sentence could very well make no sense at all. And of course, his cold little could be replaced with whatever you envision his study to be like, and his could just as well be hers.
Without a given context my suggestions may not be as helpful, but: The night's revelry remained impenetrable behind the granite walls of the study. [or The party sounds...or The merriment...or The night's merriment] But if you really want "ambience" (and it's unclear to me if this ambience is outside the room/study--thus my suggestion above--or if it's contained within the room/study try: The thick granite walls kept the ambience inaudible beyond the study. Hope those might help. Happy writing!
Why not lay sound-proofing over an expensive wall like granite? Use a high-grade acoustic blanket to neutralise vibration? This is a good example of the range of products available: http://www.soundservice.co.uk/soundproofing_walls.html
To me, a granite wall may be expensive, but does not in itself speak of wealth or silence. Granite walls echo. Mahogany panelling or tooled Spanish leather would be more likely to line the walls of a wealthy man's study. As for the silence of the room, I wouldn't directly try to explain it with the wall material. I would make it part of the ambience of the room. Rich carpeting and upholstered furniture would add to the feeling of deadened sound.
I have to agree with Cogito as far as the walls go. As for your sentence, why the night's "ambiance"? The only sounds I associate with ambiance are little atmospheric sounds. I don't hear much of that where I am, and my walls are hardly sound deafening.
thanks cogito, you've understood what i'm getting at - i was trying to make the material itself demonstrate both wealth and sound proof-iness (proof-iness is in the vocabularly of any up and coming writer) as for the night's ambiance, i'm talking about things like cicada songs, cars driving in the distance, **** like that thanks for the help, i'll probably go with the mahogany panelling, or look up some materials from gannon's link
Of course, even if one loved the sound of crickets chirping incessantly, or of the owl intermittently hooting from the branch of an Oak tree; the night's regalement would be lost through the thick granite walls of a dim study made dimmer with its dark red, wall-to-wall carpeting. The reason I phrase it like this is because I never did like the night sounds, so I can't say dogmatically that they are 'melodious'. Even if you won't consider this, it was fun thinking of a different way to phrase it.
