an improved acoustical damping wall or door material comprises a laminar structure having as an integral part thereof one or more layers of viscoelastic material which also functions as a glue and one or more constraining layers , such as metal , cellulose , wood , or petroleum - based products such as plastic , vinyl , plastic or rubber . in one embodiment , standard wallboard , typically gypsum , comprises the external surfaces of the laminar structure ; and one or more constraining layers are fabricated between the gypsum exterior . the resulting structure improves the attenuation of sound transmitted through the structure .