The Fundamentals Of Sound Science Revised First Edition

The Fundamentals of Sound Science teaches the principles of the physics of sound, as well as basic principles of physics, by linking them to music and musical instruments. The book begins by asking students to question the meaning of sound itself. What is sound? How far and how fast does it travel? By asking students to think about sound in this way, the material is able to connect our daily experience of sound to principles of physics such as distance, velocity, scalars, and vectors. Through the next six chapters students learn about harmonic motion, waves, the sources and physical properties of sound, and measurements of loudness. The second half of the book uses music as the vehicle for a deeper exploration of sound. Students study some basic musicianship, including articulation, intervals, and harmonic series. These concepts become the springboard for an examination of the Fourier Analysis of Simplest Sound Spectra, which encompasses steady tones, periodic waves of arbitrary form, square, triangular, and sawtooth waves, and modulated tones. Different families of instruments are discussed in depth: percussion, strings, flutes and recorders, woodwinds, and finally the human voice. The book concludes with a chapter on room acoustics, which covers the precedence effect and reverberations. Each chapter is filled with detailed explanations, and numerous examples are used to enhance student understanding. Study questions are included to encourage critical thinking, and prepare students for tests. Chapter summaries aid retention by reviewing terms and relations. By finding the common ground between physics and music, The Fundamentals of Sound Science strengthens understanding of both, revealing that many principles of the physical world are a part of our common, taken for granted, daily experience. All we have to do is listen. The Fundamentals of Sound Science can be used for introductory courses in physics, including those at the high school level. The accessibility of the material makes the book appropriate for non-majors at the university level, and students can achieve mastery of the content without a background in mathematics, making the book ideal for general education courses.

Designed to accompany the textbook of the same name, Workbook for the Fundamentals of Sound Science is filled with engaging activities that enable students to find and experience the common ground between physics and music. Using music as the vehicle for exploring sound, students uncover common principles of the everyday, physical world through a variety of activities such as comprehension questions, multiple choice and cloze exercises, and responding to charts. Topics of inquiry include distance velocity, scalars and vectors, harmonic motion, waves, the sources and physical properties of sound, and measurements of loudness. Students also use basic musicianship as the springboard for an examination of the Fourier Analysis of the Simplest Sound Spectra. In conjunction with the main text, Workbook for the Fundamentals of Sound Science can be used for introductory courses in physics, including those at the high school level. The accessibility of the material, which does not require an extensive background in mathematics, also makes it appropriate for non-major, general education courses at the university level.

An ideal text for advanced undergraduates, the book provides the foundations needed to understand the acoustics of rooms and musical instruments as well as the basics for scientists and engineers interested in noise and vibration. The new edition contains four new chapters devoted primarily to applications of acoustical principles in everyday life: Microphones and Other Transducers, Sound in Concert Halls and Studios, Sound and Noise Outdoors; and Underwater Sound.

This book presents a clear and precise treatment of the physics of sound while using a level of math suitable for readers in the speech, language, hearing and health sciences. Simple mathematics, graphics, and qualitative descriptions are demonstrated to explain wave concepts, spectrograms, intensity, and decibels.

"A lucid and passionate case for a more mindful way of listening to and engaging with musical, natural, and manmade sounds." —New York Times In this tour of the world’s most unexpected sounds, Trevor Cox—the “David Attenborough of the acoustic realm” (Observer)—discovers the world’s longest echo in a hidden oil cavern in Scotland, unlocks the secret of singing sand dunes in California, and alerts us to the aural gems that exist everywhere in between. Using the world’s most amazing acoustic phenomena to reveal how sound works in everyday life, The Sound Book inspires us to become better listeners in a world dominated by the visual and to open our ears to the glorious cacophony all around us.

Landmark book hailed for exceptionally clear, delightfully readable explication of everything acoustically important to music-making. Includes over 300 illustrations. Examples, experiments, and questions conclude each chapter.

This title makes possible a deep intuitive understanding of many aspects of sound, as opposed to the usual approach of mere description. This goal is aided by hundreds of original illustrations and examples, many of which the reader can reproduce and adjust using the same tools used by the author.