The Physics of Sound, 3rd Edition

The Physics of Soundwas written for an introductory course in acoustics for nonscientists. A background in neither physics nor mathematics above high school algebra is required. Traditionally, such courses have been tailored to music majors; nonmusicians either do not enroll or do not fully appreciate the physical principles because they are applied almost exclusively to musical topics. We have tried to avoid this limitation by dividing the text into three main sections. Chapters 1-4 present the basic physics essential for virtually all topics in the text: simple harmonic motion, wave principles, resonance, standing waves, the overtone series, Fourier synthesis, and spectrum analysis. No previous musical knowledge is required to appreciate these chapters, and a brief summary of the basic musical notation used in these chapters is provided in Appendix A. Applications and illustrations come from a variety of musical and nonmusical areas. We have revised Chapter 1 with additional discussion of SHM and apply these concepts to debunking psychokinetic myths. Our discussion of wave properties of sound in Chapter 2 has been revised to include a discussion of modern applications such as noise cancellation technology, highway noise barriers, and ultramodern sonogram technology. Chapters 5-8 illustrate the principles outlined in Chapters 1-4 and are of general interest to the musician and the nonmusician alike. The use of musical concepts and notation has been minimized so as to retain the broadest base of appeal, but the more important musical aspects of each topic are still included. For example, Chapter 7 on sound reproduction and Chapter 8 on room acoustics illustrate the principles presented in earlier chapters and are of substantial interest because of the part they play in our daily lives. We use the discussion of analog synthesizers in Chapter 5 as an opportunity to investigate the differences between sounds by studying how these sounds are created in a synthesizer. Our treatment of digital synthesizers has been updated to include use of computers as an integral part of the synthesizer system. The material on MIDI systems includes further discussion of how these systems are used to compose music and to aid musical performance using contemporary computer programs such as Sibelius. We have also added a section on physics and synthesizers in contemporary electroacoustic music composition. Chapter 6 discusses the principles of the ear and the voice at an elementary level, but has been updated with a section on cochlear implants, which have literally dated a revolution in education of hearing disabled children. We have also included 4 section on the use of audio spectrograms in teaching language to the hearing disabled. Chapter 7 has been thoroughly revised from the second edition to include a discussion of MP3 using the concepts of spectral analysis and masking covered previously. Chapter 8 has been updated with a discussion of visual and musical features for a new auditorium at the University of Maryland. The first eight chapters contain the core material for a one-semester course in the physics of sound and music. Chapters 9-14 are more specialized. Each of these chapters independently treats a different aspect of musicalacoustics and is best (though not exclusively) understood by those with some musical experience. Photographs of families of contemporary instruments have been added to the chapters on woodwinds and brasses. Any of the final six chapters could be studied in class or could naturally be assigned to students on an individual basis. Unlike most authors of elementary acoustics texts, we have treated the historical development of instruments, paying particular attention to acoustical developments. We have also tried to relate the physical principles of contemporary instruments to performance technique; the knowledge of howand whyan instrument works aDavid G Stork is the author of 'The Physics of Sound, 3rd Edition', published 2004 under ISBN 9780131457898 and ISBN 0131457896.