Intro To Music Technology

Part I
Fundamentals of Sound
Outline
****Whenever you see an unfinished sentence that ends with periods (..) take
notes**** ex. Sound is.

Brief description of Sound:

What is Sound?
Sound is a form of energy, just like electricity and light. Sound is made
when air molecules vibrate and move in a pattern called waves, or sound
waves. Think of when you clap your hands, or when you slam the car door
shut. That action produces soundwaves, which travel to your ears and then
to your brain, which says, "I recognize that sound."

Simple Vibrating Systems

Simple Harmonic Motion: In an effort to explain what sound is, we
will do a quick demonstration of the building blocks of sound. Here is a
link to a graphic of simple harmonic motion. Also known as the mass-ona-spring demo.

WWW: Check out this web site for a graphic of mass-on-a-spring

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Simple_harmonic_oscillator.gif

The spring is the type that can be compressed or stretched. When the
mass is still, it would be right in the middle of the the two extremes (A+

A-). It is in a state of equilibrium. If I push, or force the mass all the way
up (Force) and load up the spring, at some point the force of my hand is
going to equal the force (Restoring Force) of the compressed spring. This
is A+ (maximum amplitude) At this point, the mass is again in a state of
equilibrium. When I let go, it will start the motion.
1.

The Restoring force of the spring..

2.

As the mass passes the equilibrium point, its moving at its fastest
rate..

3.

The mass then starts to decelerate..

4.

Now the mass starts to accelrate back towards the Equilibrium

point again.

This system is called a simple harmonic oscillator and it demonstrates

Simple Harmonic Motion.
The distance from the equilibrium position to either point of maximum
displacement A+ or A- is called the..

One Cycle of the oscillation is one

complete excursion from a given
point, through both extremities,
back to the given point and moving in
the original direction.

Components of Simple Harmonic Motion

Period:

Frequency:
Frequency (F) is the reciprocal of the Period (T)

F = 1/T

Hertz:

Graphs
It will be useful in our discussion of acoustics to make diagrams of
how some particular physical quantity works with some other
quantity such as time. This type of diagram is called a graph. It is
usual to plot values of quantity on the vertical y axis with positive
values above and negative values below the horizontal axis. The
other quantity, usually time, is plotted on the horizontal x axis,
with positive values to the right.
To draw this curve, we have to take measurements of the mass
displacement at regular time intervals.

Figure 1
Question - What is the Frequency?
To plot this accurately, we would need to make many more
measurements within one cycle. We would then find that the
masss acceleration decreases as it reaches its maximum amplitude
(displacement) and the resulting graph would resemble the curve in
fig. 2.

Figure 2
This curve is so important that it is given a special name.
Mathematicians call them sinusoidal curves. We electronic
musicians call it a..
Any system that is vibrating with simple harmonic motion
may be said to undergo sinusoidal motion.
All matter is made up of tiny particles called molecules and are
constantly in motion whether its in a liquid, solid or gas state. If
we think of the mass-on-a-spring as a single molecule of a larger
mass, we start to get the basic idea.
When the matter is disturbed in a periodic fashion, the SHM of the
individual molecules create a Wave.
If this wave is in the audible frequencies and has enough energy to
be detected by our ears, we will hear it as sound!

WWW: Check out this web site for a graphic: Think of the blue dot as the
mass-on-a-spring. The line it creates is a smooth curve.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Simple_harmonic_motion_animation.gif

Acoustic Compression Waves

WWW:

Check out this web pages for a graphic of sound

waves
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos/waves/wavemotion.html

In a compression wave the particle displacement is parallel to the direction of

wave propagation. The animation shows a compression wave propagating down a
tube. The individual particles do not move down the tube with the wave; they
simply oscillate back and forth about their individual equilibrium positions in
SHM.

Sound waves or Acoustic waves

What we hear as sound is a class of physical kinetic energy
called acoustical energy. Acoustical energy consists of fluctuation
waves of pressure in a physical medium usually air.
A single complete cycle of an acoustical pressure wave
consists of one half cycle of compression (higher pressure) of
the air molecules, followed by on half cycle of rarefaction
(lower pressure) of the molecules. Sounds of higher amplitude
(louder) compress and rarefy the air molecules to a greater
extent than do lower amplitude (softer) sounds.

If the frequency of a SHM oscillator is in the audible range, it

will create a Sine Wave.

A Sine Wave is.

Frequency of Sound

In order to be classified as sound, these waves must fluctuate at a rate

between.

Frequency corresponds to the musical attribute of pitch.

Pitch

Pitch is one of the three major auditory attributes of musical sounds along
with..

Pitch is Logarithmic. We perceive the pitch of A4 (440Hz) as sounding an

octave higher than A3 (220 Hz).

Doubling a given frequency is perceived as raising the pitch.

Speed of Sound

Sound waves travel through air on a standard temperature day (71

degrees Fahrenheit or 22 degrees Celsius) at the speed of
approximately..

The physical distance covered by one complete cycle of a given

frequency of sound as it passes through air is called the..
Here is a link to a Speed of Sound calculator for air with varying temperatures
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculatorspeedsound.htm?Temp=100&Mps=&Kmph=&tempunit=on&Mph=&Ftps=&Knots=

Sound waves travel through other mediums at different speeds.

Other gasses have different densities from that of air, so the speed
of sound waves in them will be different. Hydrogen, for example,
is a very light gas, and sound waves in it travel four times as fast as
they do in air. In liquids and solids the speed of sound is quite
large; this is because the elasticitys of these materials are very
much greater than that of air and more than compensate for the fact
that their densities are also greater. Table 1 gives values of the
speed of sound in various substances.

Table 1
Speed of sound in various substances
Substance
Air
Air
Hydrogen
Carbon Dioxide
Water
Steel
Helium
Water Vapor

Temp

Speed

Speed

Celsius

m/sec

ft/sec

0
22
0
0
15

331.5
344
1270
258
1437
5000
927
402

1087
1130
4165
846
4714
16,400
3040
1320

20
35

In our dealings with sound we will only be interested in the

speed of sound waves in air at 22 degrees Celsius (71 F).

1. Wavelength
Wavelength is expressed by the equation..

Where W = wavelength, S = speed of sound, F = frequency

Example: The fundemental frequency of the pitch A, above
middle C is 440Hz. Its wavelength in air is 344m/s divided by
440Hz = .78 meters long. Or 1130ft/s divided by 440Hz = 2.57 ft
long. This is the actual length of one cycle of sound at that
frequency in air.

Using Exponents and Prefixes

Lets stop here for a moment and discuss the use of Exponents and
Prefixes. Since forces in nature are Logarithmic, we need a way to
represent very large and very small numbers more easily. We can do this
using Scientific Notation.

Exponents: Base 10
Q. To what power must 10 be raised to make 1000?
A.

Decimal

1000 100

10

Exponent

103

101

102

10(+n)

|
100 |
1

0.1

0.01 0.001

10-1

10-2

10-3

10(-n)

101 =
100 =
We are still dealing with positive numbers. Negative exponents
are smaller than 1, but larger than 0.

More work with Exponents

1,000,000. =
2,600,000,000. =
0.001 =
0.000,000,002,6 =
10,900,000,000,000. =

Prefixes
The use of prefixes to indicate the factors is quite useful. Example, the

prefix centi means 1/100 or 10-2 of whatever it is attached to. ex. One
centimeter = 0.01 of a meter, or 1 centigram is 0.01g. Some useful
prefixes we need to know.

1012
109
106
103
100
10-2
10-3
10-6
10-9
10-12

= 1,000,000,000,000 = 1 Trillion
=
1,000,000,000 = 1 Billion
=
1,000,000 = 1 Million
=
1,000 = 1 Thousand
=
1=1
=
0.01 = 1 Hundredth
=
0.001 = 1 Thousandth
=
0.000001 = 1 Millionth
=
0.000000001 = 1 Billionth
= 0.000000000001 = 1 Trillionth

Giga, Mega, Whata?

Where did the names Kilo, Mega, Giga and all those other prefixes
come from? They have entered our language. Everyone uses them. The

terms, particularly with "byte", are almost commonplace. Kilobyte,

Megabyte and Gigabyte are part of our lexicon.

The familiar ones are Greek, Latin or Spanish.

Tera from Greek teras meaning Monster

Giga from Greek gigas meaning Giant
Mega from Greek megas meaning Great
Kilo from Greek khilioi meaning thousand
Milli from Latin mille meaning thousand
Micro from Greek mikros meaning small
Nano from Greek nannos meaning dwarf
Pico from Spanish pico meaning small quantity

Electrical Representation of Sound

Audio Signal

An audio signal is an electrical representation of a sound in the form of a

fluctuating voltage or current.

The amplitude of an audio signal is called the..

Many different operating levels exist in audio systems. Level (acoustic or

electrical) is specified in decibels.

10

WWW:

Check out this web pages for a graphic of a speaker converting

voltage into sound:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/virtual-surroundsound1.htm

Phase

The time relationship of a sound wave (or an audio signal) to a known

reference is called the phase of the signal. Phase is expressed in degrees.
One complete cycle of a sine wave equals 360 degrees.

Adding Sine Waves

Phase relationships are very important to Audio Engineers. The main
reason phase must be controlled is that it affects how sounds add together.

When audio signals are mixed, or when sound waves mix in the air, they
add algebraically. Figure 5 shows the effect of phase on the addition of
two sine waves of equal level and frequency.

In figure 6a the sine waves are in phase; they add to form a sine wave of
twice the level of either one. In figure 6b the sine waves are 90 degrees
out of phase. They add to form a sine wave that is 1.414 times higher in
level than either one. In figure 6c the sine waves are 180 degrees out of
phase; they totally cancel one another.

11

WWW:

Check out this web pages for a graphic of a superposition of

two wave forms:

http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos/superposition/superposition.html

Figure 5

Here are some practical demos of phase realationships in the studio!

Bass track phase cancellation demo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWB5PSoV2I0&feature=related
Drum mix phase cancellation demo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSpHKVdIlgM&feature=related

12

Complex Waves
Partials and Harmonics

Almost every musical sound that we hear is a composite of sine

waves at different frequencies and amplitudes. These sine waves
combine to form the sound and their frequency and amplitude
relationships determine the quality, or timbre, of the sound. The
individual simple tones making up a complex tone are called partial tones
or simply partials.
When a musical note with a complex waveform (partials) has a distinct
pitch (as opposed to noise), that waveform can ultimately be created by
combining a set of precisely related sine waves. These sine waves are
called harmonics and their frequencies are related in simple integer
multiples. The sine wave frequency at the pitch that we hear as the
note is the.
Harmonics are partials that have mathematical relationship to the
fundamental.
All Harmonics are Partials. Not all Partials are Harmonics.
Complex sounds that are more noise like have many partials
sounding. Some are multiples of the fundamental, most are not, like
a Snare drum or cymbal.
Complex sounds that have a definite pitch have the partials that
are multiples of the fundamental sounding. We call these Harmonics.

Harmonic Series

Above the fundamental there are additional sine wave components

whose frequencies are multiples of the fundamental frequency. If the
fundamental is at 500 Hz, for example, the harmonics will occur at 1000
Hz, 1500 Hz, 2000 Hz, and so on.
The fundamental is called the...
The 2nd harmonic has twice the frequency as the fundamental. The 3rd
harmonic has three times the frequency of the fundamental and so on.
As the frequency multiplier increases, the amplitude of the harmonic
usually decreases so the upper harmonics are generally much lower in
level than the fundamental.

13

Harmonics: Modes, nodes and anti-nodes

If we were to analyze how string and wind instruments vibrate, we

would find that a string and open-air columns vibrate in modes whose
frequencies are integral multiples of the fundamental.

The sound of a string will contain all the harmonics.

Figure 7_A
Figure 7_A shows the first 7 harmonics of the series that are
present when the string is plucked or struck.
The term overtone has been used in reference to complex
tones, such a tone described as consisting of a fundamental and
its overtones. This causes some confusion. In the sound
produced by a vibrating string, the first overtone is the second
harmonic. Similarly, in the sound produced by the closed tube,
the second harmonic is missing, so the first overtone is the 3rd
harmonic. So we wont get confused, we will not use the term
overtone. The second harmonic will always refer to the partial
that is twice the frequency of the fundamental.

14

Figure 7. Harmonic Series first 12 notes

The first 12 harmonics are given in figure 7. Note that the 7th and 11th are
in black. That is because they are very much out of tune with the note of
our present equal-tempered scale. Some of the others are a little out of
tune also, but not important for our discussion.

12 TET tuning: (Twelve Tone Equal Temperament)

The accepted standard for tuning fixed-pitched instruments (such as the
piano) since the time of J.S. Bach
Twelve tone equal temperament took hold for a variety of reasons.
It conveniently fit the existing keyboard design, and was a better
approximation to just intonation than the nearby alternative equal
temperaments.
It permitted total harmonic freedom at the expense of just a little purity in
every interval.
This allowed greater expression through modulation, which became
extremely important in the 19th century music of composers such as
Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, and others.

Adjacent notes (1/2 step) are called.

There are 12 individual notes per octave

Each half-step (semitone) is 1/12 of an octave.

15

Semitones are divided into..

There are..
1200 cents per octave.

Cents

Just
intonation
interval

Cents in
just
intonation

Differen
ce

1.000000

= 1.000000

0.0000

Minor second
(C)

1.059463

100

= 1.066667

111.73

11.73

Major second
(D)

1.122462

200

= 1.125000

203.91

3.91

Minor third
(D)

1.189207

300

= 1.200000

315.64

15.64

Major third (E)

1.259921

400

= 1.250000

386.31

-13.69

Perfect fourth
(F)

1.334840

500

= 1.333333

498.04

-1.96

Diminished fifth
(F)

1.414214

600

= 1.400000

582.51

-17.49

Perfect fifth (G)

1.498307

700

= 1.500000

701.96

1.96

Minor sixth
(G)

1.587401

800

= 1.600000

813.69

13.69

Major sixth (A)

1.681793

900

= 1.666667

884.36

-15.64

Minor seventh
(A)

1.781797

1000

= 1.750000

968.826

-31.91

Major seventh
(B)

1.887749

1100

= 1.875000

1088.27

-11.73

Octave (C)

2.000000

1200

= 2.000000

1200.0

Name

Decimal value
in 12-TET

Unison (C)

16

Noise
If the sine wave components, or partials, of a sound are not related in
simple integer multiples, the sense of pitch is lost and the sound quality
approaches noise. Drum sounds, for example, have very complex sets of
components with non-integral frequency relationships.

White Noise:
Pink Noise:
Since there are more frequencies packed into each upper octave than each
lower octave, pink noise rolls off at higher frequencies. This means that
there is less energy at any single high frequency than at any single low
frequency so that when all noise in an octave is added up, it equals all the
noise in any other octave.

Complex Tone Structure (figure 8)

To see how a complex tone is built up, let us assume that we have present
in the air two single tones, one having twice the frequency of the other
and, three quarters the amplitude.

The individual waves would be as shown by the two solid curves in

figure 8a. The superposition of the two waves will give a resultant sum
of displacements shown in figure 8b, the sum of the first two harmonics.

Adding the 3rd harmonic, as shown by the dashed curve in 8a, the sum of
all three is shown in curve 8c. Adding harmonics of higher frequencies
would produce a waveform of still greater complexity which, however,
will still repeat at the fundamental frequency.

17

Figure 8. Building a Complex Wave

Realative Phase

In figure 8 the individual harmonics were assumed to have their phases

such that their magnitudes were at zero at the same instant. This does not
always have to be the case. The phase of the second harmonic may have
any arbitrary value at the time the fundamental is zero. We may then
speak of the relative phase of the 2nd harmonic with respect to the
fundamental.
Figure 9 shows the fundamental and second harmonic with identical
amplitudes but with different relative phases of the second harmonic. The
light lines are the harmonics and the heavy line is the resulting complex
wave. The waveform of the complex wave obviously depends on the
relative phase of the second harmonic as well as its amplitude. Similarly,
the waveforms of more complex waves will be quite different for different
relative phases of their harmonics.

18

Figure 9 Relative Phase

Synthesis

In electronic music, the process of adding harmonics to produce an

arbitrarily complex waveform is termed synthesis. The converse of this is
analysis of a wave.
Any periodic waveform may be analyzed into the sum of harmonics of
definite amplitude and phase, and there is only one set of such harmonics
that will add up to the given waveform. With training, the ear can to some
extent hear the individual harmonics of a complex sound wave.
In electronics, complex waveforms can be built up, or synthesized in
various ways. One important complex wave is made up of harmonics 1, 2,
3, 4 and so on of relative amplitudes 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and so on, all in the
same phase. It is shown in figure 10a and is called for obvious reasons.
Another important waveform in synthesized music is obtained by using
the odd harmonics 1, 3, 5, 7 and so on, with their relative amplitude 1, 1/3,
1/5, 1/7 and so on, again all in the same phase and is shown in figure 10b.
It is called the..

19

Figure 10 Synthesized Waveforms

These two waves are important in electronic production of musical

sounds. The dashed curves show the result of adding the first four
harmonics for each waveform. As more harmonics are added, the sum
approximates the waveform more closely. A waveform in the shape of a
triangle can likewise be shown to be built up out of harmonics whose
amplitudes and phases will depend on the shape of the triangle. All of the
above examples of adding harmonics to produce complex waves are
illustrations of the.
This Theorem simply states:
Any complex vibration can be reproduced by adding (with proper
amplitudes and phase) the harmonics of the fundamental vibration.

Whats important, Phase or Amplitude relationship?

Since the detailed waveform of a complex wave depends on the relative

phases of the harmonics, it might be expected that the ear would ascribe a
different quality to different waveforms produced by changing the phase
but not the amplitudes of the harmonics. For example, we might expect
the three different waveforms of figure 9 to sound different.
Investigation of this question over a century ago by German physicist
Ohm led him to the conclusion, that the perception of a complex sound
depends upon its analysis into simple tones and is entirely
independent of the phase relationship of these components. This Law

20

has been accepted without question for a long time. It is now firmly
imbedded in most books on acoustics. It is known as..

In recent years the validity of this Law has been questioned, further
research done to check it. As a result, evidence has now accumulated that
demonstrates conclusively that under some conditions the ear can hear
changes in the phases of the harmonics of a complex tone. Just what these
conditions are is not clear, it seems to depend on how many sharp dips or
peaks the waveform has. In most cases, it is not a pronounced effect; the
three waveforms in figure 9 for example, as reproduced by a loudspeaker
in an ordinary room, will all sound the same.
For musical purposes, we may assume for now that the quality
(timbre) of a tone does not depend significantly on the relative phases
of its harmonics, only on the relative amplitudes of the harmonics.

Spectrum Analysis

Since the quality of a periodic complex tone depends mainly on the

relative amplitudes of the harmonics and very little on their relative
phases, we may characterize a tone by a diagram of its harmonics.
An analogy to the optical case in which light is resolved into its
constituent colors, the representation of the analysis of a tone into its
constituent harmonics is called its spectrum.
As an example, the spectra of the sawtooth and square waves are shown
in figure 11a and 11b.

Figure 11a and 11b

Spectrum of Sawtooth and Square Waves
For a Graphic display of Fourier composition of synthetic waveforms spectrum visit
Dan Ketterings web site.

21

http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos/Fourier/Fourier.html

Recap Complex Tones

Since the tones of musical instruments have such distinctive qualities, it is

natural to look for a somewhat representative sound spectrum for each
instrument. One would hope that a certain spectrum would characterize
the trumpet, violin, and so on.

The analysis of a large number of tones from many musical instruments,

made over a considerable period of time, has demonstrated that there is no
characteristic spectrum, somewhat the same from note to note, associated
with a given musical instrument. An oboe, for example, does not have a
certain pattern of harmonic amplitudes that characterizes its sound over its
playing range.

A few generalizations about tone quality can be made. The low tones
of a clarinet are deficient in even harmonics, but not all tones deficient
in even harmonics sound like a clarinet; however, such tones are
sometimes said to have hollow sound. Tones with many highfrequency harmonics tend to sound brighter, and those with fewer
tend to sound darker. This is about all that can be said; it is not
possible to relate a tone of given harmonic structure to a particular
instrument.

Actually, it is not to be expected that the details of the harmonic structure of a

tone should be important. For a particular instrument, the structure of a given
single tone will depend on a number of factors. It changes with loudness, for
example; soft tones will generally have few harmonics while loud tones will
have many more harmonics covering a greater frequency range. Also, the
spectrum of a tone will also depend on how the player produces it. It will
also depend on the characteristics of the room in which the instrument is
played.