Revision Notes

Chapter – 13
Sound
Introduction
Sound is a form of energy and it comes from vibrations. These vibrations create sound waves which
move through mediums such as air and water before reaching our ears. Understand how sound
waves come from vibrations in the form of compression and rarefaction and how your ears give you
the ability to hear them.

Sound: Vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when
they reach a person's or animal's ear.

Musical Sound: The sound which produce a pleasing effect on the ear.
Noise: The sounds which produce a jarring or unpleasant effect.
The difference between Musical sound and noise - Music is produced by periodic vibrations,
having regular wave pattern e.g. sound of musical instruments. Noise is produced by irregular
vibrations, having irregular wave pattern. e.g.. sound produced by moving vehicle.
Characteristics of Sounds:
(i) Loudness: The sensation produced in the ear which enables us to distinguish between a
loud and a faint sound. Larger the amplitude of vibration, the louder is the sound produced.
It is proportional to square of the amplitude.
(ii) Pitch: The characteristics of sound which distinguishes between a shrill sound and a soft
sound. Higher the frequency of vibration, higher is the pitch and shrillness.
(iii) Quality: Characteristic which enables us to distinguish between musical notes emitted
by different musical instruments or voices even though they have the same pitch and
loudness.

Learn about free(natural ) vibrations - When we strike the keys of a piano, various strings set in
vibrations at their natural frequencies in absence of any external force on it. Damped vibrations -
When a body is made to vibrate in a medium, the amplitude of vibrating body continuously
decreases with time and ultimately body stops vibrating. Such vibrations are called the damped
vibrations.
When we want to tune a radio or TV set, we merely adjust the values of electronic components to
produce vibrations of frequency equal to that of radio waves which we want to receive. Learn how
this matching is done due to resonance. Resonance is the phenomenon when the frequency of an
applied periodic force is equal to its the natural frequency, the body readily begins to vibrate with an
increased amplitude. Understand the conditions of resonance and forced vibrations.

Sound needs a medium to propagate

The traveling of sound is called propagation of sound. Sound cannot propagate in the absence of a
medium. The place where there is no air or air is removed, is called vacuum. Sound does not
propagate (travels) through vacuum.
Sound travels through solid, liquid and gas.
We usually hear sound which comes to us through air.
Aquatic animals communicate as sound travels through water also.
We hear the sound through ear
Vibrations Produce sound
How is sound produced? From loudspeakers to guitars, all sound-producing devices share one
common feature: vibration. The amount of vibration, as well as the speed of the vibration, produce
the different sounds our ears can recognize.
In this blog post, we�ll look at the science behind sound and study how instruments like the guitar
and piano create sound. We�ll also look at how modern hi-fi systems produce sound, as well as
factors that can affect the clarity of sound.
The science behind sound

In simple terms, sound is vibration. The complex internal structure of our ears can respond to the
waves produced by vibration, whether in the form of bass drum or an acoustic guitar.
When an instrument produces vibrations, it creates oscillating sound waves. Some of these waves are
audible to humans, while others are very deep or high-pitched, and fall outside the human range of
hearing.
A variety of metrics are used to measure sound�s intensity, volume and pitch. The pitch of sound
is measures in hertz. One hertz (Hz) refers to the complete cycle of sound waves per second. Thus,
5,000Hz is equal to 5,000 cycles per second.
The human ear can generally perceive sound between 20Hz and 20,000Hz. Animals can often hear
sound that humans can�t. For example, dogs can hear sounds at very high frequencies � often
above 20,000Hz � but cannot hear low frequency sounds.
How instruments produce sound

All sound is created through vibration. In fact, some people can perceive sounds by focusing solely
on the vibration an instrument creates. Ludwig van Beethoven, who famously went deaf late in his
life, continued to compose by using the vibration of his piano to �listen� to his compositions.
Sound requires two components to be audible to the human ear: vibration, as well as amplification.
Amplification can be provided by physical devices like the hollow body of a guitar, or by electrical hi-
fi systems and speakers.
Let�s start with the guitar. Acoustic guitars produce sound through the vibration of their strings.
This sound is amplified by the guitar�s hollow body, and the different strings each produce a
different frequency � and thus different pitch � of sound.
The neck of a guitar contains anywhere from 12 to 24 frets. By pressing on each of these frets, the
player changes the tension of the string, leading to a new frequency and a different pitch of note or
chord.
On a piano, sound is created in almost exactly the same way. Instead of plucking the strings, piano
players push keys which trigger hammers that push the strings inside the piano. The body of the
piano amplifies this sound just like the body of a guitar.
While other instruments use different methods to create vibration and sound waves, the principles
are the same: sound waves are created through vibration, and pitch is manipulated by changing the
frequency of the vibration and sound waves.
How speakers produce sound

If you�ve ever taken the protective covers off a pair of hi-fi speakers, you�ll know that they
vibrate when you play music. Speakers produce sound using vibration, just like a piano or guitar.
However, the design of speakers lets them create a far wider range of sounds than a piano or guitar
could produce.
Instead of using human energy to create vibration, like the plucking motion used to play a guitar or
the tap of a piano key�s hammer, speakers convert electrical energy into vibration which, in turn,
produces sound. Digital audio production software often includes a live view of sound waves as they
are playing. The peaks in this view are the periods at which sound is loudest. This is when your
speakers will be vibrating the most.
Most speakers include several different speaker drivers, each of which can produce sounds of a
certain frequency. The most common speaker drivers include tweeters, mid-range, woofers, and
subwoofers.
Sound clarity and acoustics

Have you ever heard an echo in a large room? Echoes occur when the sound waves produced by an
instrument (including the human voice) or loudspeaker bounce off surfaces and travel back into your
ears.
Echoes can occur in live venues such as stadiums, or in enclosed spaces like lounges and living
rooms.
One of the biggest challenges audio engineers and producers face is reducing echoes in studios and
live performance venues.
Since sound is created by vibration, the best way to reduce echoes is by installing a material that
absorbs energy. This is why most studios have foam padding on their walls, or thick carpets designed
to prevent sound reflecting and causing an echo.