Sounds of Music condensed study guide: Transverse wave: Wave that vibrates up and down (a rope, S-wave, vibrating

guitar string). The crest is the highest point and the trough is the lowest point.

Longitudinal wave: Wave that vibrates back and forth (sound waves, P-wave, hitting the end of a slinky). Compressions are areas of high pressure and rarefactions are areas of low pressure.

Wavelength: one complete cycle of a wave (Point A-E in diagram 1, Point B-D in diagram 2) Medium: An intervening substance through which something else is transmitted or carried on.
Sound travels through air, water, and solid substances.

Frequency: How often particles vibrate (ex. If a particle undergoes 1000 longitudinal vibrations in 2 seconds, then the frequency of the wave is 500 vibrations per second). The unit for frequency is Hertz (Hz). 1 Hertz=1 vibration per second. As sound travels through different mediums, the frequency stays the same A sound wave is a pressure wave

Period is the time between high pressure points (or low pressure as the time lapse is the same)

The human ear can detect frequencies of 20Hz-20,000Hz. Anything below 20Hz is known as infrasound and anything greater is ultrasound. Dogs: 50Hz-45,000Hz Cats: 45Hz-85,000Hz Bats: 120,000Hz max Dolphins: 200,000Hz!!! Elephants: 5Hz-10,000Hz Pitch: the sensation of frequency. High pitch-high frequency and low pitch-low frequency Consonant: when sound waves sound pleasurable. If frequencies are in ratio 2:1 then it is an octave which is consonant. Third also sounds goodInterval Frequency Ratios
Octave 2:1 512 Hz and 256..HzThird 5:4 320 Hz and 256 .HzFourth 4:3 342 Hz and 256 Hz..Fifth 3:2 384 Hz and 256 Sound wave: energy transport phenomenon that transports energy along a medium without transporting matter. The higher the energy wave, the higher the amplitude. Plucking increased energy which increases amplitude. Intensity: The amount of energy that is transported past a given area of the medium per unit of time

The unit for intensity is Watts/meter^2

The decrease in intensity with the increase in distance is because the energy is being distributed over a greater surface area. This is known as an inverse square relationship.
So if the distance from the source is doubled (increased by a factor of 2), then the intensity is quartered (decreased by a factor of 4). Similarly, if the distance from the source is quadrupled, then the intensity is decreased by a factor of 16. Threshold of hearing: Faintest sound that the human ear can detect Decibel scale (dB): a scale used to measure intensity with the decibel (dB) as the unit. It is a logarithmic scale. On the decibel scale, the smallest audible sound (near total silence) is 0 dB. A sound 10 times more powerful is 10 dB. A sound 100 times more powerful than near total silence is 20 dB. A sound 1,000 times more powerful than near total silence is 30 dB. Anything >85dB may cause hearing loss. Speed of sound wave: the distance that a point on a wave travels over time (meters/second or m/s). Speed=distance/time Elastic properties: tendency of a material to maintain its shape. Speed through solid>liquid>gas Inertial properties: tendency to be sluggish to changes in its state of motion (ex. density of medium) The lower the mass, the lower the speed sound will travel at Sound pressure level-loudness, frequency- pitch, duration- subjective duration Hearing differs between each person Know the three main parts of the ear: outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear

Masking: The phenomenon in which a sound become imperceptible due to another sound (ex. When background noises mask a conversation) Time Masking: When the masked signal and the masking signal happen at the same time.

Octave: a set of 8 notes Seventh: a set of 7 notes Sixth: a set of 6 notes, etc. Node: a place where no sound is generated (amplitude is 0) Antinode: a point where the amplitude of the standing wave is a maximum (opposite of node) Sound wave: a wave that transmits sound Standing wave (aka stationary wave): a vibration of a system in which some particular points remain fixed while others between them vibrate with the maximum amplitude, a wave that remains in constant position

Percussion: musical instruments played by striking with the hand or with a handheld or pedal-operated stick or beater, or by shaking, including drums, cymbals, xylophones, gongs, bells, and rattles String Instrument: An instrument that uses string vibrations to create sound Timbre (MUST KNOW): the distinctive property of a complex sound that are not related to the sounds pitch, loudness, or length (ex. reedy, brassy, clear, flat, warm resonant, mellow, focused, heavy, etc.) Wave interference: When two waves meet while traveling along the same medium

Destructive interference of sound waves becomes an important issue in the design of concert halls and auditoriums. The rooms must be designed in such a way as to reduce the amount of destructive interference. Music is a mixture of sound waves that typically have whole number ratios between the frequencies associated with their notes. In fact, the major distinction between music and noise is that noise consists of a mixture of frequencies whose mathematical relationship to one another is not readily obvious. If two sound waves that have no simple mathematical relationship between their frequencies interfere to produce a wave, the result will be an irregular and non-repeating pattern. This tends to be displeasing to the ear. (Ex. two frequencies of 2:1 (octave) or 3:2 (fifth) is music and pleasing to the ear while two frequencies of 37: 20 would sound displeasing and categorized as noise). Beat: periodic and repeating variations heard in the intensity of a sound when two sound waves of very similar frequencies interfere with one another.

Beat frequency: the rate at which the volume is heard to be wavering from high to low volume. For example, if two complete cycles of high and low volumes are heard every second, the beat frequency is 2Hz. The beat frequency is always equal to the difference in frequency of the two notes that interfere to produce the beats. So if two sound waves with frequencies of 256 Hz and 254 Hz are played simultaneously, a beat frequency of 2 Hz will be detected. Doppler Effect: an increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound waves as the source and observer move toward (or away from) each other. The effect causes the sudden change in pitch noticeable in a passing siren.

Boundary behavior: When a sound waves travels from one medium to another

Refraction of waves involves a change in the direction of waves as they pass from one medium to another. Refraction, or the bending of the path of the waves, is accompanied by a change in speed and wavelength of the waves. Reflection involves a change in direction of waves when they bounce off a barrier; refraction of waves involves a change in the direction of waves as they pass from one medium to another; and diffraction involves a change in direction of waves as they pass through an opening or around a barrier in their path. The Bernoulli Effect: when a fluid speeds up, the pressure drops. This makes sense since if a small volume of fluid increases in speed something must be pushing on it so there must be a force on the fluid element, hence a pressure drop. A common example used to explain the Bernoulli Effect is the flow of fluid through a pipe. If the fluid ismoving uniformly throughthe pipe, then the only forces acting on the fluidare its ownweight and thepressureof the fluid itself. Now, if the pipe narrows, the fluidmust speed up, because thesame amount of fluid istraveling through asmaller space. However, if thefluid ismoving uniformly, and theweighthas not changed, then the onlyway in which the fluid willmove fasteris if the pressure behind the fluid isgreaterthan the pressurein front. Thus, the pressure mustdecreaseas the speed increases. A sound wave is created as a result of a vibrating object. The frequency or frequencies at which an object tends to vibrate with when hit, struck, plucked, strummed or somehow disturbed is known as the natural frequency (aka resonant frequency) of the object. Timbre is dependent on the natural frequency of certain sounds. The actual frequency is dependent upon the properties of the material the object is made of (this affects the speed of the wave) and the length of the material (this effects the wavelength of the wave). Frequency = speed/wavelength Consider a violin. There are four strings, each having a different linear density (the wider strings are more dense on a per meter basis), a different tension (which is controllable by the violinist), and a different length (also controllable by the violinist). The speed at which waves move through the strings is dependent upon the properties of the medium in this case the tightness (tension) of the string and the linear density of the strings. Changes in these properties would affect the natural frequency of the particular string. The vibrating portion of a particular string can be shortened by pressing the string against one of the frets on the neck of the violin. This modification in the length of the string would affect the wavelength of the wave and in turn the natural frequency at which a particular string vibrates at. Controlling the speed and the wavelength in this manner allows a violinist to control the natural frequencies of the vibrating object (a string) and thus produce the intended musical sounds. Consider the PVC pipe xylophone with its long cylindrical tube. This is an example of a percussion instrument. The tube of this acts as a container for a vibrating air column. The air inside the tube will be set into vibration by a vibrating reed or the vibrations of a musician's mallet against a pipe. While the speed of sound waves within the air column is not alterable by the musician (they can only be altered by changes in room temperature), the length of the air column is. For a PVC pipe xylophone, the length is altered by cutting off pieces or adding pieces to a tube. This causes the length of the air column to be changed, and subsequently changes the wavelength of the waves it produces. And of course, a change in wavelength will result in a change in the frequency. So the natural frequency of an instrument such as the PVC pipe xylophone is dependent upon the length of the air column of the instrument. Resonance: when one object vibrating at the same natural frequency of a second object forces that second object into vibrational motion. The result is always a large vibration. Harmonics: an overtone accompanying a fundamental tone at a fixed interval, produced by vibration of a string, column of air, etc., in an exact fraction of its length, a component frequency of an oscillation or wave. Whole number ratio again and sounds pleasant. Fundamental frequency: The lowest frequency produced by any particular instrument, also known as the first harmonic of an instrument The ends of the strings of a violin are the nodes and the middle is the antinode.

The banana peel thing is the wavelength and the L is the length of the string. This equation is only for strings and open air columns. s The frequency of the second harmonic is two times the frequency of the first harmonic. The frequency of the third harmonic is three times the frequency of the first harmonic. The frequency of the nth harmonic (where n represents the harmonic # of any of the harmonics) is n times the frequency of the first harmonic. The distance between adjacent antinodes on a standing wave pattern is equivalent to one-half of a wavelength. Since nodes always lie midway in between the antinodes, the distance between an antinode and a node must be equivalent to one-fourth of a wavelength.

L=n/4* is for closed-end instruments where harmonic.

is the wavelength, L is the length of the tube, and n is for the nth

The distance between antinodes on a standing wave pattern is equivalent to one-half of a wavelength. Fixed End Reflection: A Fixed End Reflection occurs when a wave meets the end of a medium, or a heavier/denser medium. Free End Reflection: A Free End Reflection occurs when a wave meets an open end, or a lighter/less dense medium. Fundamental Principle: The Fundamental Principle states that if a frequency of a tone is n, that of its octave is 2n, that of its fifth is 3/2n, and that of the major third is 5/4n. Therefore, tube or string length is inversely proportional to frequency, i.e., every time length is halved, frequency is doubled Harmonics /Overtones: All Harmonics are Overtones, but not all Overtones are Harmonics. Harmonics are defined as a series of musical pitches whose frequencies are multiples of the fundamental frequency, whereas Overtones are defined as all harmonic and non-harmonic frequencies that are produced as sympathetic vibrations above the fundamental. Therefore, Overtones also include the body of non-harmonic and dissonant frequencies that are produced in membranophones and idiophones. Musical Interval: the distance between two pitches

To sum it up
1. Harmonic Series and its relationship to Harmony A. Numbers in a harmonic series have a 1, 2, 3... relationship B. Example: Harmonics of 440: 440, 880, 1320, 1760, 2200.... C. Example: Pitch sequence C4, C5, G5, C6, E6, G6, flat Bb6, C7... (Bugle calls) D. Consonant intervals: 2/1 = P8 (octave), 3/2 = P5 (fifth), 4/3 = fourth P4, 5/4 =third M3 2. Wave theory A. Longitudinal (compressional) waves in air B. Transverse waves in strings C. Bending waves (combination of other two) in stiff bars D. Higher frequency --> shorter wavelength E. Higher wave speed --> longer wavelength F. In 2 or 3 dimensions, waves spread out from source, get smaller in amplitude (Dobbler effect) 5. String instruments A. Longer string --> longer wavelength --> lower frequency, f proportional to 1/L B. Higher tension --> greater restoring force --> higher frequency C. Heavier string --> greater mass (inertia) --> lower frequency D. Thin string doesn't radiate well, instead energy --> bridge --> body --> room E. Thinner top plate --> more motion --> louder F. Cavity + Hole like a bottle --> tune bottle for louder sound 6. Xylophone instruments A. Longer bar --> longer wavelength --> lower frequency, now f proportional to (1/L)^2 B. Removing material can remove moving mass (on free end) or stiffness (where bending) C. Larger hole --> air can rush in and out faster --> higher frequency D. Frequency f proportional to 1/(Tube length L), so 1 octave lower is 2x longer (woodwind, but our PVC pipe xylophone is similar to a woodwind because it has open-end tubes) Sound: A form of energy carried by waves of vibrating particles. Acoustics: The properties of a building or room that determines the quality or timbre of the sound transmitted in it. Speed of sound in air: 34029 cm/s