The Physics of Sound

• Sound begins with a vibration of an

object
• Vibrating object transfers energy
to air medium
• All complex vibration patterns
seen as a combination of many
simple vibration patterns

• Simple harmonic motion

• Elastic restoring force
• Move object from equilibrium point,
force returns it to equilibrium point
• Force is proportion to distance from
equilibrium – Displacement
 Simple Harmonic Motion

• Harmonic oscillations, or sinusoid

(sine) curves
 Simple Harmonic Motion, con’t
1

0.5

-0.5

-1

• Amplitude: Maximum displacement from one

extreme to resting position
• Periodic vibration: Wave repeats itself
• Frequency (F): Number of cycles per sec (Hz)
• Period (T): Time (sec) to complete one cycle
• F=1/T
• Phase: Progression of wave through one cycle
(measured in degrees)
Simple Harmonic Motion, con’t

• Decay of harmonic motion

Additivity and Superposition of
Sine Waves
Additivity and Superposition of
Sine Waves, con’t
Fourier Decomposition or
Fourier Analysis
 Fourier Decomposition, con’t

Systems for Naming Frequency

Components

Freq. Harmonics Overtones Partials

f0 Fundamental Fundamental 1st Partial

2f0 2nd Harmonic 1st Overtone 2nd Partial

3f0 3nd Harmonic 2st Overtone 3nd Partial

4f0 4nd Harmonic 3st Overtone 4nd Partial

Fourier Decomposition, con’t
The Perception of Pitch
The physiology of the ear
The Perception of Pitch, con’t
The place theory of pitch perception

• The basilar membrane as a set of

independently tuned resonators
• Tone of single frequency causes
corresponding place on basilar
membrane to vibrate
 The Perception of Pitch, con’t
The frequency theory of pitch perception

• Basilar membrane vibrates to match frequency

• Because of refractory period, nerve fibers cannot
encode high frequency
• Volley principle: nerve fibers working together can
encode high frequencies
The Perception of Pitch, con’t
The psychophysics of frequency

• The Mel Scale: Perceived pitch as a

function of frequency
• Non-linear relation between frequency
and pitch
The Perception of Pitch, con’t
The Cognitive-Structural approach
• Octave equivalence
• Tones in a 2:1 frequency ratio have a
special relation
• Evidence for octave equivalence:
• The harmonic series
• The musical pitch set
The Perception of Pitch, con’t
The Cognitive-Structural approach
• Psychological evidence for octave
equivalence
• Deutsch (1973)
Standard Intervening Sequence Comparison
The Perception of Pitch, con’t
The Cognitive-Structural approach
• Psychological evidence for octave
equivalence
• Octave-scramble nursery rhymes
The Perception of Pitch, con’t
A bi-dimensional approach
• Tone / Pitch Height: A continuous
dimension that increases with frequency
• Tone / Pitch Chroma: Circular component
representing tones with 2:1 freq. ratio
• The pitch helix
The Perception of Pitch, con’t
A bi-dimensional approach
• Shepard / Circular tones

• Single tones:

• Continuous glide:

• Tritone paradox:
 The Perception of Loudness
The psychophysics of loudness
• Audibility curves
The Perception of Loudness, con’t
The psychological scale of loudness
• Sones scale
 The Perception of Timbre
The steady state component approach

• Components that remain the same over

time
• Problems with the steady state view of
timbre
The Perception of Timbre, con’t
The importance of transient
components

• Onset rapidity: Rate of onset of the tone

• Noise bursts: Amount/type of noise in
beginning of tone
• Spectral energy shift: Changes in relative
intensity of harmonics over time
The Perception of Timbre, con’t
The perceptual similarity of musical
timbre
• John Grey’s studies of musical timbre