Musical Acoustics (U00541)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 8 ? Acronym : PHY-1-MusAc

An introduction to the nature of musical sound and the basic physics governing the behaviour of musical instruments.

Entry Requirements

? Prohibited combinations : Introductory Musical Acoustics (PHY-1-IntMusAc)

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Undergraduate (School of Physics), (School of Physics, Schedule Q)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 1st year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 4 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
20/09/2007	14:00	15:00	Lecture Theatre 4, Appleton Tower	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	14:00	14:50	Central
Lecture	Thursday	14:00	14:50	Central
Lecture	Friday	14:00	14:50	Central

? Additional Class Information : Tutorials and practical work, 1 hour per week, as arranged.

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course it is intended that a student will be able to:
1)describe the vibratory motion of typical musical sound sources, explain what is meant by a travelling wave & a standing wave, & write down & use the formula relating the frequency, wavelength & speed of a sinusoidal sound wave
2)draw a schematic diagram of the human ear, & outline the functions of the different parts of the ear in the hearing process
3)discuss the relationships between the perceived pitch, loudness & timbre of a sound & the objectively measurable properties of the sound wave
4)state & use the formula giving the pitch interval in cents corresponding to a given frequency ratio
5)state & use the formula giving the decibel difference between two sounds of a given intensity ratio, & define the Sound Pressure Level of a sound
6)explain how sound is generated, transformed & radiated by bowed and plucked stringed instruments, keyboard stringed instruments, woodwind & brass instruments, percussion instruments, electronic instruments & the human voice
7)state the frequency ratios & the names of the pitch intervals between the first six members of a
harmonic series, &explain the relationship between these intervals & the Just Diatonic Scale
8)explain the necessity for temperament in the tuning of keyboard instruments, & discuss the differences between Just Intonation, Mean Tone Temperament & Equal Temperament
9)define the reverberation time of a hall, write down & use a formula relating reverberation time to the volume of the hall and the absorption of its surfaces, & discuss the acoustical properties desirable in concert halls and opera houses
10)measure & comment on the dynamic range & timbre of musical instruments, using a sound level meter & a laptop computer with frequency analysis software
11)understand how reverberation time can be measured by plotting decay curves for filtered noise, & analyse & comment on decay curves measured in a concert hall