Undergraduate Course: Musical Acoustics (PHYS08021)
Course Outline
| School | School of Physics and Astronomy |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | An introduction to the nature of musical sound and the basic physics governing the behaviour of musical instruments. |
| Course description |
Not entered
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9,
Summative Assessment Hours 11,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
154 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessed work, 40%
Degree examination, 60% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Musical Acoustics | 2:00 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | Musical Acoustics | 2:00 | |
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
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Tutorials and practical work, 1 hour per week, as arranged. |
| Keywords | MusAc |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Daniel Watts
Tel: (0131 6)50 5254
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Rebecca Thomas
Tel: (0131 6)50 7218
Email: |
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