Undergraduate Course: Introductory Musical Acoustics (MUSI08024)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | An introduction to the nature of musical sound and the behaviour of musical instruments. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Musical Acoustics (PHYS08021)
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Other requirements | Only available to students on the BMus Music degree programme. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course it is intended that students will be able to:
1)describe the vibratory motion of typical musical sound sources, explain what is meant by a travelling wave and a standing wave, and understand and use the formula relating the frequency, wavelength and speed of a sinusoidal sound wave.
2)draw a schematic diagram of the human ear, and outline the functions of the different parts of the ear in the hearing process.
3)discuss the relationships between the perceived pitch, loudness and timbre of a sound and the objectively measurable properties of the sound wave.
4)understand and use the formula giving the pitch interval in cents corresponding to a given frequency ratio.
5)understand and use the formula giving the decibel difference between two sounds of a given intensity ratio, and define the Sound Pressure Level of a sound.
6)explain how sound is generated, transformed and radiated by bowed and plucked stringed instruments, keyboard stringed instruments, woodwind and brass instruments, percussion instruments, electronic instruments and the human voice.
7)state the frequency ratios and the names of the pitch intervals between the first six members of a harmonic series, and explain the relationship between these intervals and the Just Diatonic Scale.
8)explain the necessity for temperament in the tuning of keyboard instruments, and discuss the differences between Just Intonation, Mean Tone Temperament and Equal Temperament.
9)define the reverberation time of a hall, understand and use a formula relating reverberation time to the volume of the hall and the absorption of its surfaces, and discuss the acoustical properties desirable in concert halls and opera houses.
10)measure and comment on the timbre of musical instruments, using a laptop computer with frequency analysis software.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
2 hours per week for 11 weeks.
Tutorials and practical work, 1 hour per week, as arranged.
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| Keywords | Acoustics, Music, Physics |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Michael Newton
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Noureen Ehsan
Tel: (0131 6)50 9179
Email: |
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