Assignment 1: Introduction to Music Production@Coursera.

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Mrityunjay Awasthy
Picture: http://psithyrus.deviantart.com/
Hi, his is Mrityunjay !rom Mississauga, Canada and today we wi"" e#p"ore Audio Basics.
$e wi"" discuss %asic properties o! sound vi& Propagation, Amplitude, frequency and
timber. ' !igure this doesn(t do much justice to a topic so vast to ca"" this e#ercise an
e#p"oration %ut we have words count constrain and we certain"y can use this space %est
possi%"e way and start something which can sa!e"y %e a ca""ed starting point, "eading to se"!)
paced e#p"oration. My virtua" partner $oo!y wi"" he"p me sound "ess %oring *perhaps more
"ame+.
,ig.1
W: Woof was that?
M: -ou(ve got .ound/
he Mechanics of !ound
.ound is a vi%ration that trave"s through a medium. he trave""ing o! vi%ration through a
medium is ca""ed "propagation#. 't invo"ves a source, which produces a sound, medium
through which sound propagates "i0e air water or so"ids such as dry wa""s *1ry wa""s have more
density than air and water, so ' am never a%"e to !igure what started the !ight in my
neigh%orhood+ and an ear *a comp"e# device which receives, amp"i!ies and processes sound
wave+.
W: !o you mean there$s no sound when any or one of these is absent?
M: -ou(r %eing phi"osophica" isn(t you2 ,igure out P"ato/ 't is an interesting 3uestion %ut right
now we are wor0ing on our !irst assignment and straying too !ar can cause pena"ties. A!ter
the su%mission p"ease/ 4et(s get things straight !irst.
W: I got it, you want it %that$ way&!o how does sound get into my ear 'without being
seen(?
M: By propagating through a medium. .ource gets triggered %y !orce5 voca" cords
produce vi%ration with aid o! 6air pressure7 in throat, !inger !orces string to vi%rate %ecause
its ends are tied. his vi%ration trave"s through air. 'magine it "i0e pac0ets o! energy hitting
and compressing adjacent air which in turn pushes the air %"oc0 ne#t to it. hus sound enters
a medium, creates pressure which trave"s through medium, pushing !urther and !urther unti"
it %ecomes so wea0 that it is not a%"e to push the medium any more or, eventua""y hits
human *or 1og+ ear.
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W: hat ma)es sense, especially with the picture* !o what$s going on in there 'in the
picture(?
M: 9ight. :eep re!erring to the picture a%ove. -ou see the source on the "e!t, receiver on the
right and sound propagating through the medium %etween %oth. hough i""ustration is
somewhat simp"i!ied !or convenience, sound is not essentia""y that much directiona". 't
usua""y spreads in a"" directions i! not o%structed and we are seeing one such simp"i!ied
instance in picture where you can see propagation.
W: +ool* What about the sand in the ear and a sna)e in trouble? 'Referring to Fig.2)
M: he sna0e is actua""y graphic representation o! what(s going on in upper ha"! o! the
picture. ;reater !orce creates greater degree o! pressure, which in turn creates more
compression and rare!action in air. .o when you hear something "ouder, it actua""y means
more vi%ration, more pressure and we ca"" it amplitude. '! you tie %oth ends o! the sna0e
shown a%ove and p"uc0 it with a !inger, more !orce!u""y you p"uc0 it, more amp"itude this wi""
create. he di!!erence %etween how this happens with sna0e and sound is5 amp"itude in
sna0e is perpendicu"ar to its %ody whereas it is "ongitudina" in case o! a sound wave<"i0e to)
and)!ro. he picture %e"ow demonstrates it e"".
,ig.=
W: I am amused, go on&
M: ;reat. '! we draw an a#is e#act"y through sna0e(s %ody and ca"" it mean va"ue<can we
do that2
W: !ure, if you ha,e a point*
M: han0s, a wave is produced when !orce is app"ied at either end, right2 A $ave has "ows
and highs, isn(t it why you thought it to %e sna0e2 he straight or shortest distance %etween
two points which has same deviation va"ue !rom mean a#is "i0e shown in picture, is ca""ed
$ave"ength. 'n the case o! .ound, which is "ongitudina" wave, this can %e measured as two
points a"ong the "ength o! wave which have simi"ar va"ue o! pressure *compression+. .o ca""
the string a .na0e i! you want and the "ength o! sna0e %etween these two points >a wave(,
hence 6wave?"ength7.
W: Wow- !o does the frequency change li)e, when sna)e is in hurry or feeling )inda
la.y?
M: ;ood point. -es it does. $e ca"" it >pitch change7 in genera". -ou hear some voices thin
and sharp compared to some others, "i0e a >C( note sounds heavier as compared to >A( in the
same octave. his is caused due to change in !re3uency. @#tent o! .na0e deviating !rom
median va"ue *A#is+ is amp"itude which is perpendicu"ar to direction o! propagation with
sna0e or string %ut para""e" in the case sound wave, distance %etween two c"osest deviations
o! same va"ue in a wave is wave"ength. Aow imaging the sna0e deviating !rom a#is as much
as ear"ier %ut turning more !re3uent"y. '! we ca"cu"ate the highs and "ows sna0e creates !rom
certain point A to point B, these wi"" %e greater in num%er when turns are ta0en !aster. his
my !riend is perceived as pitch change in sound. More coi"s in the i""ustration o! sna0e and
more dense patterns o! patches o! what you ca""ed sand means higher !re3uency. Chi"dren
usua""y have sharper ta"0ing voice compared to adu"ts. his means they are throwing more
%und"es o! sand in your ear so %e care!u" remem%er to c"ean your ears more o!ten when you
%ecome a parent. Amp"itude is measured in deci%e"s and !re3uency in H&.
,ig.C
W: !hort of space? /)ay&shoot-
M: Hehe< han0s. 4ast %ut the "east5 im%er. Have you ever imagined why two instruments
p"aying same note in same octave sound di!!erent2 im%er is one reason among many. A
sound wave produced at one sing"e !re3uency is ca""ed sine)wave %ut you wi"" not hear many
in Music or around. $hen a sound is produced, it accompanies harmonics, which means
you hear !undamenta" ,re3uency mi#ed with its mu"tip"e va"ues. his gives the sound a
pecu"iar tim%er.
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,ig.F
W: I saw that coming with your 0/oooong Introduction* Anyways you made your
point* Hey Mr. 4oudon .tearns, ' am sure you are a good man and ho"d nothing against
peop"e spending some 3ua"ity time with dogs. $i"" you p"ease consider ma0ing some e#tra
space !or !riends o! men2 4i0e another 8DG words i! one is accompanying a dog or
something2
M: han0s !or your time and patience $oo!y. .ee you soon. Adios !or now/
1Pic* +ourtesy: *Fig.1 kennymak.net *Fig.2 hendrix2dotuoregon.edu *Fig.3
physics.taskermilward.org *Fig.4 ereading.ws2 *Fig. opencurriculum.org *Fig.! fi"iks.net *Fig.#
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