Sound is a wave form which travels through air by causing vibrations.

It is Omnidirectional meaning it travels in all directions from the source. Sound travels like
a drop of water in a pond. Sound travels at 344m/s which is slower than light.
Sound must have a medium to travel through such as air, in a vacuum such as
space, there is no sound.

It is caused by compressions and rarefactions in the air where it squeezes and

stretches, these are frequencies, one compression and rarefaction is known as a
cycle. The number of cycles in a second is the frequency. Higher frequencies
mean higher pitch sounds and lower frequencies make lower pitched sounds.

Sound is measured in Hertz. Our hearing range is 20Hz to 20KHz, 20Hz is the
lowest we can hear, this is the bass, this is not absorbed as easily as treble,
which is towards the 20KHz end of the spectrum. We are able to hear the lower
notes more clearly when the path of the sound is obstructed by something like a
wall, the treble is absorbed more easily so only the bass gets through. A note
played by an instrument at 440Hz would be one octave lower than a note with a
frequency of 880Hz.

The amplitude is the height/depth of the wave. This is the volume measured by
decibels. Decibels are measured relative to the observer, so 10db to one person
could seem like 20db to another (There is a set chart for actual decibel levels).
This also works in a similar way with frequencies. Like an ambulance driving
past and then away from you will sound as though its sirens are becoming lower
in pitch. The doppler effect causes frequencies to become lower to an observer
moving relative to its source.

Envelope is ADSR. This is Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release. This effects how the
note sounds. The attack is how quickly the note reaches its highest volume and
velocity. The decay is how long it takes for it to diminish, the sustain is how long
it is held and the release is how long it takes for the note to completely fade out.
This is important for getting an instrument to sound right.

A fundamental frequency is the lowest resonant frequency of a vibrating object.

A harmonic is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency. These are
sounds that sound good together, they are concordant, meaning they agree with
each other.
If two signals arrive at the ear both the same intensity and in phase the ear will
perceive the sound as being doubled, whereas if they are similar but not in
phase, they will only be a slight bit louder. The sine waves must be identical in
order for the sound to double.

The Principles of Musical Instruments

Woodwind
Woodwind instruments create sound by the vibration of the reed. This is done by blowing
into the instrument in a specific way. The woodwind family includes instruments like the
saxophone, clarinet, flute and bassoon. The majority of the them are made out of wood but
some are made from brass. They are often cylindrical shape.
The flutes frequencies range from 250Hz - 2.5KHz. This is a medium to low pitch range. Its
timbre has been described as smooth and hollow.
An instrument like the oboe would play lower notes with a range of 250Hz - 1.5KHz. Its
timbre has been described at dark and pastoral.
A piccolo has a much higher range, 630Hz - 5KHz. Its timbre is described as mellow,
especially the wooden ones.

Strings
Stringed instruments produce sound by vibrating the strings, usually by strumming,
plucking or arco. These instruments include violins, cellos, guitars, basses. These
instruments are usually made from wood. They usually have hollow bodies to amplify the
sound though electric instruments tend not to and are usually smaller and lighter.
Violins have a frequency range of 196Hz 4.4KHz. This is quite a high pitched instrument.
The timbre has been described as bright, smooth, warm and rich.
Double Basses are able to go high but also very low. Their frequency range is 40Hz 200Hz. Their timbre has been described as dark, dull, rich, low and jazzy.
Stringed instruments create sound by their strings being stretched, they try to get back to
their original position but have too much energy, this transfers to sound energy.

Percussion
Percussion instruments are played by hitting or banging the objects strings or skins.
Instruments like drums, pianos and marimbas are percussion. They tend to be large hollow
instruments.
Common drum kits have a frequency range of 60Hz 10KHz. Their timbre is described as
sustaining, resonant and mighty.
Pianos have a frequency range of 27.5Hz 4186Hz. Their timbre is described as vibrant
and soft but loud.

The Mechanisms of Human Hearing

The ear is made up of several different important parts. The outside of the ear is the pinna
which is made of flexible cartilage. It is lined with small hair which actsas a defense to any
outside dust or small animals. It is cone shaped to ensure is receives as many vibrations
as possible. Joining the outer ear to the inner is the ear canal. This is about one inch long.

At the end of this is the ear drum. This is a conical piece of skin made up of three layers,
outer, middle, and inner. The middle layer acts as the diaphragm. There a three small
bones in this layer, the hammer (melleus), anvil (incus), and stirrup (stapes). They are
called this because of their resemblance to those objects.

The inner ear is a complex and intricate part. It is made up of several parts including the
cochlea, tympanic canal and tympanic membrane.
The cochlea is a hollow coiled tube filled with a fluid called perilymph. It contains small
hairs which convert the sound into electricity which is relayed to the brain.
The threshold of pain is the limit of human hearing, before it becomes unbearable and
damaging to the ear. This is around 120dB at a maximum of 20,000Hz (20KHz).
Psychoacoustics is the scientific study of sound perception.
The Haas effect or precedence effect is where one sound is followed by another sound but
they are separated by a very short, unnoticeable time delay. This makes it sound as
though they are the same sound.
The cocktail party effect is the brains ability to choose what it hears. Its the idea that at a
cocktail party there are many different conversations going on at once, and just by looking
at a certain group of people and concentrating on them, you are able to hear their
conversation regardless of other conversations and background noises.
Masking is a situation where clear audible sounds can be completely drowned out or
masked by another sound. Like someone talking quietly would be completely inaudible if
someone next to them was talking with a megaphone. Quiet sounds are masked in the
presence of a louder sound.

Workplace laws
UK workplace laws require certain noise levels per day/week.
The lower exposure action values are:
A daily or weekly exposure of 80dB

 A peak sound pressure of 135dB

The upper exposure action values are:
A daily or weekly exposure of 85dB
A peak sound pressure of 137dB
The maximum daily or weekly exposure to sound is 87dB and the maximum peak sound
pressure is 140dB.
Workplace laws require employers to supply employees with ear protection if they request
it and identify zones where hearing protection is necessary. It requires employers to
provide training on noise protection and ensure that the hearing protectors are being used
and maintained correctly.
Continued exposure to loud sounds or high sound pressure can result in many health
issues including:
Temporary or permanent loss in hearing
Tinnitus
Stress
Low-birthweight in new born children
Tinnitus is a condition which causes a continuous ringing, whistling, buzzing or humming in
the ears. This can lead to disturbed sleep.
People continually exposed to loud irritating sound claim to have higher stress levels.
Noisy neighbors are one of the leading causes of noise-stress, often leaving them unable
to sleep or severely distressed.
Prolonged high noise levels to pregnant women has been linked to low fetal development
and low-birthweight in new born children. It has also been linked to physical defects such
as cleft-palate and defects in the spine.

The Acoustic Characteristics of Spaces

Rooms with hard surfaces create reflections known as reverberations. These can be
stopped with softer, more absorbent materials like carpet or fiberglass. The diagram below
shows the reflection patterns.

Highly reflective materials include:

Plywood
Cement
Plaster
Absorbent materials include:
Acoustic cotton
Acoustic fiberglass
Foam

Recording studios

Recording studios are usually lined with soft, absorbent materials. The aim is to get little to
no reverb in the recording, if necessary it can be added in later. Some recording studios
are intended to have lots of reverb, they are designed with hard, reflective surfaces and are
generally large open rooms. The Beatles song A Day in the Life was recorded at Abbey
Road Studios. The end of the song features a chord sustained for 42 seconds. The
reflections in the room aided this. This is an example of wanted reverb.

Concert Halls
Concert halls are designed with hard, reflective surfaces seeing as most performances
there are acoustic so the sound needs to be able to travel and reach every member of the
audience. They are usually large, open halls.

Acoustic Characteristics
Reverb time is the time taken for a sound to decay by 60dB from its initial level. So if a
person claps, the reverb time is how long it takes for the sound of the clap to reach -60dB
from its original level. This is the formula