| Week | Topics | Some Suggested "Readings" * |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Introduction to Course
What is Music? Where'd it come from? What can be studied using methods of the Physicist? Units/basic definitions Periodic sounds: Frequency/Period/Pitches |
Music and the Brain (Scientific Am., Oct 25, 2004)
Wikipedia Entries for "Music" and "Prehistoric Music" Stone Age Flute (Nature, Dec 17, 2004) NPR Bird Song Story Radio Lab Show #202 |
| 2 |
Musical Notes, Chords, and Scales Musical Intervals, Dissonance, Beats Chords and Scales, Logarithms |
See "Scales" and related sub-sections
here. NPR Physics of Music Story |
| 3 |
Some simple mechanics (F = ma) and periodic motion Pendulum/Mass on Spring Stretched String - Wavelengths |
Newton's
Laws of Motion (Wikipedia) Mass on a spring (Reference.com) Simulation applets - Masses & Springs and Wave on a String |
| 4 |
Resonance String (con't) driven by sinusoidal source Vibrations in an Air column (and wind instruments) Combinations of Modes (Superposition, Fourier Series) Overtones, Harmonics, "Complex Tones." |
Simulation applets - Fourier: Making Waves |
| 5 |
More Complex Normal Modes Xylophone Bars and Tubular Chimes Real Strings (and why piano tuning is an art) Drum Head (demo and computer simulation), Church Bells Traveling Waves (1-d) |
Acoustic Simulation Applets Vibrations of Hand Bells |
| 6 |
Attack and Release of pitches Strike tones and other non-resonant noises "Uncertainty Principle" (EXAM) |
|
| 7 |
Non-linear Systems "Simple" model for a clarinet, bowed string ("self-driven" systems) Interesting solutions of non-linear physics problems The ascending/descending Chinese Gong Start of ideal gases. Atoms, Molecules, Phases of Matter Pressure, Temperature, Volume, Gas Laws |
J. Acoust. Soc. 74, 1325 (1983) [a bit technical] The Atom (Am. Nuc. Soc.) Atoms and Molecules Interactive Periodic Table |
| 8 |
Ideal Gases Microscopic and macroscopic "pictures" Sound as a (longitudinal) pressure wave Speed of Sound |
PhET Ideal Gas Java Applet PhET Sound Java Applet Ideal Gas Summary |
| 9 |
Loudness (decibels) Coupling of sound between instruments and Air Acoustic Impedance How much sound gets out? Intensity vs distance Wave Propagation in 2- and 3-d |
Multipole radiation animations Acoustic Impedance Defined Acoustic Impedance in Wikipedia |
| 10 |
Room Acoustics reverberation time Reflection/Absorption Auditoriums vs. Recording Studios Corner Reflectors |
Reverberation Time (Wikipedia) Room Acoustics Summary 2-D wave Applet ("ripple tank") 3-D wave Applet |
| 11 |
Room Acoustics con't Constructive and Destructive Interference Dispersal of waves as an alternative to absorption Review for Exam (EXAM II) |
Sound
Interference Pages Cox Diffuser Paper Cox and D'Antonio Concert Hall Acoustics paper |
| 12 |
Musical Electronics Magnetic Fields and Faraday's Law of Induction Microphones, Speakers, Guitar Pick-ups Electric Fields and Capacitance Microphones RC Time Constants |
Faraday's
Law (Wikipedia) Microphones (Wikipedia) |
| 13 |
Musical Electronics (con't) Cables and Shielding Audio Recording Methods Magnetic recording, optical recording. A to D and D to A (what is it?) |
Magnetic Recording (Wikipedia) Recording Technology History |
| 14 |
Special Effects, Electronic Music Review for Final |
|
| - | FINAL EXAM |