Music 170: Musical Acoustics
Fall 2012
Tamara Smyth, trsmyth@ucsd.edu
Department of Music,
University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
September 27, 2012
Course Information
Teaching Assistants
• Joe Mariglio: jmarigli@ucsd.edu
• Jason Ponce: jbponce@ucsd.edu
Meeting Time and Place
Meeting Dates: 2012/9/27 - 2012/12/6
Time
Lecture:
TuTh 12:30PM -1:50PM
Office hours: After lecture or by appointment
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Location
CPMC 136
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Instructor
Smyth
Smyth
Mariglio
Ponce
Course Description
An introduction to the acoustics of music with particular emphasis on contemporary digital
techniques for understanding and manipulating sound. Prerequisites: Music 1A, 2A, or 4.
Cross-listed with ICAM 103. Offered Fall Quarter Only.
Prerequisites
Music 1A, 2A, or 4.
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Grading
• Midterm 15%
• Assignments 25%
• Paper/Project 30%
• Final Exam 30%
Required Textbooks
• The Science of Sound, Third Edition, by Rossing, Moore, and Wheeler (AddisonWesley 2002).
• Music 170 on-line notes.
Reference
• A Digital Signal Processing Primer, Ken Steiglitz, Addison Wesley, 1996, 9780805316841
Paper/Project
There is a choice between a research paper or a project.
• Research paper: The final research paper should be 5-10 pages long, double spaced.
Because this is a research paper, you must use sources beyond what is covered in the
book and in class.
The subject of the paper must relate to some aspect of musical acoustics, specifically
the study of vibrations in the physical world or the simulation of vibrations by means
of a computer (e.g. the study of a particular aspect of an acoustic musical instrument,
how a computer produces a type of sound effect, how our brain processes some specific
quality of sound, etc).
Topics should be specific enough to be distinct from those of your peers, and to meet
the 5-10 page constraint. For example, a paper that focuses on all the acoustics of the
piano would be too broad in scope.
The paper’s grade will be based on both its style, i.e. that it consistently follows a
standard research style (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago, etc), and its content, i.e. the writing
makes sense, it is well written and clear, the information is correct and accurate etc.
• Project:
If you elect to do a project, you must submit an accompanying short (approx. 2 pages)
paper explaining your project. You will also be expected to briefly present/demo your
project to the class during the final classes of the quarter (exact schedule TBA).
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A suitable project would be to design and build your own musical instrument (acoustic,
electronic, or a hybrid!), and playing music on it for the class presentation. Your
instrument should be capable of producing different pitches and should demonstrate
that you know about vibration and projection of sound.
Projects may be done in pairs. Pairing up is encouraged, though you should be clear
in your proposal (see below) with whom you will be working and what each student
will contribute.
• Proposals (both research paper and project)
Each student must submit a list of 3 proposed topics, each with a brief description
(and possibly a drawing if appropriate), ranked in order of preference. If you are doing
a project, the proposal should state very clearly with whom you will be working, and
the role of each contributor. Due Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012.
Important Dates
• Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012: Project and research topic proposals are due.
• Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012: Approved topics returned to students.
• Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012: Midterm.
• Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012: Thanksgiving holiday.
• Week 10-11 (dates TBD): In class project demonstrations/presentations.
• Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012: Last day of class. All research and project papers are due.
Schedule and Online Lecture Notes (subject to change)
Vibrations, Waves, and Sound: Chapters 1-4
• Week 1:
– Lecture 1: Introduction to Music 170 and Musical Acoustics
• Week 2:
– Lecture 2a: Physics review and vibrating systems
– Lecture 2b: Waves
• Week 3:
– Lecture 3a: Resonance
∗ resonance of a mass-spring vibrator
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phase of driven vibrations
standing waves on a string
partials, harmonics, and overtones
open and closed pipes
acoustic impedance
helmholtz resonator
– Lecture 3b: Discrete-time signals, sinusoids, and frequency analysis
Perception and Measurement of Sound: Chapters 5-9
• Week 4:
– Lecture 4a: Hearing
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hearing mechanism
critical bands
binaural hearing and localization
logarithms in sound and music
decibels, sound power/intensity/pressure levels
– Lecture 4b: Perceptual Aspects of hearing
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loudness of pure and complex tones
masking
just noticeable difference
pitch and timbre, Fourier analysis, combination tones
musical scales, tuning, temperament, and intonation
Musical Instruments: Chapters 10-14
• Week 5:
– Lecture 5a: String instruments
∗ string as a waveguide
∗ plucked, struck and bowed string
∗ string instrument bodies
– Lecture 5b: Brass instruments
∗ acoustic tubes
∗ pressure-controlled valves
∗ mouthpiece, valves and slides
• Week 6:
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– Lecture 6a: Woodwind instruments
∗ Clarinet, saxophone, toneholes
– Midterm, Thursday, Nov.1, 2012.
• Week 7:
– Lecture 6b: Percussion instruments
∗ vibration of bars, membranes, plates
– Lecture 7a: Keyboard instruments
∗ piano, clavichord, harpsichord, organs
The Human Voice: Chapters 15-17
• Week 8:
– Lecture 14: Speech production
– Lecture 15: Speech recognition and synthesis
• Week 9:
– Lecture 9a: Singing:
– Thanksgiving Holiday
The Acoustics of Rooms: Chapters 23
• Week 10:
– Auditorium Acoustics
∗ direct, early and reverberant sound
– TBD
• Week 11:
– Project presentations
– Project presentations:
Assignments
Assignments will be handed out every Tuesday, and due one week later.
• Week 1:
– Read Chapters 1-4 of The Science of Sound.
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• Week 2:
–
• Week 3:
• Week 4:
– Read Chapters 5-9 of The Science of Sound.
• Week 5:
– Read Chapters 10-14 of The Science of Sound.
– Paper/project topic proposals due Thursday, Oct. 25.
• Week 6:
• Week 7:
• Week 8:
– Read Chapters 15-17 of The Science of Sound.
• Week 9 (Thanksgiving):
• Week 10:
– Read Chapter 23 of The Science of Sound.
• Week 11:
– Project presentations.
– Papers due Thursday, Dec. 6.
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