MUSC 2610

Midterm Study Guide

Fall 2013, Dr. Greene
The midterm exam (10/9/13) will cover the following terms and concepts.

SOUND PRINCIPLES
Propagation of sound in air-compression and refraction of air molecules being pushed in a wave
form

Conversion of sound into neural impulses- in the cochlea and the basilar membrane

Sound wave terms:

-

Cycle-one full compression in refraction

Period- the amount of time it takes to complete one cycle

Frequency- number of cycles per seconds in Hz

Amplitude- The maximum mediation of sound

Phase- The point along the waveform at any given moment

Threshold of audibility/pain- the lowest sound we can hear (0dB) the loudest sound we can hear
is (120dB)

Frequency range of human hearing- 20Hz to 20,000Htz

Pitch perception-how the ear hears a frequency

Loudness: the decibel-comparing how intense the sound actually is.

Equal Loudness (Fletcher-Munson) curve- A curve that shows where our perception of loudness
is

Amplitude envelope- ADSR (attack, Decay, Sustain, Release)

Sound production by:

-

Strings-The vibration of the spring after being plucked moves the air molecule to make a
sound

Reeds- vibrates against the mouth piece and allows air to flow and stop with each
vibration to make a sound

Flute- air is blown across the blow hole and the air goes in and out of the column

Brass- vibration of the lips produces the sound wave

FREQUENCY SPECIFICS
Spectrum-the frequency of a sound

Fundamental-the lowest frequency that defines pitch

Partials (harmonic and inharmonic) harmonic is integer multiples of the fundamentals and
inharmonic is non-integer multiples

Noise-random energy across the frequency spectrum; non periodic wave form

Timbre-The tone quality and color of a sound

STUDIO BASICS
Balanced and unbalanced cables-Balanced cables picks up less outside interference and
unbalanced does not

Mic level vs. line level- Mic level is a lower level from the mic; line level is use to boost the mic
level using a preamp

Transducer-Turns one form of energy to another

Dynamic microphone-Magnate in the coil and not very sensitive to sound

Condenser microphone-two plate system and is very sensitive to sound

Microphone directionality- cardioid shaped like a heart; omnidirectional picks up sound all
around; bidirectional picks up sound from two different ends

DIGITAL AUDIO
Analog vs. Digital- Analog is continuous sound and digital is a series of numbers in sound

ADC/DAC- audio to digital converter; digital to analog converter

Sample- measures the amplitude of sound given at an instant

Sampling rate- the number of samples per second

Bit depth-tell us the resolution of amplitude in a sample

CD standard (sampling rate and bit depth)-44.1kz is sampling rate and 16-bit is the bit depth

Trace the path of audio (in words and/or a drawing) from microphone to computer, and back out
to speakers. At each stage, indicate whether the signal is analog or digital.
Sound vibrations-electrical energy-ADC-digital-cpu-digital-DAC converter-electrical energysound analog wave