The Physics of Sound Uses a hands-on and experimental approach. This book incorporates developments in digital audio technology—including consumer products—into a firm foundation of the physics of sound. Selected topics are interesting to a broad audience, with many applications of sound and waves beyond strictly musical applications. No background in physics, mathematics, or music is required.
New to this edition are: summaries for each chapter, numerous new problems added, new applications presented throughout, updated information on musical synthesizers, as well as updates for recent information on the ear, new discussion of the left-handed piano, and updates for modern technology, particularly MP3.
David G. Stork is Chief Scientist of Ricoh Innovations Inc., and Consulting Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He received his B.S. degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from the University of Maryland. Dr. Stork is an accomplished orchestral and chamber timpanist/percussionist, has performed in major concert halls throughout the United States, and performed on more than a dozen compact disks, including four world premier recordings.
Chapter 2. Waves and Sound
Chapter 3. Standing Waves and the Overtone Series
Chapter 4. Analysis and Synthesis of Complex Waves
Chapter 5. Electronic Music and Synthesizers
Chapter 6. The Human Ear and Voice
Chapter 7. Sound Recording and Reproduction
Chapter 8. Room and Auditorium Acoustics
Chapter 9. Musical Temperament and Pitch
Chapter 10. Woodwind Instruments
Chapter 11. Brass Instruments
Chapter 12. String Instruments
Chapter 13. The Piano
Chapter 14. Percussion Instruments
Appendix A: Elementary Music Theory
Appendix B: Terms and Units
Appendix C: Prefixes with Common Units
Glossary of Terms
Index