The Sounds of Music

1. The Sounds of Music

2. The Musical Sound Sound concepts parameters: duration amplitude frequency harmonics phase direction Analog representations Digital representations ADC-DAC sampling quantization format The Sounded Music music as performance live vs. recorded expression tempo dynamics vibrato timbre Instruments and Technique The Sight of Music the performer the environment The Sounds of Music

3. Olivier Messiaen (1908–92) Quatre études de rythme, 1949–50 2: Mode de valeurs et d'intensités, 1949

4. Pierre Boulez (1925–) Structures, book 1, for 2 pianos, 1951–2 premiered by Messiaen & Boulez in, Paris, 1952

5. The Musical Sound • Hearing: changes in pressure

6. frequency=~20Hz–20kHz [Heinrich Hertz 1857–94 (telegraph)] intensity ratio=~20–100dB [Alexander Graham Bell, 1847–1922 (telephone)]

7. ffffffffffmfmppppppppppp

9. Sound Concepts • A=amplitude • max. elongation • λ=wavelength • distance between two points of the same phase • f=frequency=1/λ • cycles per second (Hz)

10. overtones-harmonics-partials

11. tonesoundnoise

12. Phase • phase shifted by 180º • phase distortion, audio image out of focus

13. Analog • air pressure analogous to electrical voltage • continuous-time signals • problem: mechanical noise, multiplies in copying

14. Digital • air pressure-electrical voltage-binary digits (bit) • discrete-time signals • ADC • DAC

15. AnalogDigital encodingAnalog decoding

16. base two (0–1) base ten (0–9) Binary vs. Decimal 1001 9 1010 10 1011 11 1100 12 1101 13 1110 14 1111 15 16 bit

17. Sampling • distortion caused by too low a sampling rate • original • reconstructed

18. Foldover sampling: 8x 2x <2x reconstruction:good min. highlow (lowpass filter!)

19. Quantization • 1-bit vs. 4-bit • 1-bit=2 amplitude levels • 4-bit=16 amplitude levels

20. Quantization • 4-bit vs. 8-bit • the higher the bit-rate, the greater the dynamic range (from loud to soft) • 1-bit=6 bB, 16-bit=96 dB

21. Quantization and Sampling Rates • CD: 16 bit/44.1 kHz/stereo, 12 cm Disc: 650–700 MB • Red Book standard 1980 • DVD: 24 bit/96 kHz, 4.7 GB • 1998 • SACD: 2.8 MHz, 4.7 GB • 1999

22. MD, mp3, DAT… • compressed format, not recommended for research • MD • mp3 • DAT: good but magnetic…

23. 2-D 3-D temporal representation amplitude vs. time spectral representation amplitude vs. frequency frequency/intensity vs. time (spectrogram) Graphical Representations of Sound

24. Flute

25. Singing

26. Speaking Voice

27. Bird

28. Bat

29. Timbre as Expression • bel canto vs. pop • musician vs. singer • traditional vs. authentic • counterpoint vs. Klangmotiv

30. Sound of Music • “sol do la fa mi do re, sol do la ti do re do”“But it doesn’t mean anything!”“So we put in words, one word for every note, like this…” (Sound of Music) • “Thus, music no longer in need of words now seems more than ever in need of words.” (Scott Burnham) • 侯珅譯: 現在不需要文字的音樂似乎比有文字的音樂還要多)!? • “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

31. Literature • Clarke, Eric F., and Nicholas Cook, eds. Empirical Musicology: Aims, Methods, Prospects. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. • Parncutt, Richard, and Gary McPherson, eds. The Science & Psychology of Music Performance: Creative Strategies for Teaching and Learning. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. • Rink, John, ed. Musical Performance: A Guide to Understanding. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. • Day, Timothy. A Century of Recorded Music: Listening to Musical History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. • Rink, John, ed. The Practice of Performance: Studies in Musical Interpretation. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.