Physics of music

Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity and chords, actual or implied, in music. It is sometimes referred to as the "vertical" aspect of music, with melody being the "horizontal" aspect. Very often, harmony is a result of counterpoint or polyphony, several melodic lines or motifs being played at once, though harmony may control the counterpoint. The word harmony comes from the Greek ἁρμονία harmonía meaning "a fastening or join". The conce ...

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A vibration in a string is a wave. Usually a vibrating string produces a sound whose frequency is constant. Therefore, since frequency characterizes the pitch, the sound produced is a constant note. Vibrating strings are the basis of any string instrument like guitar, cello, or piano. Vibrating string - Speed of propagation of the wave. Let L be the length of the string, m its mass and T the tension.< ...

Including:

• Vibrating string - Speed of propagation of the wave
• Vibrating string - Frequency of the wave
• Vibrating string - Miscellaneous

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Valve sound - Amplifier 'class'. Transistor amplifiers are almost always class AB push pull, because for a given power, Class AB allows cheaper amplifiers, and push pull topology tends to cancel even order harmonic distortion products. The resulting distortion is therefore dominated by odd order harmonics, which to human sensibilities sound "harsh" etc. Transistor amplifiers made during the 1980s typically also had extremely high gain, but poor open loop linearity, and relied on large amounts of negative feedback ...

See also:

Valve sound, Valve sound - Audible differences, Valve sound - Psychoacoustics, Valve sound - Explanation, Valve sound - Device characteristics and distortion, Valve sound - Modern amplifier choices, Valve sound - Amplifier 'class', Valve sound - Amplifier bandwidth, Valve sound - Asymmetry, Valve sound - Negative feedback, Valve sound - Power supplies, Valve sound - Signal source limitations, Valve sound - Valve sound from transistor amplifiers, Valve sound - Transistor sound from valve amplifiers, Valve sound - Intentional distortion, Valve sound - Tubes, Valve sound - Solid state soft limiters, Valve sound - Valve sound trivia

Read more here: » Valve sound: Encyclopedia II - Valve sound - Modern amplifier choices

Let L be the length of the string, m its mass and T the tension. When the string is touched it bends as an arc of circle. Let R be the radius and θ the angle under the arc. Then . The string is recalled to its natural position b ...

See also:

Vibrating string, Vibrating string - Speed of propagation of the wave, Vibrating string - Frequency of the wave, Vibrating string - Miscellaneous

Read more here: » Vibrating string: Encyclopedia II - Vibrating string - Speed of propagation of the wave

On woodwind instruments, multiphonics can be produced either with new fingerings or by using different embouchures with conventional fingerings. There have been numerous fingering guides published for the woodwind player to achieve harmonics. In brass instruments, the most common method of producing multiphonics is by simultaneously playing the instrument and singing into it. When the sung note is part of the overtone series of the played note, a third note that is the sum of the frequencies of the sung note and the played note is pro ...

See also:

Multiphonic, Multiphonic - Technique, Multiphonic - How multiphonics work, Multiphonic - Notation, Multiphonic - Use in literature

Read more here: » Multiphonic: Encyclopedia II - Multiphonic - Technique

In more modern times, transistor amplifiers have become dominant, mainly because they are cheaper to produce, operate on lower voltages (including batteries, in applications such as car radios.), smaller in size, and most importantly, because of their reliability and shock resistance. However, valve amplifiers have retained a loyal following among audio fanatics, especially for SET's, in Japan, and in recent ye ...

See also:

Valve sound, Valve sound - Device characteristics, Valve sound - Bandwidth, Valve sound - Asymmetry, Valve sound - Negative feedback, Valve sound - Power Supplies, Valve sound - Modern amplifiers

Read more here: » Valve sound: Encyclopedia II - Valve sound - Modern amplifiers

String instruments are usually categorized by the technique used to produce sound. In order for a string instrument to produce sound, its string or strings must vibrate. There are three common ways to initiate vibration. String instrument - Plucking. Instruments such as the guitar and kora and sitar are plucked, either by a finger or thumb, or by some other device such as a plectrum. String instrument - Bowing. Instruments like the cello and rebec are usually played by d ...

See also:

String instrument, String instrument - Types of string insturuments, String instrument - Plucking, String instrument - Bowing, String instrument - Striking, String instrument - Other methods, String instrument - Contact points along the string, String instrument - Production of multiple notes, String instrument - Sound amplification, String instrument - Through resonance, String instrument - Electric amplification

Read more here: » String instrument: Encyclopedia II - String instrument - Types of string insturuments

String instruments are usually categorized by the technique used to produce sound. In order for a string instrument to produce sound, its string or strings must vibrate. There are three common ways to initiate vibration. String instrument - Plucking. Instruments such as the guitar, kora and sitar are plucked, either by a finger or thumb, or by some other device such as a plectrum. String instrument - Bowing. Instruments like the cello and rebec are usually played by draw ...

See also:

String instrument, String instrument - Types of string instruments, String instrument - Plucking, String instrument - Bowing, String instrument - Striking, String instrument - Other methods, String instrument - String length or scale length, String instrument - Contact points along the string, String instrument - Production of multiple notes, String instrument - Sound amplification, String instrument - Through resonance, String instrument - Electric amplification

Read more here: » String instrument: Encyclopedia II - String instrument - Types of string instruments

Audio system measurements - Analog Electrical. Frequency response  The signal should be passed at least over the audible range (usually quoted as 20 Hz to 20 kHz) with no significant peaks or troughs. The human ear can discern differences in level of about 3 dB, so peaks and troughs must be less than this. Modern equipment is capable of less than ±1 dB variation over the quoted frequency range. Total harmonic distortion (THD)  For high fidelity, this is usual ...

See also:

Audio system measurements, Audio system measurements - Measurable performance, Audio system measurements - Analog Electrical, Audio system measurements - Mechanical, Audio system measurements - Digital, Audio system measurements - Unquantifiable?

Read more here: » Audio system measurements: Encyclopedia II - Audio system measurements - Measurable performance

Vincenzo Galilei (father of Galileo Galilei) may have been the first person to advocate equal temperament (in a 1581 treatise). The first person known to introduce a mathematically accurate specification for equal temperament is probably Chu Tsai-Yu (朱載堉) in the Ming Dynasty, who published a theory of the temperament in 1584. Soon after, European mathematicians Simon Stevin (1585, inspired by V. Galilei) and Marin Mersenne ( ...

See also:

Equal temperament, Equal temperament - Explanation, Equal temperament - History, Equal temperament - Twelve-tone equal temperament, Equal temperament - Cent values of equal temperament, Equal temperament - Non-12 TET, Equal temperament - Sources

Read more here: » Equal temperament: Encyclopedia II - Equal temperament - History

Western common practice music usually cannot be played in just intonation, even when it is confined to a single key. This is because the supertonic chord, or ii-chord, which is the most important of the minor triads in a major key, serves to bridge between the dominant and subdominant, having a root at once a minor third below the root of the subdominant triad, and hence sharing two of its notes, and a fifth above the root of the dominant triad or dominant seventh chord. The problem becomes still worse when modulation, the key changes so imp ...

See also:

Mathematics of musical scales, Mathematics of musical scales - Pythagorean tuning, Mathematics of musical scales - Just intonation, Mathematics of musical scales - Temperament, Mathematics of musical scales - Equal temperament, Mathematics of musical scales - Sound samples, Mathematics of musical scales - Source

Read more here: » Mathematics of musical scales: Encyclopedia II - Mathematics of musical scales - Temperament

All musical tuning have advantages and disadvantages. Twelve tone equal temperament is the standard and most usual tuning system used in western music today because it gives the advantage of modulation to any key without dramatically going out of tune, as all keys are equally and slightly out of tune. However, just intonation provides the advantage of being entirely in tune, with at least some, and possible a great deal, loss in ease of modulation. Referring to 12-tet the composer Terry Riley, who has written music for both tuning systems, h ...

See also:

Musical tuning, Musical tuning - Subjects in general, Musical tuning - Ways of tuning the twelve-note chromatic scale, Musical tuning - Tunings of other scale systems, Musical tuning - Comparisons and controversies between tunings

Read more here: » Musical tuning: Encyclopedia II - Musical tuning - Comparisons and controversies between tunings

The lowest possible frequency of a harmonic oscillator is called its fundamental frequency. This frequency determines the musical pitch or note that is created by vibration over the full length of the string or air column. In nearly every musical instrument, the fundamental note is always accompanied by other, higher-frequency tones that are generally called overtones. In pitched (i.e., non-percussion) instruments, these shorter, faster waves are reflected between the two ends of the string or air column. As the reflecte ...

See also:

Harmonic series music, Harmonic series music - Description of the harmonic series, Harmonic series music - Terminology, Harmonic series music - Harmonics and tuning, Harmonic series music - Timbre of musical instruments, Harmonic series music - Register and special effects of musical instruments

Read more here: » Harmonic series music: Encyclopedia II - Harmonic series music - Description of the harmonic series

Analysis means decomposing something complex into simpler, more basic parts. As we have seen, there is a physical basis for modeling light, sound, and radio waves as being made up of various amounts of all different frequencies. Any process that quantifies the various amounts vs. frequency can be called spectrum analysis. It can be done on many short segments of time, or less often on longer segment ...

See also:

Frequency spectrum, Frequency spectrum - Spectrum analysis

Read more here: » Frequency spectrum: Encyclopedia II - Frequency spectrum - Spectrum analysis

The ratio between two adjacent semitones can be found with a few steps: 1. Let an be the frequency of a tone n, with a12 an octave above a0. This creates twelve tones for each octave. 2. Since the frequency ratio of a tone from one octave to the next is 2:1, the ratio of the frequency of one tone (a12) to the frequency of a tone an octave lower (a0) is 2:1 as well, so < ...

See also:

Equal temperament, Equal temperament - Explanation, Equal temperament - History, Equal temperament - Twelve-tone equal temperament, Equal temperament - Cent values of equal temperament, Equal temperament - Non-12 TET, Equal temperament - Sources

Read more here: » Equal temperament: Encyclopedia II - Equal temperament - Twelve-tone equal temperament

Several subsets of enthusiasts consider that "pure" valve amplifiers shall not use anything except valves as active devices. Others in contrast will use valves for the audio circuit, but will accept the use of semiconductor gain devices in the power supply or as constant current sources, etc. Other schisms concern the use of triodes vs. tetrodes and pentodes, and the use of directly heated valves vs. indirectly heated valves. What most valve enthusiasts will agree on is that valves "sound better" than transistors, although ther ...

See also:

Valve sound, Valve sound - Audible differences, Valve sound - Psychoacoustics, Valve sound - Explanation, Valve sound - Device characteristics and distortion, Valve sound - Modern amplifier choices, Valve sound - Amplifier 'class', Valve sound - Amplifier bandwidth, Valve sound - Asymmetry, Valve sound - Negative feedback, Valve sound - Power supplies, Valve sound - Signal source limitations, Valve sound - Valve sound from transistor amplifiers, Valve sound - Transistor sound from valve amplifiers, Valve sound - Intentional distortion, Valve sound - Tubes, Valve sound - Solid state soft limiters, Valve sound - Valve sound trivia

Read more here: » Valve sound: Encyclopedia II - Valve sound - Valve sound trivia

The distance between each step and the next is aurally the same for any two adjacent steps; though, because steps form a geometric sequence, the difference in frequency increases from one to the next. A linear sequence of one frequency difference would create ever smaller intervals (ratios), such as the harmonic series. See also logarithmic scale. Equal temperaments allow the use of integer notation; a single integer can be used to represent the pitch. The pitch classes can then be expressed in terms of modular arithmetic modulo the number of divisions of the octave, and this expedites mathematic ...

See also:

Equal temperament, Equal temperament - Explanation, Equal temperament - History, Equal temperament - Twelve-tone equal temperament, Equal temperament - Cent values of equal temperament, Equal temperament - Non-12 TET, Equal temperament - Sources

Read more here: » Equal temperament: Encyclopedia II - Equal temperament - Explanation

Sound is vibration, as perceived by the sense of hearing. We usually hear vibrations that travel through air, but sound can also travel through gases, liquids and solids. It cannot travel through a vacuum (such as exists in outer space). When the vibrations reach our ears, they are converted into nerve impulses that are sent to our brains, allowing us to perceive the sound. In more technical language, sound "is an alternation in pressure, particle displacement, or particle velocity propagated in an elastic material" (Olson 1957 ...

Including:

• Sound - Attributes of sound
• Sound - Frequency and wavelength
• Sound - Amplitude
• Sound - Velocity
• Sound - Types of sounds
• Sound - Perception of sound
• Sound - Sound measurement

Read more here: » Sound: Encyclopedia - Sound

Five and seven tone equal temperament, with 240 and 171 cent steps relatively, seem the most common outside of 12-tET. A Thai xylophone measured by Morton (1974) "varied only plus or minus 5 cents," from 7-tET. A Ugandan Chop xylophone measured by Haddon (1952) also tuned to 171 cent steps. Gamelans are tuned to 5-tET according to Kunst (1949), but according to Hood (1966) and McPhee (1966) their tuning varies widely and according to Tenzer (2000) contain stretched octaves. It is now well-accepted that of the two primary tuning systems in Ga ...

See also:

Equal temperament, Equal temperament - Explanation, Equal temperament - History, Equal temperament - Twelve-tone equal temperament, Equal temperament - Cent values of equal temperament, Equal temperament - Non-12 TET, Equal temperament - Sources

Read more here: » Equal temperament: Encyclopedia II - Equal temperament - Non-12 TET

Engineers and musicians have long debated the question of valve sound versus transistor sound. Previous attempts to measure this difference have always assumed linear operation of the test amplifier. This conventional method of frequency response, distortion and noise measurement has shown that no significant difference exists. However, amplifiers are often severely overloaded by signal transients (THD 30%). Under this condition there is a major difference in the harmonic distortion components of the amplified signal, with tubes, transistors, and operational amplif ...

See also:

Valve sound, Valve sound - Audible differences, Valve sound - Psychoacoustics, Valve sound - Explanation, Valve sound - Device characteristics and distortion, Valve sound - Modern amplifier choices, Valve sound - Amplifier 'class', Valve sound - Amplifier bandwidth, Valve sound - Asymmetry, Valve sound - Negative feedback, Valve sound - Power supplies, Valve sound - Signal source limitations, Valve sound - Valve sound from transistor amplifiers, Valve sound - Transistor sound from valve amplifiers, Valve sound - Intentional distortion, Valve sound - Tubes, Valve sound - Solid state soft limiters, Valve sound - Valve sound trivia

Read more here: » Valve sound: Encyclopedia II - Valve sound - Audible differences