Physics of music

String instrument - Through resonance. A vibrating string on its own makes only a very quiet sound, so string instruments are usually constructed in such a way that this sound is amplified either by a hollow resonating chamber, a soundboard, or both. On the violin, for example, the taut strings pass over a bridge resting on a hollow box. The strings' vibrations are distributed via the brid ...

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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

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The very earliest amplifiers usually had single-ended topologies with the most basic type of vacuum tube, known as a triode. An audio amplifier using this topology will always be in class A. Class A single-ended triode amplifiers (known as SETs) have a characteristic asymmetrical distortion spectrum, a simple and monotonically decaying series of harmonics, dominated by modest levels of second harmonic distortion and followed by both even- and odd-numbered harmonics. Second harmonic distortion (multiplication of the original frequencie ...

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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

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Audio valves typically have only modest gain, and are more linear than bipolar transistors in the area of interest. This makes it possible to design very simple valve circuits that rely on this inherent open-loop linearity and have little, or indeed no, negative feedback, and thus have very simple distortion spectra. Transistor amplifiers could achieve very high gains, so engineers use negative feedback to limit the gain. The feedback path used only resistors, which are highly linear. This results in very good, repeatable linearity wi ...

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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

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The major limitation was that although it was possible to make good recordings and vinyl pressings, very few cartridges of the time were capable of replaying them without gross distortion at high frequencies due to their excessive tip mass. There were only a few cartridges that were almost up to the task (notably Deccas, and Denon and Ortofon moving coils) but they were typically used in pick-up arms with bearings that rattled from the mechanical energy fed into them by the cartridge. Further, there was no electronic music with extreme bass, and as high frequencies mostly contained noise and distortion, i ...

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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

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Some engineers have been successful in developing transistor amplifiers that produce a sound quality very similar to the tube sound. Usually this involves using a circuit topology similar to that used in tube amplifiers. In 1982, Tom Scholz introduced the Rockman, which used bipolar transistors, but achieved a quality distorted sound adopted by many well known musicians. Advanced digital signal processing offers the possibility to simulate valve sound. Computer algorithms are currently available that transform digital sound from a CD or other digital source into a distorted digital sound signal that even 'golden ...

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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

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The first audio amplifiers were, of neccessity, valve amplifiers since the transistor had not been invented. In more modern times, transistor amplifier have become dominant, mainly because they are cheaper to produce, and operate on lower voltages (including batteries, eg applications such as car radios.) Valve amplifiers have retained a loyal following among Hi-Fi fanatics, especially for SETs, in Japan, and in recent years th ...

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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 - Explanation

There has been considerable debate over the characteristics of valves versus bipolar junction transistors. Some have argued that the quadratic transconductance of tubes compared with the exponential transconductance of transistors was an important factor. This is not as important as circuit topology, since MOSFETs exhibit a transfer characteristic similar to tubes but fail to reproduce valve sound in modern amplifiers. The subject is further complicated by the way triodes and MOSFETs have certain similarities in their transfer charact ...

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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 - Device characteristics and distortion

Valve sound - Tubes. Tubes (or valves) are often still used to impart an audibly pleasant distortion characteristic to solid state amplifiers (such as the use of a 12AX7 tube within an otherwise transistorized amplifier). Alternatively, one may use a light bulb in the feedback loop of an infinite gain multiple feedback (IGMF) circuit. The sluggish response of the light bulb's resistance (which varies according to temperature) can thus be used to moderate the sound and attain a valve-like "soft limiting" of the output. 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 - Intentional distortion

Tube amplifiers usually use unregulated power supplies. This was originally due to the high cost associated with high-quality high-voltage power supplies. The typical plate (anode) supply was simply a rectifier and a filter capacitor. When the tube amplifier was operated at high volume, the power supply voltage would dip, reducing power output and causing signal modulation. In contrast, modern transistor amplifiers often use high-quality, well-regulated power supplies. The output voltage remains constant, even at the peak of the amplifier rating. For this reason, the power suppl ...

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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 - Power supplies

In bowed instruments, the bow is normally placed perpendicularly to the string, at a point half way between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge. However, different bow placements can be selected to change timbre. Application of the bow close to the bridge (known as sul ponticello) produces an intense, sometimes harsh sound, which acoustically emphasizes the upper harmonics. Bowing above the fingerboard (sul tasto) produces a thin, "breathy" sound, emphasizing the fundamental frequency. Similar timbral distinctions are also possible with plucked string instruments by selecting an approp ...

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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

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The relative amplitudes of the various harmonics primarily determine the timbre of different instruments and sounds, though formants also have a role. For example, the clarinet and saxophone have similar mouthpieces and reeds, and both produce sound through resonance of air inside a chamber whose mouthpiece end is considered closed. Because the clarinet's resonator is cylindrical, the even-numbered harmonics are suppressed, which produces a purer tone. The saxophone's resonator is conical, which allows the even-numbered harmonics to sound mo ...

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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

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In wind instruments, which produce sounds with a resonating air column, the lowest possible note is the fundamental resonance of the entire instrument. For a given length of resonator, only notes in the harmonic series of the resonator can be played clearly: higher notes are played by exciting higher harmonics, which is accomplished by changing the vibration at the reed or mouthpiece. Notes that are not in the harmonic series are played by changing the effect ...

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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

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In bowed instruments, the bow is normally placed perpendicularly to the string, at a point half way between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge. However, different bow placements can be selected to change timbre. Application of the bow close to the bridge (known as sul ponticello) produces an intense, sometimes harsh sound, which acoustically emphasizes the upper harmonics. Bowing above the fingerboard (sul tasto) produces a thin, "breathy" sound, emphasizing the fundamental frequency. Similar timbral distinctions are also possible with plucked string instruments by selecting an approp ...

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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 - Contact points along the string

If the first 15 harmonics are transposed into the span of one octave, they approximate some of the notes in what the West has adopted as the chromatic scale based on the fundamental tone. The Western chromatic scale has been modified into twelve equal semitones, and in relation to that scale, many of the harmonics are slightly out of tune, and the 7th, 11th, and 13th harmonics are significantly so. In the late 1930s, composer Paul Hindemith ranked musical intervals according to their relative ...

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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 - Harmonics and tuning

Harmonic vs. partial. Harmonics are often called partials. In some contexts, "partial" may refer to an overtone that is not an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, but this can be confusing in wire-stringed instruments where, due to inharmonicity, none of the harmonics vibrate at exact integer multiples of the fundamental. In music, and especially among tuning professionals, the words "h ...

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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 - Terminology

In general, when playing a wind instrument, the tone that comes out consists of the fundamental—the pitch usually identified as the note being played—as well as pitches with frequencies that are integer multiples of the frequency of the fundamental. (Only pure sine wave tones lack these overtones.) Normally, we perceive only the fundamental pitch as being played. By controlling the air flow through the instrument and the shape of the column (by changing fingering or valve position), a player may produce two distinct tones not part of the same h ...

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

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If we take the ratios constituting a scale in just intonation, there will be a largest prime number to be found among their prime factorizations. This is called the prime limit of the scale; a scale which uses only the primes 2, 3 and 5 is called a 5-limit scale. Below is a typical example of a 5-limit justly tuned scale, one of the scales Johannes Kepler presents in his Harmonice mundi or Harmonics of the World of 1619, in connection with planetary motion. The same scale was given in transposed form by Alexander Malcolm in 1721 and theorist ...

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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

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The first real use of multiphonics in literature are of the brass "horn chord" style. Carl Maria von Weber used this technique in his horn literature; it was used in the 18th century. Woodwind multiphonics and brass lip multiphonics did not make appearances in classical music until the 20th century, with pioneering compositions such as Luciano Berio's Sequenzas for solo wind instruments using them extensively. However, usage in jazz predates this, having been used as early as the 1940s, with Illinois Jacquet an early proponent of the practice. Multiphonics were also widely used by John Coltrane, and jazz fl ...

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

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Tube amplifiers usually use unregulated power supplies. This was originally due to the high cost associated with high quality high voltage power supplies. The typical plate supply was no more than a rectifier and a filter capacitor. When the tube amplifier was operated at high volume, the power supply voltage would dip, reducing power output. In contrast, modern transistor amplifiers often use high quality, well regulated power supplies. The output voltage remains constant, even at the peak of the amplifier rating. For this reason, the power suppl ...

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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 - Power Supplies

A vibrating string on its own makes only a very quiet sound, so string instruments are usually constructed in such a way that this sound is amplified either by a hollow resonating chamber, a soundboard, or both. On the violin, for example, the taut strings pass over a bridge resting on a hollow box. The strings' vibrations are distributed via the bridge to all surfaces of the instrument, and thus amplified. Achieving effective and beautiful resonance is something of an art, and the makers of string instruments often seek very high quality woods to this end, particularly spruce (chosen for its combination o ...

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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 - Through resonance

Early amplifiers were of necessity valve amplifiers since the transistor did not become common in consumer amplifiers until the late 1960s. The very earliest amplifiers usually had single-ended topologies with the most basic type of vacuum tube, known as a triode. An audio amplifier using this topology will always be in class A. Class A single-ended triode amplifiers (known as SET's) have a characteristic asymmetrical distortion spectrum, a simple and monotonically decaying series of harmonics, dominated by modest levels of second harmonic d ...

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 - Asymmetry