Acoustics in Music
Through out the history of music, acoustics have played a major role. After all if it were not for acoustics the quality of sound that we know today would not exist. The word acoustics comes from the Greek word akouein, which means, “to hear”(Encarta Encyclopedia). Since music has to be heard in most cases for enjoyment, acoustics obviously take on a very important role in the pleasure that music brings to the ear. Acoustical architecture and design are two key elements in the way music sounds. For example, an electric guitar played in a concert hall would sound very different compared to the sound produced in a small room. These differences can be explained by the acoustical design of the room and the reverb created by both the instrument and the room in which it is played. These differences signify the importance of acoustics in music.
A Roman architect named Marcus Pollio, who lived in the first century BC, was the first to study the acoustics of buildings. “He made some pertinent observations on the subject and some astute guesses concerning reverberation and interference”(Encarta). Reverberation and interference are two of the more important aspects of acoustical architecture. Both deal with the sound waves music or instruments make. By understanding reverberation, which is the echoing of sound waves, early architects could better construct buildings and auditoriums that would produce better acoustics. An architect has two types of material he can use to modify a building to deal with reverberation and the quality of sound. In many buildings such as meeting halls and auditoriums where echoes are not wanted, absorption materials such as cork and felt are used to absorb reverberations. On the other hand, in buildings such as concert halls and opera houses where reverberation is important reflecting material is used. Materials such as metal and most stones can be use to reflect sound waves to the audience. With these materials an architect can modify the way sound travels in his building.
Another aspect of acoustics that architects and conductors most take into consideration are the number of people seated in the audience.
Most people are familiar with the word "music", however they barely consider the definition of it. After carefully think, everyone has their own opinions on this term and it is hard to have an uniform criterion of music sounds. According to the text book, Michael B. Bakan states five propositions to define the music. The first one is about the tone and the second one talks about the music is organized in some way. The next two are claims that music is human organized and a product of human intention and perception. The last proposition argues music cannot separate from Western culture. Among these propositions, I think the music is a product of human intention and perception is most interesting and worth to discuss. So I assert that the most
Acousmatic music can be challenging to communicate its intention to the listener. Unlike traditional music their is 'no score, no system and no pre-segmented discrete units like notes' (Anderson, 2007; p. 2). Acousmatic music uses what is heard without seeing or knowing the physical origin of the sound as a compositional tool (Contré, WWW). 'It is a type of electroacoustic music, which exists in a recorded format, transmitted and perceived, during performances, via the loudspeaker' (Anderson, p. 2). Rather than understanding conventional musical forms acousmatic music may rely only on communication. Communication primarily focuses on language. There are different forms of language when introduced to electroacoustic music. Language can be understood through listening, perception and identification or understanding (Adkins, 1999; p. 2; Delalande, 1998; pp. 26 - 49; Nudds, 2007; p.7; Seddon, 2005; p. 1). These will be looked at to see if they can help in communicating the intention of acousmatic music to the listener. Understanding language beforehand may help in better understanding listening, perception and identification.
To design something is to conceive and invent. It is the art of creating the arrangement of parts or details of something. Furthermore, the point of designing something is to meet a need or to solve a defined problem. Each of the different design tasks involved in the concert scenario requires a different type of design expertise. There are basically four areas of design involved - acoustics, electronics, industrial design and mechanical design. Each of these areas overlaps with the other somewhat. Furthermore, each of these areas has an ‘art’ side and a ‘science’ side to them.
It is true that the strings alone create the musical sound, but the problem is that the strings on their own cannot create a loud enough sound for everyone to hear and enjoy. The sound must be increased and this can be done through the use of an acoustic guitar by using a sound box, which is a resonant cavity and a soundboard. The soundboard is vibrated through the bridge, which in turn makes it vibrate. Because the soundboard consists of a larger surface than the strings alone, more air volume is used which produces louder sound.
The Use of Electronic Technology in 20th and 21st Century Music In this essay, I have examined the use of electronic technology within 20th and 21st Century music. This has involved analysis of the development and continuing refinement of the computer in today’s music industry, as well as the theory of the synthesiser and the various pioneers of electronic technology, including Dr. Robert Moog and Les Paul. Also within the essay, I have discussed the increasing use of computers in the recording studio. The computer has become an indispensable tool in ensuring that both recording and playback sound quality is kept at the maximum possible level. Many positive ideas have come from the continued onslaught of computerisation.
The book is divided into four chapters: 1) Humanly Organized Sound, 2) Music in Society and Culture, 3) Culture and Society in Music, and 4) Soundly Organized Humanity. In chapter one, Blacking discusses the analysis of sound. He begins by describing music as humanly organized sound. His overarching theme is that “the function of tones in relation to each other cannot be explained adequately as part of a closed system” (30). In other words, music can’t be analyzed simply by one set of rules. This is because every single culture has a different system that they use to structure and compose their music. In order to adequately analyze a society’s music we have to study their “system.” We must learn what music means to them. Then, and only then, can we accurately and completely analyze what a particular type or piece of music means to a particular society and culture.
In order to create innovative public architecture, considered to be the most civic, costly, time intensive and physical of the arts, the project holds a degree of risk, strife, and negotiation . Overcoming these tasks and creating worthy public architecture is a challenge designers try to accomplish, but are rarely successful. The people involved in a potential public building, can be larger than the building itself. Public architecture tries to please all, even the doubters and critics, but because of the all these factors, a building is closer to failing than succeeding.
Exton, Peter, “The Room Acoustics of the Guangzhou Opera house”, Harold Marshall Group Consultant 2010, Marshall Day Acoustics
Music and the relationships of music have changed drastically in our society. The course of studies and the evaluations of the applications of the technology of music, the making and the listening of music have changed in the way we listen to music, the styles of music in our society and in the media. The importance of the technology in music today, has, over the past century been charted through the study of musical examples and through viewing how human values are reflected in this century's timely music. There are very many different types of music that are listened to. There are readings, writings, lectures and discussions on all the different types of music.
The space in which the audience occupies may feel cluttered, or may even be flooded at the superfluous amount of people attending. The shared experience won't feel genuine as there are so many people responding. Ironically, it may feel as though one is alone, even if there are plenty of people nearby. Finally, a large number of people may make the performance literally unwatchable. This can occur from an assortment of reasons, but it will most likely vary from audience to audience. One example of this may be from an extremely large audience that takes up so much space that one can no longer correctly experience the performance.
Walsh, M. 2013. Studio Monitor Advice Pt 2: Placement + Understanding The Sound of Your Room « Dubspot Blog. [online] Available at: http://blog.dubspot.com/studio-monitor-advice-pt-2/ [Accessed: 1 Dec 2013].
Music: the art of organized noise. The blend of pitch and rhythm combined in different mediums and enjoyed by our ears. A very interpretive art, music isn’t very clearly constricted or defined by one definition. With so many varieties of music, it’s difficult to say what aspect is really the most important. Some people think music’s history and the appreciation of music are the most important aspects to take into consideration. Some think complex in rhythms and melodies make the best music. Some people devote their whole lives to studying one genre of music in order to fully understand how that genre works. While all of these aspects of music are important, none of them can truly be compared with each other on a fair playing field. Music of different genres, eras, and geographic backgrounds were written for different purposes, different people, and different settings. Still, there is still one overarching theme that applies to all forms of music new or old: the way the composer presents his or her creation. The performance and presentation of a work of music is like the icing on the top of a cake. The cake may be the best you’ve ever tasted, but if the icing on the outside doesn’t look appealing or doesn’t taste good, chances are you’ll take a different piece of cake with better looking frosting next time. The performance of music is what appeals most to people. With live performance, an artist must “sell” his or her creation. They must put smile on their face and convey to the audience that this is their music and through the music explain why it’s awesome. They must persevere through whatever the stage, the audience, and their surroundings give them and put on a good show. In today’s popular music though, this aspect of showma...
Since I've settled down and become a family man, however, I have discovered a whole new world of sounds that give me more pleasure than music ever did. Something I never thought possible. I would like to describe for you the world of sound that I experience in a typical day.
John Cage (1912-1992) presents an attractive challenge to a music GSI teaching a class of non-majors. As much an idea man as a pen-on-paper composer, Cage proposed through his writings and artistic approach that all sound, whether deliberate or accidental, whether inside or outside of the concert hall, is in fact a macro-series of musical events. In effect, according to this way of thinking, all ambient sound is music. Considering the way most of us have been brought up to think about music, this is a significant imaginative leap as well as an important door to open for those who might not come across the idea elsewhere.
Acoustics is a science that deals with the study of sound. It is known to be one of the branches of physics; studying oscillations and sound waves from the lowest to high frequencies. Acoustics is known to be one of the oldest sciences, and dates back to ancient times as people had the need to understand the nature of speech and hearing. The main reason acoustics was discovered and is one of the oldest sciences is because of the need for the knowledge of the sounds of music and musical instruments. Pythagoras, an ancient mathematician, was the first person to ever find out that tone height corresponds to the length of the sting or tube. While Aristotle, Pythagoras apprentice at the time, helped more to explain that an echo is created as the sound reflection from obstacles.