INDEX

Auditory Theory: Acoustics

MUS 312

Course Syllabus

FALL 2006

INSTRUCTOR: CHARLES FEILDING

A. DESCRIPTION

This course involves a detailed study of four primary subjects:

1. The physical nature of sound.
2. The biological and psychological nature of hearing.
3. The physical nature of musical instruments.
4. The effect of the environment on what we hear

The emphasis of the course will be upon gaining a good general understanding of how sound operates in the physical world and how our ears respond to it with a view to providing the tools needed to make effective and informed decisions regarding sound problems. The skills generated in this course will be useful to anyone contemplating a career working with sound in any capacity. Musicians, sound contractors, recording engineers or even casual listeners will find their understanding of sound, hearing, instruments and their ability to maximize the quality of their listening environments greatly improved by the skills which will be taught in this class.

B. ORGANIZATION

This is a lecture/discussion course in which topics are presented by the instructor along with audio and video demonstrations. Brief quizzes may be given at the start of each class and the course will include a MIDTERM and FINAL EXAM. STUDENT PROJECTS will also contribute to the final grade.

C. COURSE OBJECTIVES

There are three primary goals for this course:

1. To teach musicians how the physical and electronic environments in which they work and play interact with their performance and how it affects their audience's perception of it.
2. To enable people who work with sound to get predictable results with sound and solve audio problems quickly and accurately.
3. To teach people who work with sound how to understand and protect their hearing.

D. COURSE TOPICS

The course will cover the following topics:

1. Sound
   1. Measurement
   2. Propagation
   3. Travelling Waves
   4. Standing Waves
   5. Room Acoustics
2. Hearing
   1. Ear structure
   2. Dynamic range
   3. Frequency response
   4. Pitch
3. Instruments
   1. Tuning and temperament
   2. Forced excitation and self excitation
   3. Instrument acoustics
   4. Resonance
   5. Strings
   6. Woodwinds
   7. Brasses
   8. Percussion
   9. Piano and others
   10. Voice
4. Timbre
   1. Acoustics of timbre
   2. Psychoacoustic of timbre
   3. Timbral synthesis
   4. Masking effects
   5. Note groupings
   6. Pitch illusions
5. Room acoustics
   1. Acoustic Environments
   2. Enclosed spaces
   3. Room modes and standing waves
   4. Absorption and Diffusion
   5. Sound Isolation

E. TEXT AND REQUIRED SUPPLIES

1. Required Text: ACOUSTICS AND PSYCHOACOUSTICS (Second Edition) by David M Howard and James Angus.
2. Supplies: A hardware or software calculator capable of performing scientific calculations will be required. Exponents, Logarithms, square roots, sine and arcsine calculations will be required.

F. GRADING PLAN.

Course work will be weighted as follows:

• Quizzes: 25%
• Midterm: 25%
• Projects: 15%
• Final Exam: 25%
• Attendance: 10%

QUIZZES:

A quiz may be given at any time during any class period -- immediately after a lecture, at the beginning or end of a class, etc. There will be no make-up quizzes -- none even later during the same class period. Quizzes will be given only to those students who are present when the quizzes are passed out.

MIDTERM EXAM:

PROJECTS:

FINAL EXAM:

ATTENDANCE:

Arriving more than 5 minutes late for a class will count as an absence for that day. More than 2 unexcused abences will beging to affect your grade. Absences for which a medical or court excuse is provided (professional letterhead required) will be recorded but not figured in the attendance grade. Likewise, one absence for which advance notice is given by phone or in person will not be figured in the attendance grade.

GENERAL:

G. CLASSROOM RULES OF CONDUCT

H Americans With Disabilities Act:

Note: