TA212 The Technology of Music Welcome Introductions Hopes and Fears The Module Assignments What Happens Next

TA212 The Technology of Music

Welcome

• Introductions• Hopes and Fears• The Module• Assignments• What Happens Next


Hopes and Fears

• TA212 is both “Arts” and “Technology”• What brings you out in a cold sweat?

T

Lf

2

1

http://www.qksrv.net/click-263489-10281960


You should have...

• Home Experiment Kit– recorder, microphone, headphones– 3 cardboard tubes, 1 drinking straw!!!

• First Mailing– Block 1, Companion to Block 1– 1 CD ROM– 2 Audio CDs

Module Website


week by weekactivities

Module Website


news

Module Website


download your assignments

Module Website


conferences


Module Website

• Searchable electronic versions of course material (pdf)• News• Study Calendar• Conferences

• Assignments– assignments are not provided in hard copy.


Steve’s TA212 Web Site


The Module

• Five Blocks:– Prelude– Investigating Sound (what is sound?)

– Musical Instruments (how is sound made?)

– Sound Processes (how is sound manipulated?)

– Project


Block 1: Prelude

• Making Sense of Music• Listening to Music• Maths for Music

This block is designed to bring everyone up to the same basic level in both Music Theory and Maths.


Block 2: Investigating Sound

• Sound Basics waves, frequency, wavelength

• Sound Shape and Colour timbre, temperament

• Sound and Time more music theory

• Sound and Space reverberation

• Sound and the Listener listening, perception

• Sound Capture andRecapture microphones, amplifiers


Waves

• Sinusoidal Pressure Waves• Frequency

– How many times per second• Amplitude

– How big

wavelength

pressure


The Octave

• Double the frequency• Notes an octave apart have the same name


Decibel Examples (SPL)

• Threshold of pain

130 dB• Bass drum roll

106 dB• Violin at player’s ear

85 dB• Piano practice

70 dB• Domestic Living Room

40 dB• Empty Concert Hall

20 dB• Threshold of Hearing

0 dB

Investigating Sound -1, Page 45


Harmonics

• Modes of Vibration• Harmonic Series

– frequencies: 100, 200, 300, 400, 500...– Pitches

– Most higher harmonics are out of tune!


Reverberation

• Many Paths• Long paths

– have more reflections– take longer to arrive– are are quieter when they arrive

http://school.discovery.com/clipart/clip/drum.html


The Human Ear

• Outer ear– Collects sound

• Middle ear– Impedance Coupling– Acoustic Reflex

• Inner Ear– Detects sound

Outer Ear

Middle Ear Inner Ear


Impedance Matching

• Impedance– Property of all electronic circuits

• Get it wrong and you get distortion

low high

low

high

high

veryhigh

highlow

Pre-amplifier


Audition


Audition


Block 3: Musical Instruments

• What is a Musical Instrument• Making sound strings, pipes, pitch

• Families of Instruments orchestral, electronic, voice

• How do Instruments Work?


String Harmonics

• Many different standing waves • The sounds they produce are the harmonics of the

string.


Wind Harmonicsopen pipe stopped pipe

NOTE: A conical pipe (such as an oboe) behaves like a pipe open at both ends


Cristofori Action


Vowels

• Shape of the vocal tract

• Each shape emphasises different frequencies• The frequencies which are emphasised are called

Formants


Electromagnetic Induction

• Given any two, the third is produced

electricity + magnetism = motion (electric motor)

magnetism + motion = electricity (generator)

electricity

magnetism motion


Block 4: Sound Processes

• Desktop sound studio on your desktop

• Notation history, music printing

• Recording mechanical music, MIDI

• The Industry creating a recording, media, copy protection etc.


WAV File“RIFF”

Size

4 bytes

4 bytes

Size bytesFormat Chunk

Data Chunk

“WAVE”


MIDI Connections

Synthesiser

MIDI Out

MIDI Thru

MIDI In

“local off” switch


Media Bandwidth

• Telephone 3.4 kHz• FM Radio 15 kHz• CD 20 kHz• MiniDisc 20 kHz

– but is always compressed!


Cubase


Block 5: EMA (The Project)

• Part 1: An essay about a musical instrument– Includes research outside the course material and

analysis of the sound of the instrument using the course software.

– Refer to Block 3 for the kind of information expected– Choose an “acoustic” instrument.

• Part 2: Desktop Sound– This may include creating sound samples and using

them to realise a few bars of music presented as a score.


Assignments

• Submitted and returned electronically– TMA00

• optional• used to prove that you have managed to connect into

the eTMA system correctly

• 6 TMAs (Tutor Marked Assignments)• EMA (End of Module Assessment)

• There is NO EXAM!!


TMAs

• TMA01 (20%) - Block 1• TMA02 (15%) - Block 2 part 1 & Audition part 1• TMA03 (15%) - Block 2 part 2 & Audition part 2• TMA04 (15%) - Block 3 part 1• TMA05 (15%) - Block 3 part 2• TMA06 (20%) - Block 4


Substitution

• Substitution does not apply to this module– If you fail to submit a TMA, you will get zero marks for

that TMA.


To Pass...

• 40% overall for the TMAs

• 40% for the EMA (the project)


What Happens Next?

• Visit the Module Conference

• Read TMA01 so you know what to look for in the course text

• Form a study group to meet at a local pub to complain to each other about your tutor

Documents

TA212 The Technology of Music Welcome Introductions Hopes and Fears The Module Assignments What Happens Next