Principles of Analysis

Principles of Musical Acoustics focuses on the basic principles in the science and technology of music. Musical examples and specific musical instruments demonstrate the principles. The book begins with a study of vibrations and waves, in that order. These topics constitute the basic physical properties of sound, one of two pillars supporting the science of musical acoustics. The second pillar is the human element, the physiological and psychological aspects of acoustical science. The perceptual topics include loudness, pitch, tone color, and localization of sound. With these two pillars in place, it is possible to go in a variety of directions. The book treats in turn, the topics of room acoustics, audio both analog and digital, broadcasting, and speech. It ends with chapters on the traditional musical instruments, organized by family.

Traditionally, say 15 years ago, three-dimensional image analysis (aka computer vi- sion) and three-dimensional image synthesis (aka computer graphics) were separate fields. Rarely were expert working in one area interested in and aware of the advances in the other field. Over the last decade, this has changed dramatically. Maybe it is a result of the growing maturity of each of these areas that they are less concerned with themselves.