Good Vibrations: The Physics of Music

285 Pages·2009·5.2 MB·English

by  Barry Parker

GOOD VIBRATIONS
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© 2009 The Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2009
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
The Johns Hopkins University Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Parker, Barry R.
Good vibrations : the physics of music / Barry Parker.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8018-9264-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8018-9264-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Vibration. 2. Sound-waves. 3. Sound.
4. Wave-motion, Theory of. I. Title.
QC231.P37 2009
781.2—dc22 2008054589
A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
I Sound and Sound Waves
1 Making Music: How Sound Is Made 13
2 The Sound of Music: Perception 28
3 Good Vibes: Waves in Motion 41
II The Building Blocks of Music
4 Making Music Beautiful: Complex
Musical Tones 61
5 The Well-Tempered Scale 77
6 Down Melody Lane with Chords and
Chord Sequences 93
7 “You’ve Gotta Have Rhythm”: Rhythm and
Types of Music 109
III Musical Instruments
8 Why a Piano Is Not a Harpsichord 131
9 The Stringed Instruments: Making Music with
the Violin and the Guitar 146
10 The Brass Instruments: Trumpet and Trombone 165
11 The Woodwinds: Clarinet and Saxophone 179
vi Contents
12 The Most Versatile Instrument:
The Singing Voice 189
IV New Technologies and Acoustics
13 Electronic Music 211
14 Making a MIDI Recording 227
15 The Acoustics of Concert Halls and Studios 244
Epilogue 259
Suggested Readings 267
Index 269
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful to Trevor Lipscombe for his many suggestions and help
in preparing this volume. I would like to thank Carolyn Moser for
careful editing of the manuscript and the staff of the Johns Hopkins
University Press for their assistance in bringing this project to com-
pletion. Thanks, too, to my artist, Lori Beer, for doing an excellent
job on the drawings. Finally, I appreciate the assistance I received
from Mike’s Music of Pocatello in obtaining the photographs.
For more information on the physics of music and information
on other books by the author, visit the web page www.BarryParker
books.com.
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GOOD VIBRATIONS