The Physics and Psychophysics of Music: An Introduction

237 Pages·2009·2.745 MB·English

by  Juan G. Roederer (auth.)

The Physics and Psychophysics of Music
An Introduction
FourthEdition
Juan G. Roederer
The Physics and
Psychophysics of Music
An Introduction
Fourth Edition
123
JuanG.Roederer
GeophysicalInstitute
UniversityofAlaska
Fairbanks,AK99775-7320
USA
[email protected]
ISBN:978-0-387-09470-0 e-ISBN:978-0-387-09474-8
DOI:10.1007/978-0-387-09474-8
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2008937029
(cid:2)c 2008SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC
Allrightsreserved.Thisworkmaynotbetranslatedorcopiedinwholeorinpartwithoutthewritten
permissionofthepublisher(SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC,233SpringStreet,NewYork,
NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews orscholarly analysis. Use
in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer
software,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdevelopedisforbidden.
Theuseinthispublicationoftradenames,trademarks,servicemarks,andsimilarterms,evenifthey
arenotidentifiedassuch,isnottobetakenasanexpressionofopinionastowhetherornottheyare
subjecttoproprietaryrights.
Covercredit:
Organ:GrooteKerk,Haarlem(TheNetherlands)
Photobytheauthor
Infant:EEGmeasurementsofbrainreactionstomusic
PhotocourtesyofLaurelTrainor,McMasterInstituteforMusicandtheMind,
McMasterUniversity,Canada
Printedonacid-freepaper
springer.com
Dedicatedtothememoryofmydear
parents,whoawakenedandnurturedmy
loveforscienceandmusic
Preface
This introductorytext deals with the physical systems and biological processes
that intervene in what we broadly call “music.” We shall analyze what objec-
tive, physical properties of sound patterns are associated with what subjective,
psychological sensations of music. We shall describe how these sound patterns
are actually produced in musical instruments, how they propagate through the
environment,and how they are detected by the ear and interpreted in the brain.
We shalldoallthisbyusingthephysicist’slanguageandhismethodofthought
and analysis—without, however, using complicated mathematics. Although no
previous knowledge of physics, physiology, and neurobiology is required, it is
assumedthatthereaderpossesseshigh-schooleducationandisfamiliarwithbasic
aspectsofmusic,inparticularwithmusicalnotation,scalesandintervals,musical
instrumentsandtypicalmusical“sensations.”
Books are readily available on the fundamentals of physics of music (e.g.,
Benade, 1990; Pierce, 1983; Fletcher and Rossing, 1998; Johnston, 2003) and
psychoacoustics,musicpsychologyandperception(e.g.,Plomp,1976;Deutsch,
1982a;ZatorreandPeretz,2001;Hartmann,2005).Anexcellenttextonmusical
acoustics is that of Sundberg (1991), still most useful 17 years later; compre-
hensive discussions of recent researches on pitch perception and related audi-
torymechanismscanbefoundinPlacketal.(2005).Thepurposeofthepresent
volumeis notto duplicate butto synthesize and complementexistingliterature.
Indeed, my original goal in writing this book in the seventies was to weave a
closemeshbetweenthedisciplinesofphysics,acoustics,psychophysics,andneu-
robiology and produce a single-authored truly interdisciplinary text on what is
called “the science of music”—and this is still the goal of this fourth edition!
I also hope that it will convey to the reader a bit of what I call “the music of
science,” thatis, the beautyand excitementofscientific research,reasoningand
understanding.
After the first 1973 edition, several reprints and two revised editions were
published,as were translationsinto German,Japanese,Spanish andPortuguese.
These are all personally most gratifying indicators, especially in view of the
fact that the subject in question was always more of a hobby for me (being a
space physicist), than an official occupation! This Fourth Edition was prepared
vii
viii Preface
under the motto “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Indeed, based on the fact
that the previous edition has been called a “classic” by some reviewers, I felt
that the main pedagogical structure of the book should be maintained intact,
and that the only major changes should be restricted to updating some critical
points, especially in the psychophysical and neurobiological areas. As a mat-
ter of fact, I find it rather remarkable that many statements that were mere
conjectures or speculations in the previous edition, have been verified in mea-
surements and experiments and now can be presented as scientific facts in
thetext.
Oneofthemostpainfulpartsofwritingabookisdecidingwhattopicsshould
be left out, or grossly neglected, in view of the stringent limitations of space.
Nomatterwhattheauthordoes,therewillalwaysbesomeonebitterlycomplain-
ing about this or that omission. Let me list here some of the subjects that were
deliberately neglected or omitted—without venturing a justification. In the dis-
cussionofthegenerationofmusicaltonesmainlybasicmechanismsareanalyzed,
to the detriment of the presentation of concrete musical situations. The human
voicehasbeenallbutleftoutandsohavediscussionsofinharmonictones(bells
andpercussioninstruments)andelectronictone generation;computer-generated
musicisnotevenmentioned.Onthepsychoacousticside,onlytheperceptionof
single or multiple sinusoidal tones is discussed, with no word on noise-band or
pulsestimuliexperiments.Thereisonlyverylittleonrhythm,stereoperception,
and historicaldevelopment.Finally, this being a book on an eminentlyinterdis-
ciplinary subject intended mainly for students from all disciplines and univer-
sitylevels,includingthoseinlowerdivision,manysubjectshadtobesimplified
considerably—andIapologizetotheexpertsinthevariousdisciplinaryareasfor
occasionallysacrificingparochialdetailforthebenefitofecumenicalunderstand-
ing. For the same reason, in the literature references priority was given to the
quotationof reviewsand comprehensivearticles in sources of more widespread
availability to the intended readership, rather than articles in specialized jour-
nals.Detailedreferencesoforiginalarticlescanbefoundinmanyofthequoted
reviews.
The first edition was an offspring of a syllabus published by the Univer-
sity of Denver for the students in a “Physics of Music” course, introduced at
that university more than 35 years ago, which quickly turned into a “Physics
and Psychophysics of Music” course. In addition to regular class work, the
students were required to perform a series of acoustical and psychoacousti-
cal experiments in a modest laboratory. Conducting such experiments, some
of which will be described here, is essential for a clear comprehension of
the principal concepts involved. Unfortunately they often require electronic
equipment that is not readily available, even in well-equipped physics depart-
ments. I ask that the readers trust the description of the experiments and
believe that they really do turn out the way I say they do! Whenever possi-
ble I shall indicate how a given experiment can be performed with the aid
of ordinary musical equipment. For a list of possible errata, visit my personal
Webpage.
Preface ix
I am grateful to the director of the Geophysical Institute, Professor Roger
Smith,forinstitutionalsupportofmywork,andtomywifeBeatrizforherunder-
standingandtoleranceofthe“extracurricular”timespentonrewritingthisbook.
JuanG.Roederer
GeophysicalInstitute,UniversityofAlaska-Fairbanks
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/∼Roederer
March2008
Contents
Preface v
1 The Science of Music and the Music of
Science: A Multidisciplinary Overview 1
1.1 TheInterveningPhysicalSystems 1
1.2 CharacteristicAttributesofMusicalSounds 3
1.3 TheTimeElementinMusic 6
1.4 PhysicsandPsychophysics 8
1.5 PsychophysicsandNeuroscience 12
1.6 NeuroscienceandInformaticsCondensedfromRoederer
(2005). 14
1.7 InformaticsandMusic:WhyIsThereMusic? 17
2 Sound Vibrations, Pure Tones,
and the Perception of Pitch 22
2.1 MotionandVibration 22
2.2 SimpleHarmonicMotion 26
2.3 AcousticVibrationsandPureToneSensations 27
2.4 SuperpositionofPureTones:First-OrderBeatsandthe
CriticalBand 34
2.5 OtherFirst-OrderEffects:CombinationTonesandAural
Harmonics 43
2.6 Second-OrderEffects:BeatsofMistunedConsonances 46
2.7 FundamentalTracking 49
2.8 AuditoryCodinginthePeripheralNervousSystem 55
2.9 SubjectivePitchandtheRoleoftheCentral
NervousSystem 63
3 Sound Waves, Acoustic Energy, and the
Perception of Loudness 76
3.1 ElasticWaves,Force,Energy,andPower 76
3.2 PropagationSpeed,Wavelength,andAcousticPower 80
xi
xii Contents
3.3 SuperpositionofWaves;StandingWaves 90
3.4 Intensity,SoundIntensityLevel,andLoudness 93
3.5 TheLoudnessPerceptionMechanismandRelated
Processes 104
3.6 MusicfromtheEars:OtoacousticEmissionsandCochlear
Mechanics 107
4 Generation of Musical Sounds, Complex
Tones, and the Perception of Timbre 113
4.1 StandingWavesinaString 114
4.2 GenerationofComplexStandingVibrations
inStringInstruments 118
4.3 SoundVibrationSpectraandResonance 126
4.4 StandingLongitudinalWavesinanIdealizedAirColumn 135
4.5 GenerationofComplexStandingVibrations
inWindInstruments 139
4.6 SoundSpectraofWindInstrumentTones 145
4.7 TrappingandAbsorptionofSoundWaves
inaClosedEnvironment 147
4.8 PerceptionofPitchandTimbreofMusicalTones 152
4.9 NeuralProcessesRelevanttothePerceptionofMusical
Tones 157
5 Superposition and Successions of Complex
Tones and the Integral Perception of Music 167
5.1 SuperpositionofComplexTones 167
5.2 TheSensationofMusicalConsonanceandDissonance 170
5.3 BuildingMusicalScales 176
5.4 TheStandardScaleandtheStandardofPitch 180
5.5 WhyAreThereMusicalScales? 183
5.6 CognitiveandAffectiveBrainProcessesinMusic
Perception:WhyDoWeRespondEmotionallytoMusic? 185
5.7 SpecializationofSpeechandMusicProcessing
intheCerebralHemispheres 190
5.8 WhyIsThereMusic? 194
Appendix I: Some Quantitative Aspects
of the Bowing Mechanism 199
Appendix II: Some Quantitative Aspects
of Central Pitch Processor
Models 202
Contents xiii
Appendix III: Some Remarks on Teaching
Physics and Psychophysics of
Music 210
References 213
Index 221