Measured tones: the interplay of physics and music
Choice Reviews Online · 2002
LIST OF TABLESPROLOGUEWHY THESE AND NOT OTHERS?Length of stringsHarmonious intervalsPythagorasPentatonic and Pythagorean scalesPtolemyBoethiusMUSIC AND SCIENTIFIC METHODMedieval musicJosquinCopernicusKeplerGalileoVibrationsPendulums and stringsConsonanceMeasurement of frequencyStandards of pitchInterlude 1: Brass instrumentsTHE HARMONIES OF A MECHANICAL UNIVERSEMechanical forcesEnergyOscillation theoryMersenne's lawsBaroque musicInstrumentsEqual temperamentInterlude 2: The pianoOVERTONES OF ENLIGHTMENTNewton and the Age of ReasonVisualization of oscillationsOvertonesHarmonic analysis and synthesisRameau and harmonyEnd of the EnlightenmentInterlude 3: The violinOVER THE WAVESWave theorySpeed of soundWave properties: reflection, absorption, diffractionHuygens and YoungStanding wavesInterlude 4: Acoustics in architectureTHE ROMANCE OF ELECTRICITYThe Romantic movementStudy of electricityFaradayAcousticsEnergy coupling and acoustic impedanceMismatch theoremStanding waves in air columnsInterlude 5: Woodwind instrumentsSUMMERTIME IN HEIDELBERGWagner and HelmholtzTheory of resonanceWorking of the earPitch recognition and discriminationPsycho-acousticsTheory of consonanceInterlude 6: PercussionO BRAVE NEW WORLDCommunication devices: microphones, gramophones, valves, transistorsEffect on musicModern sound engineering: frequency response, transients TechnologyInterlude 7: Electronic instrumentsI THINK, THEREFORE I AMTheory of communicationInformationComputersComputer compositionInterlude 8EPILOGUEAPPENDIX 1: Musical notationAPPENDIX 2: LogarithmsAPPENDIX 3: Measurement of pitch intervalsAPPENDIX 4: Measurement of loudnessAPPENDIX 5: Acoustic impedanceAPPENDIX 6: Pentatonic scalesBIBLIOGRAPHYACCOMPANYING WEBSITEINDEX