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THE SCIENCE OF SOUND AND MUSIC
Fall 2002 - Syllabus
Last revision September 13, 2002
A. Structure of the course

Tot. Number of periods:...................40 periods (50-minute each)
Days and Time................….......….......M, W, F 9:15 - 10:05 a.m.
Classroom....……………………...................................Reiss #502

B. Textbook
Donald E. Hall, Musical Acoustics, 3^rd Ed. (required)

Arthur Benade, Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics, 2^nd Ed. (optional)

C. Examinations
3 Short Term Papers ( 15% of the final grade), one Essay ( 10%),
5 announced Quizzes (15 minutes each, 20% of grade), several Quick-Quizzes (5 minutes each, 5% of grade),
Homework (30%), Final Team Project (20%)

D. Course Outline

Each of the topics of the course, corresponding to the twenty chapters of the Textbook, is consistent with one of the following three fundamental aspects of Music:

1. Physics of Music: The musical sound, its physical nature, production and engineering

2. Physiology of Music: The Perception of musical sound

3. Psychology of Music: The Musical Message, its structure and meaning

and are scheduled, in general, in the same order as in Hall. The corresponding chapter numbers are given in the 'Ch #' column. In the 'Reference' column, “H” stands for “Hall” and the numbers in parentheses are pages from Musical Acoustics; “LN” stands for “Lecture Notes” as the only source of information available to the students. In the “Exams & Activities” column, “Hwk”, “Q”, “TP” , and “E” stand for “Homework”, “Quiz”, “Term Paper” and “Essay”, respectively. Also, be advised that your personal lecture notes could be essential in your preparation for quizzes or other types of examinations, since the lectures may contain information not available in the Textbook.

E. Tentative Schedule of Classes and Other Activities

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Per#	Date	Ch #	TOPIC	Reference (read before & study after class)	Exams and Other Activities
1	Wed. Aug. 28	¨	What is Music?	Lecture Notes*
2	Fri. Aug. 30	¨	The Science of Sound and Music Physical Quantities, Measurements Units; Benefits of Music From Physics.	Lecture Notes*
-	Sept. 02		No Class - Labor Day
3	Wed. Sept.04	1	The Physical Nature of Sound (I) Speed of Sound , Force and Pressure, Pressure Amplitude,	H (1-14), Lecture Notes	Hwk #1 due
4	Fri. Sept.06	1	The Physical Nature of Sound (II) Force and Motion; , Newton’s Laws of Motion Acceleration of motion,	H (1-14), Lecture Notes
5	Mon. Sept. 9	2	Waves and Vibrations Waveforms, Functions, Oscilloscope, SHM (Elastic, Torsion & Simple Pendulums), Fourier’s Theorem	H (17-31), Lecture Notes	Q #1 (Ch.1)
6	Wed. Sept.11	2	Waves and Vibrations (II) Work, Energy, Conservation of Energy Resonance	H (31-35), Lecture Notes
7	Fri. Sept.13	3	Sources of Musical Sound	H (38 – 48 & 50-52), Lecture Notes
	Go to Top				Project Subjects Posted
8	Mon. Sept.16	4	Sound Propagation Reflection, Transmission, Diffraction	H (54-63),	Hwk #2 due Video : B.Britten's ”Guide to Orchestra"
9	Wed. Sept.18	4	Sound Propagation Doppler Effect, Interference, Beats	H (63-69), Lecture Notes	TP#1 (Simple Harmonic Motion) - due
10	Fri. Sept.20	5	Sound Intensity Amplitude, Energy, & Intensity; Intensity Level , The Decibel Scale	H (72-78), Lecture Notes	TP#1 (Simple Harmonic Motion) - due
11	Mon. Sept.23	5	Sound Intensity The inverse Square Law, Combined Sound Levels	H (78-86), Lecture Notes	Hwk #3 due Project sign-up
12	Wed. Sept. 25	5	Sound Intensity Applications	H (72-86), Lecture Notes	Project sign-up
13	Fri. Sept. 27	6	Human Ear and its Response (I) Anatomy & Physiology;	H (89-93)	Project sign-up
14	Mon. Sept. 30	6	Human Ear and its Response (II) Loudness and Intensity, Pitch and Frequency	H (94-103), Lecture Notes	Q#2 (Chs. 4, 5)
15	Wed. Oct. 02	6	Human Ear and its Response (III) Pitch and Loudness , Timbre & Instrument Recognition	H (104-109)
16	Fri. Oct. 04	16	Sound Recording & Reproduction	H (348-376), Lecture Notes
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17	Mon. Oct. 07	Appendix A	Musical Notation Examples, Applications	H (456-460), Lecture Notes	Hwk #4 due
18	Wed. Oct. 9	7	Elemental Ingredients of Music Musical Events; Rhythm, Melody and Harmony; Intervals and Scales; Music Reading	H (113-125), Lecture Notes	TP#2 (The Human Ear) -due
19	Fri. Oct.11	8	Sound Spectra	H (113-125 + Box 8.1), Lecture Notes
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	Mon. Oct.14		No Class - Columbus Day
20	Wed. Oct.16	9	Percussion Instruments Coupled Oscillators, Natural Modes, Resonance	H (149-160), Lecture Notes	Hwk #5 due
21	Fri. Oct.18	9	Percussion Instruments Tuning Forks, Xylophone Bars, Marimba & Vibraphone; Samples	H (160-164)
22	Mon. Oct.21	9	Percussion Instruments Drums, Cymbals and Bells; Damped Oscillations; Samples	H (164-176)	Q#3 (Chs 8, 9)
23	Wed. Oct. 23	10	Piano and Guitar Strings Natural Transverse Modes of a Thin String, The Harmonic Series	H (180-187)
24	Fri. Oct. 25	10	Piano and Guitar Strings The Piano; Samples	H (187-199; Exclude Box 10.3); Lecture Notes	Project Outline due
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25	Mon. Oct. 28	10	Piano and Guitar Strings The Guitar, The Harp; Samples	Lecture Notes	Hwk #6 due
26	Wed. Oct. 30	11	The Bowed Strings Violin Construction; Bowing and String Vibration; Resonance; Samples	H (203-218), Lecture Notes
27	Fri. Nov.01	11	The Bowed Strings Sound Radiation, Violin Family, Samples	H (218-227), Lecture Notes
28	Mon. Nov. 04	12	Blown Pipes   Air Column Vibrations, Organ Flue Pipes, Recorder, Flutes	H (230-246 & 150-157), Lecture Notes	Q#4 (Chs.10, 11)
29	Wed. Nov. 06	13	Blown Reed Instruments The Woodwinds, Organ Reed Pipes; Samples	H (260-268; Box 14.1 page 298), Lecture Notes
30	Fri. Nov.08	13	Blown Reed Instruments Brass Instruments; The Pipe Organ; Samples	H (269-273, 288, & 247-250), Lecture Notes	Video Pipe Organs I II& IV" (Goodall)
31	Mon. Nov.11	14	The Human Voice The Vocal Apparatus; Formants	H (293- 310), Lecture Notes	Hwk #7 due
32	Wed. Nov. 13	14	The Human Voice Singing; Samples	H (310-314)	TP#3 (Resonance)- due
33	Fri. Nov.15	15	Room Acoustics Reverberation, Spatial Perception	H (317-329 & 336-344)	Project Draft due
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34	Mon. Nov. 18	17	The Ear Revisited Pitch Perception Mechanisms, Critical Bands, Timbre	H (380-403)	Hwk #8 due
35	Wed Nov. 20	18	Harmonic Intervals and Tuning Intervals and Harmonic Series, Musical Scales, Temperament	H (407-431, with certain exclusions)
36	Fri Nov. 22	19	Structure in Music Melodies and Modes; Chords and Harmonic Progressions; Consonance and Dissonance Samples	H (435-444), Lecture Notes	Q#5 (Chs.17,18)
37	Mon. Nov. 25	19	Structure in Music Musical Forms and Styles; Samples	H (444-449), Lecture Notes	Hwk #9 due Project due
			No Class - Thanksgiving Recess
38	Mon. Dec. 02	¨	Music and the Brain	Lecture Notes	Hwk #10 due Essay (on a Video or a Field Trip) due
39	Wed. Dec. 04	20	Science and Esthetics Meaning in Music	H (451-455) Lecture Notes,
40	Fri. Dec. 06	20	Science and Esthetics Music as a Language	Lecture Notes
	TBA		Team Project Presentations		In Lieu of a Final Exam.

* You are urged to take notes during each lecture. For the topics for which they are specifically mentioned, the Lecture Notes are essential, as the only source of information available to you. In some cases, Professor’s corresponding Lecture Notes may also be available on the Web site

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