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This article is from the Computer Music
Bibliography FAQ, by Piet van Oostrum piet@cs.ruu.nl with
numerous contributions by others.
21 Computer Music Bibliography Other part4
MUSIC, SOUND and TECHNOLOGY,
by John M. Eargle. (A mini-review)
is published by Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, copyright 1990. Its Library
of Congress number is ML3805.E2 1990.
This little book turned up on the New Titles shelf in the Physics
and Planetary Science Library at Pitt recently, and I've just finished going
through it. It was a worthwhile enough bit of reading matter that I thought
I'd bring it to the List's attention. This ain't no formal book review, but
then again you all probably knew that already, knowing me, right?
MS&T is a fairly technical treatment of the acoustics of musical
instruments, almost exlcusively focussing on acoustic instruments that are
featured in the modern orchestral format (hence including a lot of unusual
jazz instruments and percussion devices). It has fairly little math in it,
and requires little or no math background to read, but it does not skimp
on the ideas it brings across-- a novice who knew something about music,
having read this book carefully, would come away with a better understanding
of music and acoustics than many professional sound engineers probably have.
(Based on my own experiences in the field, that is.) The style is a trifle
dry, but is never so technical as to be unreadable. Examples from the public
domain are liberally sprinkled throughout the book, and every chapter ends
with a small bibliography and reference list, often including phonorecords.
The book begins with a brief review of the physical principles
underlying the creation of sound: waves, sound pressure, units like the
decibel, and so on. Virtually all of the math in the book is contained here,
and it's on the high-school level, not too daunting. Some of the stuff is
quite simple (masses on springs, pendula), but the reader suddenly finds
himself absorbing stuff like "Relations between Direct and Reverberant Fields"
--and understanding it clearly! The organization is clear, and every concept
is prefaced with an explanation of why and where it's important. The next
two chapters complete what Eargle considers the introductory part of the book;
one is on the physiology of hearing and psychoacoustics, ranging from the
localization of sound by the ears and head to the cultural biases inherent in
judging what constitutes "consonance" and "dissonance," and the other is a
brief but relatively well-thought-out review of temperament and tuning scales.
Chapters 4 through 9 are explanations of the physics of the usual
sorts of sound generators one would find in orchestral of jazz music, and
comparative studies of their pitch and loudness ranges, harmonic structure,
and expressive characteristics in relation to the player's abilities. Strings,
woodwinds, brasses, and percussion devices are given their own chapters, and
keyboards are lumped together in one chapter, despite their differences in
sound creation (which Eargle acknowledges but views as less important than
their similarities). There are all sorts of little gems here-- how to change
the speaking length of a trumpet, what happens to the frequency response of
a piano when you close the lid, how a vibraphone differs from a marimba, etc.
These chapters alone make the book worth a look.
Chapter 10 explains the philosophy behind the physical organization of
musical ensembles. Why the first and second violins are sometimes seated
together on the left, other times separated, and so on. Chapter 11 is a long
and occasionally quite technical discussion of performance space design, and
of the engineering of suitable halls for speech, music, and worship (there's
a big section on church design). Chapters 12 and 13 discuss the principles of
sound reinforcement and sound recording, with diagrams of speaker placements
and microphone patterns abounding; this is getting into the sort of stuff that
we tend to deal with regularly in EMUSIC-L, and we may have seen it elsewhere,
but at this point we're used to Eargle's delivery and it's more clear than the
usual drek in Home and Studio Recording. Some of the discussion is quite
fascinating (is it better to be shamefully accurate or to correct for acoustic
weaknesses when recording a symphony?), and the material is quite modern in
its presentation: Eargle notes "with nostalgia" the passing of the vinyl LP
from the scene. Overdubbing, Digital recording, and signal processing are
touched on in a straightforward manner, from quad sound systems to delay and
digital reverb. Chapter 14 is a primer on home audio, with explanations of
the LP, cassette, and CD as playback media and commentary on speaker systems.
Chapter 15 is what you've all been waiting for, the "Overview of Music
Synthesis." It covers the acoustics of transients, steady-state conditions,
and tonal decay, ensemble considerations, working in the frequency vs. the
time domain, and mentions modern developments such as sampling and MIDI. The
entire section is only eight pages long, half of which are figures, but for
the acoustic musician who's unfamiliar with and a bit scared of synthesizers
it's a very easily digestible introduction. The acoustic musician sighs with
relief and says, "So THAT'S all there is to it!" (Of course, it isn't, but it
serves to keep the musician's mind open and unafraid of future learning.) The
author seems to regard these instruments with some degree of wide-eyed wonder,
and perhaps some nervous condescention as well, but he never fails to
recognize them as instruments in their own right, deserving of attention
beside the violins and piccolos. His only classicist comment, which is
probably forgivable under the circumstances, is that "Electronically generated
sounds do not necessarily have to imitate those of traditional instruments,
but the sounds do have to fit into musical contexts." (We'll shelve arguments
on that point for other posts, ok?) The last chapter is a brief touch upon
active noise reduction principles and techniques, and probably should have
been placed between chapters 13 and 14, but at least it's there, if only for
six pages.
The book weighs in at 290 pages with a reasonably thorough index, and
is published by Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, copyright 1990. Its Library
of Congress number is ML3805.E2 1990. I consider it a refreshing change from
the constant jabber about whether the Amiga can beat the Mac in the MIDI world
or what goes into Differential Loop Modulation in the D-70. It's clear,
readable, and has a lot of worthwhile data that can be put to good use by a
clever musician, electronic or otherwise. Metlay says, check it out.
metlay
metlay@pittvms.BITNET
metlay@vms.cis.pitt.EDU
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