Measured tones : the interplay of physics and music / by Ian Johnston.
| Author/creator | Johnston, Ian D. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Bristol ; New York : Adam Hilger, ©1989. |
| Description | xi, 397 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Why these and not others? Length of strings ; Harmonious intervals ; Pythagoras ; Pentatonic and Pythagorean scales ; Ptolemy ; Boethius -- Music and scientific method. Medieval music ; Josquin ; Copernicus ; Kepler ; Galileo ; Vibrations ; Pendulums and strings ; Consonance ; Measurement of frequency ; Standards of pitch -- Interlude 1 : Brass instruments -- The harmonies of a mechanical universe. Mechanical forces ; Energy ; Oscillation theory ; Mersenne's Laws ; Baroque music ; Instruments ; Equal temperament -- Interlude 2 : The piano -- Overtones of enlightenment. Newton and the Age of Reason ; Visualization of oscillations ; Overtones ; Harmonic analysis and synthesis ; Rameau and harmony ; End of the Enlightenment -- Interlude 3 : The violin -- Over the waves. Wave theory ; Speed of sound ; Wave properties : reflection, absorption, diffraction ; Huygens and Young ; Standing waves -- Interlude 4 : Acoustics in architecture -- The romance of electricity. The Romantic movement ; Study of electricity, Faraday ; Acoustics ; Energy coupling and acoustic impedance ; Mismatch theorem ; Standing waves in air columns -- Interlude 5 : Woodwind instruments -- Summertime in Heidelberg. Wagner and Helmholtz ; Theory of resonance ; Working of the ear ; Pitch recognition and discrimination ; Psycho-acoustics ; Theory of consonance -- Interlude 7 : Percussion instruments -- O brave new world. Communication devices : microphones, gramophones, values, transistors ; Effect on music ; Modern sound engineering: frequency response, transients -- Interlude 7 : Electronic instruments -- I think, therefore I am. Theory of communication ; Information ; Computers ; Computer composition -- Interlude 8 : The sublimest of instruments, the voice -- Epilogue -- Appendix 1 : Musical notation -- Appendix 2 : Logarithms -- Appendix 3 : Measurement of pitch intervals -- Appendix 4 : Measurement of loudness -- Appendix 5 : Acoustic impedance. |
| Abstract | There has always been a close connection between physics and music. From the great days of ancient Greek science, ideas and speculations have passed backward and forward between natural philosophers (physicists) and musical theorists. This book explores the story of that relationship in an entertaining and user-friendly way. The book provides an easy-to-understand introduction to the physics involved in every stage of the music making process: from the very earliest experiments on vibrating strings and primitive sound makers to the latest concerns of digital sound recording, MP3 files, and information theory. At the same time, it examines the story of our developing concept of the universe we live in: from the ancient visions of a cosmos regulated by the music of the spheres to our current understanding of an expanding universe controlled by the laws of quantum mechanics and string theory. Running through all this is one recurring question--the so-called puzzle of consonance. Why do humans respond to music and musical sounds the way they do? It is the attempts by musicians and scientists through the ages to apply new knowledge to answer this question that gives this story its fascination. This book should provide rewarding reading for any physics teacher or student who would like to know more about music and where it impinges on their subject as well as for anyone who is musically inclined. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 378-383) and index. |
| LCCN | 89015289 |
| ISBN | 0852742363 |