Term
| What are the 3 parts of the ear? What do they do? |
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Definition
Outer Ear (Pinna) - locates sound sources and differentiates between other sources
Middle Ear (Eardrum) - Acts as an amplifier, converts acoustic into mechanical energy
Inner Ear (Cochlea) - Actual hearing mechanism of the ear |
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Term
| What is the aural reflex? |
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Definition
| Reaction to loud sounds, causing the muscles to tighten, reducing the movement of the ossicles and prevents damage to the cochlea |
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Term
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Definition
| Respond to certain frequencies and act as a frequency anayzer, determining the freq/amplitude info will be transmitted to the brain |
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Term
| What is the equal loudness curve? |
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Definition
| Fletcher-Munson curve, illustrates the ears sensitivity to various frequencies. |
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Term
| Whats the difference between reverb and echo? |
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Definition
| Echoes are individual reflections, while reverberation is the summation of multiple echoes. |
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Term
| What is the difference between a temporal delay and sound shadow? |
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Definition
Temporal delay - large wavelengths (lower freq) coming from one side of the head will take a fraction of a second longer to reach the ear on the opposite side
Sound Shadow - Higher freq are blocked by the head itself due to their shorter wavelengths, creating a slightly diff timbre for each ear |
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Term
| What is the purpose of temporal delay and sound shadow? |
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Definition
| To help our ability to locate sounds. |
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Term
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Definition
| covering up or "hiding" sounds (louder frequencies cover up softer frequencies, brain perceives louder sounds as more important-HAAS Effect) |
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Term
| What does the gestalt principle figure and ground refer to? |
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Definition
| Contrast between sounds in the foreground and in the background. Three trees (figures) make a forest (ground) |
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Term
| Our minds associate sounds with objects, what principle describes this? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is a beat frequency? |
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Definition
| When two seperate tones reinforce and negate each other at some point in terms of sound pressure. Like when mark played the wah-wah-wah-wah that could have caused entrainment eventually putting us to bed. |
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Term
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Definition
| When brain waves, heart rate, breathing, or digestion all lock into a groove of a song or pattern of sound. |
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Term
| What is the cocktail party effect? |
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Definition
| The ability to follow one sound source out of many, based on line of sight, sound shadow, and temporal delay. |
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Term
Which category of musical instruments involves the striking, plucking or strumming of
strings? |
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Definition
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Term
| How do idiophones make sound? |
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Definition
| Through vibrations of the entire body of the instrument (hit with sticks, shaken, bowed, scraped) |
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Term
Which category of musical instruments involves beating, slapping, or hitting an a stretched
animal skin or synthetic membrane? |
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Definition
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Term
| How do electrophones produce sound? |
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Definition
| By electronics/amplification |
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Term
| What produces the sound in an aerophone? |
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Definition
| a vibrating column of air |
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Term
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Definition
| Harmonic content of the sound combinations of harmonics |
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Term
| What is a Modular Synthesizer? |
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Definition
| Electronic device that attempts to reproduce sounds through artificial means. Modular synthesizers are called such due to the different modules they have (filters, oscillators, envelope generators) |
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Term
Early synthesizers were monophonic. How many notes could a monophonic synthesizer
play at one time? |
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Definition
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Term
| How does a synthesizer work? |
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Definition
| They consist of a controller that a performer uses to change the speed of the oscillator (or tone generator) to which it is connected. The change in speed produces various tones, which are then amplified. |
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Term
| Which of the synthesizer components is the tone generator? |
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Definition
| The Oscillator (may be analog or digital, vibrations produce waveforms) |
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Term
| What are the basic analog synthesizer waveforms? |
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Definition
| Sine, Square, Triangle, and Sawtooth |
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Term
| What is the harmonic series? |
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Definition
| Relates to the fundamental and harmonics used to create the timbre of an instrument. Different methods of syntheses attempt to recreate the harmonic series of an instrument. |
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Term
| What is the purpose of the “resonance” control on a filter? |
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Definition
| Boosts the narrow band of frequencies giving a certain "presence" to the sound. |
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Term
| What is the function of an Envelope Generator? |
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Definition
| Component affecting sound over time : ATTACK, SUSTAIN, DECAY, and RELEASE |
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Term
| Which of the synthesizer components is used to remove harmonics from a sound? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is an alternate controller (in midi)? |
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Definition
| An instrument or device that may act as a controller or midi info (i.e. when mark played the guitar) |
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Term
| Which midi port recveives midi messages? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which midi port sends messages? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the purpose of the midi thru port? |
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Definition
| Copies the data received in the in port and sends it on to additional devices |
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Term
| How many channels of info can midi send at one time? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is a sequencer (in midi)? |
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Definition
| Medium in which you can edit midi data in several different ways. You may add, erase, and even change the instrument in which the midi plays back all in a sequencer. |
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Term
| Which midi message is used to start sound playback from a device? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is a continuous controller message? |
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Definition
| Allows the performer real time control over parameters such as volume, panning, eq, filter, oscillator speeds, etc. Consist of knobs, faders, slider, etc. |
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Term
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Definition
| Compromise of 128 different instruments that can be easily translated to many different keyboards and still produce alike sounds. |
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Term
| What does quantization measure? |
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Definition
| The snapshots that the sample rate takes, represented in a binary value that digitally represents an audio signal. |
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Term
| What does the sample rate refer to? |
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Definition
| The amount of snapshots taken per second. (Longitude) |
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Term
| Whats the difference between sample rate and quantization? |
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Definition
Sample rate is when the samples are taken (and how many)
Quantization is where they are plotted on the grid through binary data |
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Term
| What is quantization error? |
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Definition
| When actual amplitude values are not exact, but rather close approximations. |
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Term
| Resolution of a RED BOOK audio CD? |
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Definition
| 44.1kHz 16-bit sample rate |
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Term
| Quantization of DVD-Audio disc? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Violation of the nyquist theorem that results in sound distortion. |
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Term
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Definition
| Low Frequency Oscillator - May be used to vary the volume of a sound over time. |
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