Sound: The Loud and the Soft of It
Note: the audio included in Chapter One requires a multimedia computer (one with a sound card,
speakers/headphones) for textbook Examples 1-3a (on pp.
8-10) and/or a CD player for Example 3b (p. 9-10). If you
don't have access to these, go to the MLRC (Multimedia Resource Learning Center) in the third floor
of the Ronald Williams Library, and use one of the multimedia stations for the computer based
examples and use one of the multimedia or audio stations for the CD Audio.
Introduction
Chapter One of the text introduces you to the concept of sound. Music is sound, so it is important to consider sound and its characteristics.
Since music is "sound in time", we'll study both sound and time (rhythm, meter, tempo, etc.).
We study time in Chapters 3 and 8, and we'll consider sound in this chapter.
Pitch and Timbre: The Overtone Series
The book points out the acoustics (the physics of sound) measures and analyzes sound. What's important to know
is that the frequency of a vibration creates its pitch.
Dynamics
Make sure you understand what dynamics are and how they are used in a musical score. For example, the
term 'piano' is a dynamic term because it indicates that the indicated section of music is to played
softly or with a soft dynamic level.
The Envelope: Articulations
This part of the text and course requires that you listen to the first audio track of the CD
came with your textbook. If you need help with this, the MLRC is again the place to go for assistance,
and this is where I recommend you go to listen to the CD Audio tracks. You can play the CD in the Info
Commons, on the Macintosh stations. Make sure you bring your own headphones, since they don't supply you
with headphones in the Info Commons. In either case, bring your own CD disk with you.
Explanation of Audio in Chapter One
The textbook has the following musical examples for Chapter One:
- 1) Music for Study, Example 1, on p. 8, "Hunting Song"
- The audio for this example is part of Computer Drill # 1. When you click on the "Play" button just above
the title of the song (Hunting Song), the song will play twice, once without articulations, and once with
articulations. You can also play this file (but not for credit on your drills record) by using a program
like Windows Media Player, and using the File/Open/Browse menu option, and choosing the CD Rom Drive of
your computer (e.g. D or E typically), and then choosing Windows (or Macintosh),
and then choosing MIDI Files, and then choosing Sdemo1.mid.
- 2) Music for Study, Example 2, on p. 8, "The Washington Post March (Trio)"
- The audio for this example is part of Computer Drill # 1. When you click on the "Play" button just above
the title of the song (Washington Post March), the song will play twice, once without articulations, and once
with articulations. You can also play this file (but not for credit on your drills record) by using a program
like Windows Media Player, and using the File/Open/Browse menu option, and choosing the CD Rom Drive of
your computer (e.g. D or E typically), and then choosing Windows (or Macintosh),
and then choosing MIDI Files, and then choosing Sdemo2.mid.
- 3) Music for Study, Example 3, on p. 9-10, "Egmont Overture"
- The audio for this example is provided for you in two formats:
- a) It is provided as part of Computer Drill # 1. When you click on the "Play" button just above
the title of the song (Egmont Overture), the song will play twice, once without articulations, and once
with articulations. You can also play this file (but not for credit on your drills record) by using a program
like Windows Media Player, and using the File/Open/Browse menu option, and choosing the CD Rom Drive of
your computer (e.g. D or E typically), and then choosing Windows (or Macintosh),
and then choosing MIDI Files, and then choosing Sdemo3.mid.
- b) It is provided on the textbook disk as a CD Audio Track, as well. It is Track 1 on the disk.
You can play this on any CD player, or from the CD drive of most multimedia computers. Note: it won't work
on the Windows machines in the Info Commons, but it will work on the Macintosh machines there (you must
bring your own headphones). I recommend you bring your CD disk to the MLRC, on the Third Floor of the Ronald
Williams Library, if you don't have your own CD player.
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