Physics 118

Course Outline

Spring 2009

Title	Chapter
Preliminaries to a Study of Musical Acoutics	1
Impulsive Sounds, Alone and in Sequence	2
Simple Relations of Sounds and Motions	3
Characteristic Frequencies and the Decay of Composite Sounds	4
Pitch: The Simplest Musical Implication of Characteristic Oscillations	5
The Modes of Oscillation of Simple and Composite Systems	6
Exam I	Feb 10– Noon
Introduction to Vibrational Recipes; The Plucked String	7
Broad Hammers and Plectra, Soft Hammers, and the Stiffness of Strings	8
The Vibrations of Drumheads and Soundboards	9
Exam II	Mar 6 – Noon
Sinusoidally Driven Oscillations	10
Room Acoustics I: Excitation of the Modes and the Transmission of Impulses	11
Room Acoustics II: The Listener and the Room	12
Exam III	Apr 17 – Noon
The Loudness of Single and Combined Sounds	13
The Acoustical Phenomena Governing the Musical Relationships of Pitch	14
Successive Tones: Reverberations, Melodic Relationships, and Musical Scales	15
Keyboard Temperaments and Tuning Properties of the Organ, Harpsichord, and Piano	16
Exam IV	May 14 – Noon