Measured Tones

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
• 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 6. Percussion Instruments
• O brave New World
• Communication Devices: Microphones, Gramophones, Valves, Transistors. Effect on Music. Modern Sound Engineering: Frequency Response, Transients. Technology.
• Interlude 7. Electronic instruments
• I think, Therefore I am
• Theory of Communication. Information. Computers. Computer Composition.
• Interlude 8. Sublimest of Instruments, the Voice