0% found this document useful (0 votes)
45 views4 pages

Techniques de La Prise de Son Et Du Mixage I - Chapitre-1

This document defines sound and describes its characteristics. It states that sound is produced by vibration transmitted through air molecules. It then discusses three key characteristics of sound waves: frequency (pitch), amplitude (volume), and harmonic constitution (timbre). Frequency is measured in Hertz and determines pitch. Amplitude determines intensity and is perceived as loudness. Timbre depends on the harmonic frequencies above the fundamental frequency. The document also notes that sound propagates through air as pressure variations in sound waves moving away from the source at about 340 m/s.

Uploaded by

Samah Kanaan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
45 views4 pages

Techniques de La Prise de Son Et Du Mixage I - Chapitre-1

This document defines sound and describes its characteristics. It states that sound is produced by vibration transmitted through air molecules. It then discusses three key characteristics of sound waves: frequency (pitch), amplitude (volume), and harmonic constitution (timbre). Frequency is measured in Hertz and determines pitch. Amplitude determines intensity and is perceived as loudness. Timbre depends on the harmonic frequencies above the fundamental frequency. The document also notes that sound propagates through air as pressure variations in sound waves moving away from the source at about 340 m/s.

Uploaded by

Samah Kanaan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Antonine University – Faculty of Advertising and Media

Audiovisual techniques: Sound – Teacher: Jean-Paul Jalwan.

CHAPTER I

Definition of sound as a physical phenomenon

1. What is sound?

Sound is an auditory sensation due to a vibration produced by a source. Sound is therefore


produced when an object (the source) vibrates and allows the air molecules around it to transmit
these vibrations.

We can imagine a simple source producing a sound like a squash ball vibrating in a regular
way so that its size varies slightly – sometimes a little smaller than normal and sometimes a little
larger. As the ball begins to vibrate, it compresses (decrease in volume) the air and rarefies it
(increase in volume) in a periodic way (fig. 1).

Fig.1 Sound source.


2. Characteristics of a sound wave

All simple sounds, such as a musical note, can be described exhaustively by three
parameters: pitch, intensity (also called volume) and timbre. These three criteria correspond
respectively to three characteristics of the wave which are its frequency, its amplitude and its
harmonic constitution. On the other hand, noise, which consists of acoustic waves of different
frequencies, cannot be described by these three criteria. Noise is a complex sound.

a. Frequence and Height

The frequency expressed in hertz (Hz) is the number of oscillatory cycles of one
wave per second. The frequency can also be expressed in cps (cycles per second). A
difference in height corresponds to a frequency ratio.

Reminder-1: The frequency is inversely proportional to the period (time that elapses
between two peaks or troughs of the wave). F = 1/T. Therefore, the smaller the time that
elapses between the oscillations of a source, the greater the frequency.

Reminder-2: The frequency of a sound is directly related to the pitch of a perceived


sound, but is only one of its components. At a low frequency corresponds a low sound, at a
high frequency a high sound.

Fig.2 Example of frequencies.


Any living being with hearing can only perceive part of the sound spectrum. The middle
human ear perceives sounds in a certain frequency range located approximately (depending
on age, culture, etc.), between 16 Hz (below sounds are called infrasound) and 20 kHz
(beyond sounds are called ultrasound).

The cat can perceive sounds up to 25 kHz;


The dog perceives sounds up to 35 kHz; Bats and dolphins can perceive sounds with a
frequency of 100 kHz.

b. Amplitude and intensity

It was seen above that the intensity of a sound was related to the amplitude of the
corresponding acoustic wave. The latter actually represents a measure of the displacement of
air molecules (the rate of compression and scarcity of air). The more forcefully the air
molecules hit the ear membrane, the greater the amplitude of the wave will be and therefore
the louder the sound will appear (ofhigh intensity).

Fig.3 Example of intensities


Fig.4 Scale of sound intensities. The intensity of a sound is usually measured in decibels.

c. Harmonic frequencies and timbre

If we play the tuning fork on the instrument of the same name, on a piano or on a
violin, with identical volume, these three sounds have the same frequency and the same
amplitude, but have a markedly different timbre. Of these three sound sources, the purest
sound is that emitted by the tuning fork, as it consists almost exclusively of vibrations with a
frequency of 440 Hz. On the other hand, the sound produced by a piano or violin consists of
a main vibration of 440 Hz, called the fundamental, to which are superimposed other
vibrations whose frequencies are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. These
ancillary vibrations are called harmonics (or harmonic frequencies), and their intensities
determine the timbre of a sound.

3. Sound propagation in the air

In a compressible medium, most often in the air, the sound propagates in the form of a
pressure variation created by the sound source. It is important to note that air particles do not move,
but vibrate a fixed point. The result, however, corresponds to a sound wave that seems to moveaway
from the source. The speed of propagation of the sound wave depends on the density and elasticity
of the substance through which it passes. In the air, sound waves travel at about 340 m/s. In solid
(non-gaseous) environments, sound can propagate even faster. Thus inwater,its speed is 1482 m / s
and in steel 5100 m / s. The sound does not propagate in a vacuum,because there is no matter to
support the waves produced (soundinsulation).

You might also like