Acoustics and Psychoacoustics

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject of acoustics, including the principles of human perception of sound, sometimes called psychoacoustics.






Acoustics and Psychoacoustics is ideal for students of music technology, sound recording, traditional music and acoustics, as well as engineers studying audio, multimedia and communications systems. Anyone who wants a practical understanding of how real musical sounds behave and are perceived in real spaces, will find this an accessible and interesting read.

Subjects featured include:
Principles of sound
Human hearing and psychoacoustics
Musical timbre, pitch and loudness perception
Sound generation in musical instruments
Sound in different environments (architectural acoustics)
Processing sound electronically

The book's second edition provides new material on wave motion, brass and woodwind instruments, forward and backward masking, an introduction to coding, and diffusion. Additional references and marginal notes explaining basic terms are provided to aid understanding.

Supporting website:
http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~dmh8/AcPsych/acpsyc.htm

Visit the book's supporting website, designed by author David Howard, for additional resources:
Questions and exercises to test your knowledge
Web links for further resources and research
Audio clips
Calculation facilities (eg. adding decibel values and converting between frequency ratio and cents/semitones)

The website can also be reached via www.focalpress.com


Professor David M Howard lectures on music technology at the University of York's Electronics Department. His research interests include the analysis and synthesis of music, speech and singing, human hearing modelling and the use of computer displays in voice teaching. He is an active organist, choral singer and choral conductor.
Dr James Angus was an instigator of the music technology courses at York, where he formerly lectured. He is now an independent consultant and researches in the area of acoustics, in particular diffuser design and audio signal processing.

Acoustics and Psychoacoustics is part of the Focal Press Music Technology Series.




*A broad-ranging introduction to acoustics and psychoacoustics
*Highly accessible for students requiring a practical understanding of the subject
*Supporting website features exam questions and links to online sources