Psychoacoustics

The acoustics of a space can have a real impact on the sounds you create and capture. Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, Fifth Edition provides supportive tools and exercises to help you understand how music sounds and behaves in different spaces, whether during a performance or a recording, when planning a control room or listening space, and how it is perceived by performers, listeners, and recording engineers. With their clear and simple style, Howard and Angus cover both theory and practice by addressing the science of sound engineering and music production, the acoustics of musical instruments, the ways in which we hear musical sounds, the underlying principles of sound processing, and the application of these concepts to music spaces to create professional sound. This new edition is fully revised to reflect new psychoacoustic information related to timbre and temporal perception, including an updated discussion of vocal fold vibration principles, samples of recent acoustic treatments, and a description of variable acoustics in spaces, as well as coverage of the environment’s effect on production listening, sonification, and other topics. Devoted to the teaching of musical understanding, an accompanying website (www.routledge.com/cw/howard) features various audio clips, tutorial sheets, questions and answers, and trainings that will take your perception of sound to the next level. This book will help you: Gain a basic grounding in acoustics and psychoacoustics with respect to music audio technology systems Incorporate knowledge of psychoacoustics in future music technology system designs as appropriate Understand how we hear pitch, loudness, and timbre Learn to influence the acoustics of an enclosed space through designed physical modifications

Psychoacoustics - Facts and Models represents a comprehensive collection of data describing the processing of sound by the human hearing system. It includes quantitative relations between sound stimuli and auditory perception in terms of hearing sensations. In addition, quantitative psychoacoustic models of hearing sensations are given. The monograph contains a unique collection of data on the human hearing system as a receiver of acoustic information as well as many examples of the practical application of the results of basic research in fields such as audiology, noise evaluation, and sound engineering. Many helpful hints for the solution of practical problems will be of particular benefit to engineers, and the book as a whole should serve as an important benchmark in the field of psychoacoustics. The treatment given in this second edition has been thoroughly updated with recent results.

"Ecological Psychoacoustics" outlines recent advances in dynamic, cognitive, and ecological investigations of auditory perception and ties this work to findings in more traditional areas of psychoacoustics. The book illuminates some of the converging evidence that is beginning to emerge from these traditionally divergent fields, providing a scientifically rigorous, "real world" perspective on auditory perception, cognition, and action. In a natural listening environment almost all sounds are dynamic, complex, and heard concurrently with other sounds. Yet, historically, traditional psychoacoustics has examined the perception of static, impoverished stimuli presented in isolation. "Ecological Psychoacoustics" examines recent work that challenges some of the traditional ideas about auditory perception that were established with these impoverished stimuli and provides a focused look at the perceptual processes that are more likely to occur in natural settings. It examines basic psychoacoustics from a more cognitive and ecological perspective. It provides broad coverage including both basic and applied research in auditory perception; and coherence and cross referencing among chapters.

Psychoacoustics offers a unique, comprehensive summary of information describing the processing of sound by the human hearing system. The third edition includes an additional chapter on audio-visual interactions and applications, plus more on applications throughout.

Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms, Third Edition explains the physical and perceptual processes that are involved in sound reproduction and demonstrates how to use the processes to create high-quality listening experiences in stereo and multichannel formats. Understanding the principles of sound production is necessary to achieve the goals of sound reproduction in spaces ranging from recording control rooms and home listening rooms to large cinemas. This revision brings new science-based perspectives on the performance of loudspeakers, room acoustics, measurements and equalization, all of which need to be appropriately used to ensure the accurate delivery of music and movie sound tracks from creators to listeners. The robust website (www.routledge.com/cw/toole) is the perfect companion to this necessary resource.

The acoustics of a recording space can have a real impact on the sounds you create and capture. The book gives an essential grounding and understanding to how real music sounds behave and are perceived in real spaces. With a clear and simple style Howard and Angus walk you through the theory- the science of sound engineering and music production, and the practical ? how to apply it to music spaces so create professional sound, using real world examples and providing audio clips and recorded sounds to work with. Updated throughout the new edition uncovers the acoustic application for today's recording industry. The website is packed with audio clips, questions and answers, a calculation facility as well as links and resources.

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.