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• 1 Week 1: Sound theory

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• What can frequency tell us about the length of a wave?

  
  If sound travels 344 meters per second. A full cycle of a 100 hz wavelength will be around 3,4 meters long. 200hz will be half of that and so on. 50 hz will actually travel double the lenght of the 100hz which is longer than most bedroom studio’s.

• What is pitch and how does it correspond to certain frequencies.

  
  Frequentie describes how fast a wave is vibrating. As people we are generally more interested in the pitch of a sound. With a high pitch corresponding to a high frequency and a low pitch corresponding to a low frequency. We hear relationship of pitch when notes are played after each other.

• What does frequency tell us about the relationship between tones?

  For example a 220 Hz frequency is equal to an A note on a piano.
  
  The doubling of the frequency gives us one octave higher on the piano. 440 Hz is an A one octave higher. 
  
  A 2:1 ratio is therefore an octave.
  A 5:4 ratio is a major 3rd.

• How many semitones are in an octave?

  There are 12 semitones in one octave.
   As a result, the notes of an equal-tempered chromatic scale are equally-spaced.

• On which scale are pitch and amplitude measured?

  On a 
  logarithmic scale. Not on a linear or exponential scale scale.

• What is the logarithm? What are logarithmic scales?

  In mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. Logarithmic scales reduce wide-ranging quantities to smaller scopes. For example, the decibel (dB) is a unit used to express ratio as logarithms, mostly for signal power and amplitude (of which sound pressure is a common example). 

• What is the 'envelope' of a sound?

  How loudness changes over time. It is an envelope of the loudness and the change and duration of the sound.

• How would you describe the amplitude of the envelope of a snare vs a violin?

  A short attack versus a long release
  A long attack versus a long release

• What is the fundamental frequency and what are overtones?

  The lowest frequency is called the Fundamental Frequency and is often the pitch of a sound. Frequencies above the fundamental are called ‘Overtones’, these are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency.

• What forms the timber of a sound?

  
  
  
  
  The relationship between the fundamental frequency and the present overtones form the timbre of a sound.