Fundamentals of Sound

← Teaching Materials

An introduction to acoustics, psychoacoustics, and digital audio for artists working with sound, space, and media.

(Optimized for desktop and classroom projection. iPhone/iPad users: PDF recommended for better readability.)

  1. Vibration and Sound · PDF ↓
    Mechanical oscillation, wave propagation, and sound fields
  2. Wave Properties · PDF ↓
    Frequency, wavelength, amplitude, phase
  3. Waveforms · PDF ↓
    Periodic and stochastic audio signals
  4. Spectral Analysis · PDF ↓
    Fourier transform and the frequency domain
  5. Filters · PDF ↓
    Shaping the spectrum of audio signals
  6. Anatomy of Hearing · PDF ↓
    Structure and function of the auditory system
  7. Psychoacoustics · PDF ↓
    Perception of loudness, pitch, and timbre
  8. Sound Localization · PDF ↓
    Binaural hearing, HRTF, and spatial perception
  9. Room Acoustics · PDF ↓
    Reverberation, reflections, and room modes
  10. Digital Audio · PDF ↓
    Sampling, quantization, and digital representation of sound

Appendix

  1. Decibels · PDF ↓
  2. Works Cited · PDF ↓