Acoustics of Rooms and Musical Instruments

This course has two parts. A first part has its focus on the acoustical perspectives concerning music, musical instruments and music perception in rooms.

This first part covers sound generation and sound radiation mechanisms of the different families of musical instruments. The hearing mechanism is briefly reviewed as a basis for the perception of music in rooms. Sound synthesis of musical instruments will also be presented in the first part. A second part deals with the acoustic quality of indoor spaces. The second part provides a fundament for understanding how sound is perceived in rooms for speech or music communication, as well as for the general acoustic quality in rooms for various uses. Commonly used theoretical models are covered: wave-theoretical models, diffuse-field models, and geometrical acoustics. The functioning of devices for acoustic control, such as sound absorbers and screens, is described. Through field measurements indoors, students will learn about common measurement tasks. Computer-based exercises will demonstrate the implementations of theories.

Knowledge: Students will have:

• Thorough knowledge of the sound generation and radiation of musical instruments
• Thorough knowledge about the acoustical aspects of music performance
• In-depth knowledge of how sound propagates indoors
• Thorough knowledge about perception of sound in rooms

Skills: The candidate is able to

1. Describe music as a signal (time, frequency, amplitude)
2. Describe the structure and functioning of acoustical instruments
3. Perform simulation of some class of musical instrument
4. Propose strategies for better acoustic conditions in indoor spaces
5. Perform room acoustical measurements

Lectures, labs, simulation tasks.