Creating musical sounds

This course aims to teach students about the principles of creating musical sounds. By the end of the course, learners will understand the concept of musical instruments, sound production, excitation, primary vibrators, and radiation. The course covers topics such as standing waves, vibrating strings, vibrating air columns, and pitches of notes produced by different instruments. The teaching method involves theoretical explanations and practical examples to help students grasp the concepts effectively. This course is designed for individuals interested in music, sound production, and the physics behind musical instruments.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Aims of Creating musical sounds
• 1 Aims of Creating musical sounds
• 2 What is a musical instrument?
• 2 What is a musical instrument?
• 3 Sound production in musical instruments
• 3 Sound production in musical instruments
• 4 Excitation
• 4 Excitation
• 5 Primary Vibrators
• 5 Primary Vibrators
• 5.1 Standing waves
• 5.2 Vibrating string: speed of wave propagation
• 5.3 Vibrating string: standing waves on a string
• 5.4 Vibrating string: normal modes of vibration
• 5.5 Vibrating string: pitches of notes produced by stringed instruments
• 5.6 Vibrating air column
• 5.7 Vibrating air column: reflection at the end of an air column
• 5.8 Vibrating air column: standing waves in a cylindrical tube open at both ends
• 5.9 Vibrating air column: standing waves in a cylindrical tube closed at one end
• 5.10 Vibrating air column: end effects
• 5.11 Vibrating air column: standing waves in a conical tube
• 5.12 Vibrating air column: pitches of notes produced by wind instruments
• 5.13 Other primary vibrators
• 5.13.1 Rectangular bar
• 5.13.2 Circular membrane
• 5.13.3 Circular plate
• 5.13.4 Pitches of notes produced by percussion instruments
• 5.14 Response and damping
• 5.15 Summary of Section 5
• 6 Radiation
• 6 Radiation
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgements