Introduction

Background Information

Sound Waves and Sound Generators

The music production is comprised from three parts. Firstly, the music written down by the

composer by using a specific notation, then the translation of this musical notation into tone

and musical sounds by a musician, instrumentalist or vocalist, and, lastly, the reception of

the musical sound by the hearing mechanism of the human. However, music is sound.

Sound is an alteration in pressure, particle displacement, or particle velocity, which is

propagated in an elastic medium, or the superposition of such propagated alterations.

From this definition, we can deduce that sound can be produced when the air is set into

motion, by a vibrating physical body, such as the diaphragm, the body of a cello, and by the

intermittent throttling of an air stream, which is the case for the human voice. (Olson,

1967)

If a small balloon explodes, releasing compressed air, we have the production of the

simplest of sound waves. The air that previously was in the balloon travels outwards in

every direction as a pulse of pressure. A sound wave has some properties, such as a

frequency, its wave length and pressure in it. A sound generator produces similar recurrent

waves. A complete set of these waves is a circle. These waves spread at a definite velocity

and the number of these waves or circles which pass a certain observation point per

second is called frequency of a sound wave. The wave length of a sound wave is the

distance the sound travels to complete one circle, and, also, a sound wave is comprised of

pressure numbers either above or below the normal undisturbed pressure in the gas and
the sound pressure in a spherical sound wave falls off inversely as the distance from the

sound source. (Olson, 1967)

The Vocal-cord Reed Instrument or Human voice

The human voice is comprised of three main parts. Firstly, the lungs and the muscles

involved in maintaining the flow of air, then the larynx for converting the steady air flow

into a periodic modulation and ,lastly, the vocal cavities ( also called registers) of the

pharynx, the nose and the mouth, which alter the relative harmonic content of the output

of the larynx. The vocal cords do not get excitation at the frequency of vibration, but they

let the air go through them. The power source the human voice is using is the steady air

stream. The wave shape of a relaxation oscillator or corresponds to the general wave

shape of the output of the vocal cords. (Olson, 1967).

When the vocal cords vibrate, the output of the larynx consists of a steady stream with

superimposed impulses. This air stream goes through the cavities in the head. The vocal

cavities affect the wave shape the vocal cords produce. When the cavities are altered,

different sounds can be produced and from this we could deduce that the human voice can

produce an infinite number of different sounds, while the tongue also plays a major role

in the shaping of the vocal cavities, as well as the mouth opening and epiglottis. The

fundamental frequency of the vocal cords is different in each one of these examples. (Olson,

1967).

The true vowels and diphthongs are produced by the method mentioned before and the

unvoiced consonants, such as S, are produced by air from the lungs passing over the

sharp edges and through the narrow passages in the various parts of the mouth and nose

and the vocal cords, when producing these sounds, are not used.
The human voice has a specific fundamental-frequency range, different from person to

person. There are five main ranges of the human voice, with variations for each individual;

For females, the soprano range (from C4 to C6) and the alto range (from G3 to F5), and for

males, the tenor range (from D3 to C5), the baritone range (from A2 to G4), and the bass

range (from E2 to D4).

Historical Information

The discovery of the most important musical intervals are related to numeric ratios,

which were initially discovered in Egypt and Mesopotamia in the 2nd or 3rd millennium BC.

The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras is considered to be the person who introduced

the ratios for the octave, the perfect fourth and fifth in western music during the 6th

century BC by using vibrating strings, having as variables the length of the string and as

constants the thickness, type and tension of the string.

Pythagoras believed that the numbers were the key to the universe and so were to

music. Rhythm was related to numbers, as each note was based on a multiple of a standard

duration. The perfect fifth, fourth and the octave, later called consonances, are all intervals

generated by the simplest ratios; The ratio is related to the interval of the octave, the

ratio 3/2 to the interval of the perfect fifth, and the ratio 4/3 to the interval of the perfect

fourth.

Later, Ptolemy (127-48 BC), leading astronomer of his time, linked mathematical

laws and proportions to musical intervals, heavenly bodies, and planets movement and

distances from each other. Ptolemy believed that the movements of the planets were linked

to specific notes, intervals and musical scales. (Burkholder, Grout and Palisca, 2014)
Exploration

Aim of the Experiment

In this exploration, I intend to produce an equation of my own voice by examining

the graph of its sound wave. Starting off by the simplest of sound waves, by measuring the

sound wave produced by the tuning fork, observing and analysing its graph, I went further

and deeper, measuring the sound wave of my, more complex than the tuning forks sound

wave, voice.