Module 2 - Fundamentals of Sound

Prepared by: Prof. Reynalyn T.
Elon
of Sound
Fundamentals
“
Just like language, visual arts,
writing, printing, and photography,
sound recording is a way for people
to capture and store the events of
the present and revisit them in the
Prepared by: Prof. Reynalyn T. Elon
future.
2
1
Seeing Sound
The Acoustic Era
1877-1925
3
The Acoustic Era
The acoustic era is generally

understood to have begun
in 1877. Keeping and
replaying sound on any
device was something of a
miracle.
4
History of Sound Recording
◎ the story of sound recording is

dominated by the story of
music recording.
◎ the vast bulk of aural history
collection contains only music.
5
The Phonoautograph
Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville
Late 1850s
https://time.com/5084599/first-recorded-sound/
http://www.firstsounds.org/sounds/scott.php 6
The Phonoautograph
Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville
Late 1850s
https://www.teylersmuseum.nl/en/collection/instruments/fk-0275-phonautograph-after-leon-scott
7
8
https://youtu.be/WZxZyqOsPGU
9
https://youtu.be/XLXTFAUhR-E
The Phonoautograph
◎ interpret the image of the sound

wave to know what the sound was.
◎ the first machine to record sensory
data in real time over time.
◎ “Au Clair de la Lune” - first
recorded sound
◎ Variation: Morey phonautograph,
Ear phonautograph, Parleophon
10
The Phonograph
Thomas Edison
December 1877
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/original-edison-tinfoil-pho
nograph-1877-original-edison-news-photo/102729005 11
12
https://youtu.be/wRTgl0qx6wE
The Phonograph
◎ the world’s first recording machine

◎ wrapped a tinfoil around a rotating
drum and indented it with a stylus
which vibrated in sympathy with
the sound.
◎ commercialized and improved
13
The Graphophone
Alexander Graham Bell
1881
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/original-edison-tinfoil-phonograph-1877-original-edison
-news-photo/102729005 14
15
https://youtu.be/2IfyNkQNMXI
The Graphophone
◎ improved version of Edison’s

phonograph by using wax instead of
foil
◎ one goal was for companies to record
conversations and telephone calls.
◎ overall principle of the graphophone
was to record speech vibration onto a
disk.
16
1888
Emile Berliner
The Gramophone
17
18
https://youtu.be/SQxZi89_6nw
The Gramophone
◎ used a flat disc, called a gramophone

record; the first sound recordings that
could be mass-produced
◎ the "arm" of the gramophone held a
needle that read the grooves in the
record by vibration and transmitted
the information to the gramophone
speaker.
◎ Competitors: Vitaphone, Zonophone
19
2
The Birth of Recording
The Electrical Era
1925-1945
20
The Electric Era
The electrical era combines

the advent of electrical
microphones and record
production. Labels would
spend a lot of money on
new equipment, buying
microphones, wires, and
cables. Pairing the music

with film was possible.
21
“
An audio engineer is an individual
who records, mixes, or masters an
audio recording.
22
Victor orchestra recording

before 1925
http://www.aes-media.org/historical/html/recording.technology.history/microphones2.html
23
Electrical Recording at the Bell Laboratories

Harvey Fletcher, K. P. Secord, and Rogers H. Galt
1920
24
25
http://kjq.us.com/kfrcinthebeginning/we8bspeechinputequip.html
Microphones
◎ Carbon microphone
◉ an adaptation of the telephone transmitter
element and required a small bias voltage for
operation; suitable for the limited voice range
◎ Condenser microphone
◉ required a high-gain multi-stage amplifier to be
located near the pickup element, which is
basically a capacitor having a very low
capacitance; widely used in radio broadcasting
Western Electric 394 became the basic tool of
◉
sound recording in film
26
27
1922
Charles Hoxie
Pallophotophone
The Pallophotophone
◎ the world's first multitrack recording

system
◎ an optical system originally designed
to record radio signals on
photographic film
◎ began to adapt it for commercial
applications after the war, at first for
motion pictures, and then for disc

recording
28
“The Westrex System”

The Western Electric Electrical Recording System
George Groves, Oscar Winner
https://www.stokowski.org/Development_of_Electrical_Recording.htm 1924
29
Western Electric Electrical Recording
System
◎ Westrex System
◎ the microphone, the amplifier, plus
the electromechanical disk cutting
mechanism combined together
◎ licensed to Victor and Columbia
30
Victor orchestra recording

after 1925
31
32
33
Orlando Marsh recording in the

Chicago Theatre
34
35
Orlando Marsh
“The Originator of Electrical
Recording”
36
37
1927
Warner’s Stage Mixer Booth
38
39
https://youtu.be/-iX2lg4eYwQ
40
https://youtu.be/22NQuPrwbHA
1927
“The First Talkie”
41
The First Talkie
◎ The Jazz Singer

◉ The first “part-talkie”
◎ Lights of New York

◉ The first “all-talking” picture
◉ Vitaphone sound-on-disc process
42
43
https://youtu.be/R5E1EyzKz9E
My Man
“part-talkie, part-musical, part-silent film”
1928
44
45
1930
Turntables Relay System
3
Tape Recording
The Magnetic Era
1945-1975
46
The Magnetic Era
Every studio in the world

was moving to a form of
production that was much
easier to save. Storing the
tapes was easier. The music
recorded are more
accessible.
47
1910
Valdemar Poulsen
Telegraphone
48
The Telegraphone
◎ a pioneering telephone answering

machine.
◎ A simple version stored 2 minutes of
audio on 130 mm (5 inch) diameter
steel disks.
◎ the American Telegraphone Company
licensed Poulsen’s design
49
Oberlin Smith
“actual inventor of magnetic sound
recording”
1888
50
Oberlin Smith
◎ first to conceive and describe the

principles of magnetic recording
◎ built a machine to spin steel dust into
thread, but could not harden the dust
because of oxidation
◎ no one implemented his ideas until
Valdemar Poulsen
51
Fritz Pfleumer
“Sound Paper Machine”
1931
52
Fritz Pfleumer
◎ magnetic tape recording was based on

his 1928 invention of paper tape with
oxide powder lacquered to it.
◎ developed a process for putting metal
stripes on cigarette papers and
reasoned that he could similarly coat a
magnetic stripe to be used as an
alternative to wire recording.
◎ He received a patent in 1928, granted

AEG the rights in 1932
53
54
The Magnetophon
◎ “First practical tape recorder”

◎ brand or model name of the
pioneering reel-to-reel tape recorder
developed by engineers of the
German electronics company AEG
◎ one of the first recording machines to
use magnetic tape in preserving voice
and music
55
DC vs AC
◎ DC bias is the addition of direct current

to the audio signal that is being
recorded.
◉ In 1930, all magnetic recorders, were using
the DC bias method invented by Poulsen.
◎ AC bias is a method where a higher
frequency signal is recorded along with
the recording signal
◉ In 1940, Walter Weber formalised the AC

bias method
56
57
58
1948
Jack Mullin
AMPEX Model 200
59
Magnecorder PT-6s
“The first tape recorder to be brought to Japan”
1949
60
Sony’s Type H
Tapecorder
“The first consumer-use tape
recorder”
1951
61
Sony’s Tapecorder: Type H
◎ H for home use.

◎ housed in a wooden case resembling a
trunk to accommodate overseas travel.
◎ weighed 13kg
◎ the first model to incorporate industrial
design.
62
VRX-1000
“World's first commercially successful
videotape recorder”
Ampex corporation
1956
63
RCA VICTOR CP-1

“first stand alone magnetic tape recorder”
1958
64
RCA Victor CP-1
◎ Cartridge Player-1
◎ the first stand alone magnetic tape
recorder using pre-recorded or blank
cartridges
◎ quick changeovers, auto-reverse, longer
recording times and a lower cost
◎ by early 1960s, the RCA tape cartridge
was effectively dead
65
EL 3300 & BASF PES-18 Tape
“first cassette player & first cassette”
Philips (Europe), NORELCO (US)

1963
66
Stereo 8 (8-Track)
“first cassette player & first cassette”
RCA Records, Lear Jet Company, and Ampex
Magnetic Tape Company
1965
67
68
Sony, 1975
Betamax
VHS
JVC, 1977
69
“
A mixing engineer supervises the
post-recording mixing process.
Mixing is the process of putting
together all the tracks in a
recording project to make a
pleasing overall recording.
70
“
A recording engineer is responsible
for the recording of the original
tracks.
71
4
Revolution of Recording
The Digital Era
1975-present
72
The Digital Era
Acoustic, electric, and

magnetic recording are all
analog processes. Instead of
trying to reproduce the
exact image of the sound,
digital audio 1s and 0s to
represent pieces of the
analog wave sound.
73
Walkman
“Portable Music Player”
Sony, 1979
74
CDP-101
“The First CD player in the world”
Sony, 1982
75
76
https://youtu.be/fiDbkaaF_k4
Sony’s CDP-101 Commercial

77
Discman D-5
Portable CD Player
Sony, 1984
78
MP3
Karlheinz Brandenburg, 1992
79
https://youtu.be/mNWyF3iSMzs
Suzanne Vega’s Tom’s Diner (1987) is considered as the first mp3 ever.
80
MPMan
“first mass-produced portable audio player”
SaeHan Information Systems, 1998
81
iPod, iTunes Digital Jukebox

Apple, 2001
82
2004
YP-910GS
Samsung Napster,
83
Streaming
2002
“The possibility of
listening to, and
discovering, new music
without having to actually
download files or
purchase songs.”
84
5
How do we hear sounds?
How the Ear works
85
How do we hear?
The most important pieces of

hardware in any studio are the ones
on the sides of your head. When we
hear a sound, and you instinctively
turn your head toward that sound.
How do you know where it comes
from? This incredible hearing ability
is one that we use daily, both in
music and in real life.
86
“
Sound is a vibration or a
series of vibrations that
move through the air.
87
What is Sound?
◎ Compression vs Rarefaction
88
What is Sound?
◎ Compression vs Rarefaction
89
What is Sound?
◎ Compression
◉ the area where dense molecules are
pushed together
◉ compression area is higher in pressure
◎ Rarefaction
◉ the area where fewer molecules are
pulled apart, or expanded
◉ rarefaction area is lower in pressure
90
“
Human beings and many
other animals use sound for
communication.
91
92
https://youtu.be/7Xr9BYhlceA
https://youtu.be/JJ2ebYNtFUA
Weird ways animals communicate

93
What is Sound?
◎ Sound for Communication

◉ Bullfrogs croak incredibly loud when
they’re looking for love.
https://youtu.be/M02_dnl9zCA
94
What is Sound?

◉ Dolphins whistle to communicate
https://youtu.be/dwEDgSECGiU
95
What is Sound?

◉ Loons vocalize when feel threatened and
want to protect their territory
https://youtu.be/4UrCRcZ8Pas
96
What is Sound?

◉ Monkeys cry out a warning, giving the
other members of the troop a chance to
escape.
https://youtu.be/LgfVbpzR9bA
97
What is Sound?

◉ Gorillas hum when dinner is ready and to
show they’re happy
https://youtu.be/ed1sf386CHQ
98
99
https://youtu.be/mNWyF3iSMzs
“
Human beings and many
other animals use sound for
localisation.
100
What is Sound?
◎ Sound for Location

◉ Bats emit pulses of high-pitched sounds
and listen for echoes to locate objects
https://youtu.be/gZxLUNHEmPw
101
102
https://youtu.be/zXtExOMCDfE
103
https://youtu.be/08smCjKWNL0
What is Sound?
◎ Sound is produced by a vibrating source that

causes the matter around it to move.
◎ No sound is produced in a vacuum - Matter (air,
water, earth) must be present!
◎ When the vibrations are fast, you hear a high
note. When the vibrations are slow, it creates a
low note.
◎ When the pattern of vibration is random, the
sound is said to be noise.
◎ Without vibration there can be no sound.
104
6
Sound Characteristics
Seven Basic Properties of Sound
105
“
Amplitude is associated
with the height of a sound
wave and is related to
volume.
106
107
Amplitude
◎ This can also be considered “intensity”.

◎ Amplitude is how high (or low as the case may
be) the waves are.
◎ Amplitude is simply volume. How loud, or soft,
is your sound?
◉ Loud sounds have higher amplitudes while
quiet sounds have lower amplitude.
◎ The unit of measurement for amplitude
(volume) is called the “Decibel”, which is
shortened to “Db”.
◉ Boost - increase in amplitude
◉ Cut - decrease in amplitude
108
109
https://youtu.be/1XUovxiTpVA
dB Activities
0 Silence
40-50 Room ambience
50-60 Whisper
60-75 Typical conversation
80-85 A blender
90 Factory noise
100 Baby crying
110 Leaf blower, car horn
120 Threshold of pain

140 Snare drum played hard
150-160 Jet engine
110
111
“
Frequency is the amount of
cycles per second (cps)
created by a sound wave.
112
113
Frequency
◎ “Frequency” is just another term for “pitch”

◎ A note has a higher pitch when the frequency is
high and a note of low frequency has a low
pitch.
◎ The unit of measurement for frequency is Hertz
(Hz), named after Heinrich Hertz
◎ The average human hearing range is from 20 to
20,000 Hz.
◉ Infrasound - sound frequency below 20 Hz
◉ Ultrasound - sound frequency above 20 000 Hz
114
115
https://youtu.be/_SHFwmPQ_rQ
116
117
“
Phase designates a point in
a sound wave’s cycle.
118
Phase
◎ Phase is the term used to describe the actual

point reached by a sound wave in its circle of
movement.
◎ Equal amplitude but displaced sound waves are
out of phase with each other.
◎ If waveforms are out of phase when mixed
together, there will be cancellation in the
resulting audio.
119
120
121
122
https://youtu.be/iASc2P3cw0w
“
Velocity is the speed at
which sound travels.
123
Velocity
◎ The speed at which sound travels is dependent

on temperature, humidity, and density.
◎ Speed of sound varies depending on the
medium of the sound waves.
◉ Air - 343 mps
◉ Water - 1437 mps
◉ Wood - 3850 mps
124
“
Wavelength is the length of
the sound wave from one
peak to the next.
125
Wavelength
◎ The distance between successive crests of a

sound wave.
◎ Waves can be longitudinal or transversal
126
127
3.766 ft
“
Envelope helps the listener
distinguish one instrument
or voice from the other
128
Envelope
◎ “Envelope” is also referred to as an “ADSR

Envelope” or just “ADSR”.
◉ Attack is how quickly a sound reaches its peak
volume after the sound is activated (the key is
pressed).
◉ Decay is how quickly the sound drops to the
sustain level after the sound hits its peak.
◉ Sustain is the constant volume that a sound sits
at after decay until the note is released.
◉ Release is how quickly the sound fades to
nothing once a note ends.
129
130
131
132
https://youtu.be/Q-ot9AaJx-Y
“
The richness and character
of a musical note is often
found within the
harmonics.
133
Harmonics
◎ Harmonics are commonly referred to as

“timbre” or “quality of sound”
◎ Timbre is a fancy word for “tone”, or the color of
a sound.
◎ Timbre is why two different instruments can be
playing the same exact note, at the same exact
volume, and yet they still sound different.
134
“
Noise is any unwanted
sound that is usually
non-repeating.
135
Noise
◎ Noise is a hum, a hiss, or a variety of extraneous

sounds that accompany a sound wave when it is
mixed or recorded.
◎ Noise comes from a variety of sources besides
the instrument, such as an air conditioner,
fluorescent lights, or outside traffic.
136
References
◎ Marks, A. (2017). Aaron Marks' complete guide

to game audio : for composers, sound designers,
musicians, and game developers. Boca Raton :
CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group
◎ Morton, D. (2006). Sound Recording: The Life
Story of a Technology. Mary Land: JHU Press
◎ Somberg, G, (2017). Game audio programming :
principles and practices. Boca Raton : CRC Press,
Taylor & Francis Group
137

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Module 2 - Fundamentals of Sound

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Available Formats

Prepared by: Prof. Reynalyn T.

The acoustic era is generally

◎ the story of sound recording is

◎ interpret the image of the sound

Ear phonautograph, Parleophon

◎ the world’s ﬁrst recording machine

◎ improved version of Edison’s

◎ used a ﬂat disc, called a gramophone

The electrical era combines

cables. Pairing the music

Victor orchestra recording

Electrical Recording at the Bell Laboratories

◎ the world's ﬁrst multitrack recording

motion pictures, and then for disc

“The Westrex System”

Victor orchestra recording

Orlando Marsh recording in the

◎ The Jazz Singer

◎ Lights of New York

Every studio in the world

◎ a pioneering telephone answering

◎ ﬁrst to conceive and describe the

◎ magnetic tape recording was based on

◎ He received a patent in 1928, granted

◎ “First practical tape recorder”

◎ DC bias is the addition of direct current

◉ In 1940, Walter Weber formalised the AC

◎ H for home use.

RCA VICTOR CP-1

Philips (Europe), NORELCO (US)

pleasing overall recording.

Acoustic, electric, and

analog wave sound.

Sony’s CDP-101 Commercial

iPod, iTunes Digital Jukebox

The most important pieces of

◉ rarefaction area is lower in pressure

Weird ways animals communicate

◎ Sound for Communication

◎ Sound for Communication

◎ Sound for Communication

◎ Sound for Communication

◎ Sound for Communication

◎ Sound for Location

◎ Sound is produced by a vibrating source that

◎ Without vibration there can be no sound.

◎ This can also be considered “intensity”.

40-50 Room ambience

60-75 Typical conversation

100 Baby crying

110 Leaf blower, car horn

120 Threshold of pain

140 Snare drum played hard

150-160 Jet engine

◎ “Frequency” is just another term for “pitch”

◉ Ultrasound - sound frequency above 20 000 Hz

◎ Phase is the term used to describe the actual

◎ The speed at which sound travels is dependent

◎ The distance between successive crests of a

◎ “Envelope” is also referred to as an “ADSR

nothing once a note ends.

◎ Harmonics are commonly referred to as

◎ Noise is a hum, a hiss, or a variety of extraneous

◎ Marks, A. (2017). Aaron Marks' complete guide