Resonance

October 31, 2012

Looking Ahead
Im almost done with the grading of the second production
exercise
Hopefully youll get the results by tomorrow night.
Today: well cover something called resonance
Next week: understanding vowels

Ghosts of Lectures Past

Last time we learned:
A complex wave can be built up out of sinewaves.
These component sinewaves are called harmonics.
The frequencies of these harmonics are always integer
multiples of the fundamental frequency of the complex
wave.
Example: fundamental (F0) = 150 Hz
Harmonic 1: 150 Hz
Harmonic 2: 300 Hz
Harmonic 3: 450 Hz, etc.

Some Notes on Music

In western music, each note is at a specific frequency
Notes have letter names: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
Some notes in between are called flats and sharps

261.6 Hz

440 Hz

Harmony
Notes are said to harmonize with each other if the
greatest common denominator of their frequencies is
relatively high.
Example: note A4 = 440 Hz
Harmonizes well with (in order):
A5 = 880 Hz

(GCD = 440)

E5 ~ 660 Hz

(GCD = 220)

(a fifth)

C#5 ~ 550 Hz

(GCD = 110)

(a third)

....
A#4 ~ 466 Hz

(GCD = 2)

A major chord: A4 - C#5 - E5

(a minor second)

Where Things Stand, part 2

Last time, we also learned that:
We can represent the components of complex waves with
a spectrum
Frequency of harmonics on the x-axis
Intensity of harmonics on the y-axis

Where Things Stand, part 3

We also got the sense that vowels may be distinguished
on the basis of their spectral shapes.

Where Things Stand, part 4

Last but not least, we found out that we can represent
spectral change over time with something called a
spectrogram.
time on the x-axis
frequency on the y-axis
intensity on the z-axis (represented by shading)
One of the defining characteristics of speech sounds is
that they exhibit spectral change over time.

Fake Speech
Check out the spectrograms of our synthesized vowels:

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Check out the spectrograms of some sinewaves which
change in frequency over time:

Funky Stuff
Sounds that exhibit spectral change over time sound like
speech, even if theyre not speech
Example 1: sinewave speech
Consists of three sinusoids, varying in frequency over time

Reality Check
Note that real speech is more fleshed out, spectrally, than
sinewave speech.

Funky Stuff
Sounds that exhibit spectral change over time sound like
speech, even if theyre not speech
Example 2: wah pedal
shapes the spectral output of electrical musical instruments

Last but not least

The frequencies of harmonics are dependent on the
fundamental frequency of a sound
We cannot change the frequencies of harmonics
independently of each other
To change the spectral shape of a speech sound, we have
to change the intensity of different harmonics

How is this done?

We can selectively amplify or dampen specific harmonics
in a speech sound by taking advantage of a phenomenon
known as resonance.
Resonance:
when one physical object is set in motion by the
vibrations of another object.
Generally: a resonating object reinforces (sound) waves at
particular frequencies
by vibrating at those frequencies itself
in response to the pressures exerted on it by the
(sound) waves.
Resonance makes sounds at those frequencies louder.

Resonance Examples
Pretty much everything resonates:
tuning forks
bodies of musical instruments (violins, guitars, pianos)
blowing across the mouth of a bottle
pushing someone on a swing
bathroom walls
In the case of speech:
The mouth (and sometimes, the nose) resonates in
response to the complex waves created by voicing.

More on Resonance
Objects resonate at specific frequencies, depending on:
What theyre made of
Their shape
Their size

Think: pipe organs

Longer, larger tubes resonate at lower frequencies.
Shorter, smaller tubes resonate at higher frequencies.

Traveling Waves
How does resonance occur?
Normally, a wave will travel through a medium indefinitely
Such waves are known as traveling waves

Reflected Waves
If a wave encounters resistance, however, it will be
reflected.
What happens to the wave then depends on what kind of
resistance it encounters
If the wave meets a hard surface, it will get a true
bounce:
Compressions (areas of high pressure) come back as
compressions
Rarefactions (areas of low pressure) come back as
rarefactions

Sound in a Closed Tube

Java applet: http://surendranath.tripod.com/Applets/Waves/Lwave01/Lwave01Applet.html

Wave in a closed tube

With only one pressure pulse from the loudspeaker, the
wave will eventually dampen and die out

What happens when:

another pressure pulse is sent through the tube right
when the initial pressure pulse gets back to the
loudspeaker?

Standing Waves
The initial pressure peak will be reinforced
The whole pattern will repeat itself

Alternation between high and low pressure will continue

...as long as we keep sending in pulses at the right time
This creates what is known as a standing wave.
When this happens, the tube will vibrate in response to the
motion of the standing wave inside of it.
= it will resonate.

Tacoma Narrows Movie

Also check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-zczJXSxnw

Disaster!

A Minor Disaster
The pressure waves of sound can set up standing waves
in objects, too.
Check out the Mythbusters video online:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMg_nd-O688