Chapter 1-9 Flashcards

1
Q

Waveform

A

a continuous line showing air pressure or voltage over time

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2
Q

Axis

A

fixed reference line for the measurement of coordinates

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3
Q

cycle

A

wave displacement from equilibrium to max to min and back

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4
Q

phase

A

the measure of a starting waveform compared to another waveform or reference point

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5
Q

Compression

A

increase in air pressure caused by the displacement of air molecules

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6
Q

rarefaction

A

decrease in air pressure caused by the displacement of air molecules

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7
Q

period

A

the amount of time required for a waveform to complete one cycle

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8
Q

frequency

A

the number of waveform cycles occurring each second

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9
Q

pitch

A

subjective perception of frequency

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10
Q

What unit is frequency measured in

A

cycles per second (Hertz)

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11
Q

amplitude

A

the measure of the size of displacement

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12
Q

loudness (volume)

A

perception of amplitude

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13
Q

spectrum

A

the measure of all frequencies and their amplitudes in a sound

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14
Q

timbre

A

subjective perception of the spectrum of a sound

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15
Q

sympathetic vibration

A

when something resonates because it has matching resonant frequencies with something else

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16
Q

simple waveform

A

waveform with only one frequency component

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17
Q

complex waveform

A

waveform with more than one frequency component

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18
Q

fundamental

A

the lowest frequency in a complex waveform

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19
Q

natural number

A

positive integers

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20
Q

harmonic

A

a frequency which is a positive integer multiple of the fundamental frequency

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21
Q

overtone

A

harmonic occurring above the fundamental

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22
Q

partial

A

any frequency occurring in the spectrum

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23
Q

speed of sound

A

344 m/s @15 degrees C

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24
Q

What is the symbol for wavelength

A

lambda

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25
Q

node

A

a point on a waveform with minimum displacement

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26
Q

antinode

A

point of a waveform with maximum displacement

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27
Q

onset

A

the beginning point in time of an event

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28
Q

envelope

A

a description of how a parameter changes over time

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29
Q

attack

A

the time that it takes from the onset of a sound to grow to its loudest point

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30
Q

decay

A

the time that it takes for a sound to fall from its maximum level to its sustain level

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31
Q

sustain level

A

the measure of the constant amplitude of a sound following the decay

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32
Q

sustain duration

A

the portion of the envelope where the amplitude is nearly constant

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33
Q

release

A

the time that it takes for a sound to fall from the sustain level to zero

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34
Q

ADSR

A

abbreviation for a common envelope

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35
Q

resonance

A

the tendency of an object or enclosed space to amplify or aphasia acoustic energy at a particular frequency or frequencies

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36
Q

eigentone

A

the resonant frequency of an enclosed space or anject

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37
Q

standing wave

A

a wave where each point has an unchanging amplitude raging from zero at the nodes to a maximum at the antinodes

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38
Q

absorption coefficient

A

the measure of the attenuation or reduction in the energy of a waveform striking the material

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39
Q

reflection

A

the unabsorbed sound energy that is thrown back from a surface

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40
Q

echo

A

a duplicate of a sound energy that is thrown back from a surface

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41
Q

reverberation

A

occurs when a multiple copies of a sound overlap so that each onset is not distinct

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42
Q

reverb time

A

the time is takes for a single sound to drop 60 dB in intensity

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43
Q

Helmholtz resonator

A

any enclosed space with rigid walls that supports eigentones

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44
Q

bass trap

A

an enclosed space that is designed to resonate at and reduce the energy of specific frequencies

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45
Q

formants

A

areas of emphasized frequencies in a sound spectrum

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46
Q

fast Fourier transform

A

a method of analyzing complex sounds to examine their frequency content

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47
Q

frequency theory of hearing

A

theory that our perception of pitch is based on the firing rate of neutrons

48
Q

volley principle

A

theory that for high frequencies neurons will fire in synchronized volleys, allowing time to recharge while still sending stimuli matching the excitation frequency to the brain

49
Q

place theory of hearing

A

theory that we perceive pitch based on the point of maximum excitation on the basilar membrane

50
Q

neuron

A

a nerve cell that transmits energy using chemical and electrical means

51
Q

bone conduction

A

when sound vibrations travel through bone to reach the hearing processes rather than through air

52
Q

decibel

A

one tenth of a bel; a measure of sound intensity

53
Q

tinnitus

A

a constant ringin or high frequency heard in the ears

54
Q

threshold of pain

A

the decibel level above which pain is felt in the hearing processes

55
Q

presbycusis

A

age-related hearing loss

56
Q

TTS

A

temporary threshold shift

57
Q

PTS

A

permanent threshold shift

58
Q

conductive hearing loss

A

hearing loss attributable to physical problems in the outer and middle ear

59
Q

sensorineural hearing loss

A

hearing loss attributable to damage in the cochlea or neural pathways

60
Q

Fletcher-Munson diagram

A

a plot of equal-loudness contours across the audible spectrum

61
Q

equal loudness curves

A

curves showing the perception of matching sound levels between different frequencies

62
Q

phon

A

a unit of loudness level for pure tones

63
Q

auditory masking

A

when the amplitude of one frequency is great enough to cover the sound of a quieter frequency close by in a spectrum

64
Q

temporal masking

A

when the presentation of a loud sound covers the presentation of a softer sound appearing before or after closely in time, even when the softer sound comes before the loud sound

65
Q

audiogram

A

a graphic representation of a subject’s hearing response

66
Q

audio chain

A

the series of devices needed to record, store and reconstruct an audio signal

67
Q

microphone

A

a transducer for converting sound energy into an electrical signal

68
Q

transducer

A

a device that changes one type of energy into another

69
Q

preamplifier

A

electrical circuit that raises the signal from a microphone a useable level

70
Q

analog to digital converter (ADC)

A

circuit that measure the value of an analog voltage and outputs numbers

71
Q

anti-aliasing filter

A

a filter that prior to sampling removes frequencies that are too high to be measured accurately

72
Q

sampling rate

A

the number of times per second that the values of a waveform are measured

73
Q

wavetable

A

a table of values obtained from measuring a waveform

74
Q

digital to analog converter (DAC)

A

circuit that outputs voltages based on the digital numbers fed to it

75
Q

smoothing filter

A

a filter that removes frequencies above the Nyquist limit prior to audio output

76
Q

nyquist frequency

A

equal to half the sampling rate; gives the highest frequency that can be accurately sampled

77
Q

aliasing

A

unwanted frequencies not present in the original sound caused by too high a frequency @ the input or too low a sampling rate

78
Q

passive speakers

A

speakers with no amplifier built in

79
Q

active speakers

A

speakers with an amplifier as part of the unit

80
Q

bit

A

binary digit; base two numeral

81
Q

bit depth

A

the number of bits used to measure an amplitude

82
Q

quantization

A

the rounding off of values to fit within a measurement system

83
Q

signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR)

A

a measurement of audio quality expressed as the ratio of signal strength to noise strength

84
Q

plug

A

male electrical connector

85
Q

jack

A

female electrical connector

86
Q

XLR

A

standard three connector cable/plug/jack

87
Q

1/4” TRS

A

standard two or three connector cable/plug/jack (tip ring sleeve)

88
Q

TRRS

A

tip ring ring sleeve connector common with smartphones and laptops

89
Q

speakon

A

locking cable specifically for speakers

90
Q

dynamic microphone

A

microphone with a moving coil

91
Q

condenser (electrostatic) microphone

A

microphone with a capacitor

92
Q

phantom power

A

power supplied by mixer or external sound card to provide a charge in a condenser or electrostatic microphone

93
Q

diaphragm

A

part of the microphone which is moved by sound waves to create a changing voltage or capacitance

94
Q

frequency response

A

the manner in which a microphone reproduces a signal across the bandwidth

95
Q

omnidirectional microphone pattern

A

microphone pattern which is equally sensitive in all directions

96
Q

cardioid microphone pattern

A

microphone pattern that is sensitive in a heart shaped pattern (best for recording live performances so it doesn’t pick up the audience very much)

97
Q

figure eight microphone pattern

A

microphone pattern that is sensitive in a figure eight pattern

98
Q

field recording

A

recording material outside of a studio

99
Q

field recorder

A

portable recording unit

100
Q

surround sound

A

recording with more than two channels of sound intended to replicate the listening experience in 360 degrees

101
Q

signal

A

analog or digital representation of a sound in the circuitry or software

102
Q

noise

A

unwanted sound in a signal

103
Q

normalization

A

uniform amplification of the strength of a signal

104
Q

filter

A

software or hardware that attenuates frequencies in the spectrum

105
Q

cut-off frequency

A

the point in a filter above or below which frequencies are attenuated

106
Q

high pass

A

a filter that allows high frequencies to pass through

107
Q

low pass

A

a filter that allows low frequencies to pass through

108
Q

band pass

A

a filter that allows a band of frequencies to pass through

109
Q

notch

A

a filter that removes a band of frequencies

110
Q

equalization

A

adjusting the relative amplitudes of frequencies across the audible spectrum

111
Q

control tracks

A

in DAW, tracks that contain data to control processing parameters rather than audio or MIDI data

112
Q

line segment

A

the continuous control data between two breakpoints in a control track

113
Q

breakpoint

A

the beginning or end point of a line segment in a control track

114
Q

fading

A

attenuating the signal in an audio track

115
Q

panning

A

making it seem like the sound is moving through space by moving it from one speaker to others

116
Q

sound horizon

A

the virtual line between two speakers on which sound appears to travel