Exam 2 Flashcards

1
Q

what is a sound?

A

small and rapid variations in pressure in a fluid medium (air or water)

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2
Q

what is a sound wave?

A

the variation in pressure over time

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3
Q

what is waveform or an oscillogram?

A

plots the pressure of a sound wave at a given location at each instant of time

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4
Q

what is a periodic wave?

A

a wave with the same pattern of air pressure variation repeated exactly over and over

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5
Q

how are frequency and amplitude percieved?

A

frequency as pitch and amplitude as loudness

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6
Q

in a periodic wave each repetition is called a what?

A

cycle

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7
Q

what’s a wave that isn’t periodic?

A

aperiodic

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8
Q

what is a sine wave?

A

periodic wave that has a smooth and symmetrical curve connecting the points of maximum and minimum pressure

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9
Q

a sine wave can be defined by what parameters? why?

A

frequency and amplitude - because it’s a simple wave

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10
Q

a sine wave is what type of sound?

A

pure tone

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11
Q

what is frequency?

A

the number of times a wave repeats itself during a unit of time

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12
Q

what is the unit of frequency?

A

Hertz or cps (cycles per second)

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13
Q

if a tuning fork repeats once every .01 seconds - how many hertz is it?

A

100 Hz, repeats 100 times per second

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14
Q

___ frequency –> ___ pitch

A

higher, higher

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15
Q

pitch is what?

A

psychological

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16
Q

what is amplitude?

A

the magnitude of the pressure variation in the wave - the difference between the peak pressure and average atmospheric pressure

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17
Q

loudness is what?

A

psychological

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18
Q

any wave that is NOT a sine wave is what?

A

a complex wave

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19
Q

all sound waves in the real world are what type of waves?

A

complex wave

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20
Q

what is Fourier’s Theorem?

A

any complex wave can be analyzed as a combination of superimposed sine waves

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21
Q

how are two waves superimposed?

A

their pressures at a particular point in time are added together

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22
Q

what’s a frequency spectrum?

A

the distribution of energy over frequencies, it shows the amplitude of each component sine wave in the complex wave

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23
Q

what is a wave that is almost periodic?

A

quasiperiodic

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24
Q

why can’t any sound be truly periodic?

A

because it’s required to go on forever

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25
Q

what components make up the pitch of complex sounds?

A

fundamental frequency and harmonic spacing

26
Q

what is the fundamental frequency of a complex sound?

A

the lowest frequency in the frequency spectrum

27
Q

what are harmonics?

A

while number multiples of the fundamental frequency

28
Q

the strongest peaks of a frequency spectrum are called what?

A

formants

29
Q

what is fundamental frequency?

A

the frequency at which the whole wave repeats

30
Q

in speech, fundamental frequency is determined by what?

A

the frequency of vocal fold vibrated

31
Q

the space between successive harmonics is equal to what?

A

the fundamental frequency

32
Q

what changes in speech sounds between sounds like [i] and [u]?

A

changes in formants

33
Q

what is quality?

A

all the perceived properties of a sound aside from its overall loudness, pitch and duration

34
Q

when two different instruments play the same note at the same loudness they sound different - why?

A

they differ in quality

35
Q

what is a source?

A

what got the sound pressure fluctuating in an audible way

36
Q

what is a filter?

A

a sound-making device sound passes through that strengthens some frequency components and weakening others

37
Q

what is resonant frequency?

A

the frequency at which it will vibrate with the minimal input of energy

38
Q

what is the general rule of resonant frequencies?

A

the LARGER the object is, the LOWER the resonant frequency (longer has lower)

39
Q

pianos have multiple resonant frequencies - why?

A

there are multiple vibrating parts and chambers of air inside the complex object

40
Q

what is a spectrogram?

A

a display of how the frequency spectrum changes over time - vertical axis: frequency, horizontal axis: time, degree of darkness: amplitude at a given frequency and time

41
Q

why was the spectrogram invented?

A

AT&T made it for deaf people to use the phone by reading the spectrogram but it didn’t work it was too hard to read

42
Q

vowels are sonorants meaning what?

A

they are produced without turbulent airflow

43
Q

a sound wave for a sonorant is what?

A

quasiperiodic

44
Q

vowels are distinguished from sonorant consonants by being what?

A

longer and more intense

45
Q

what are the small lines on a spectrogram?

A

voicing pulses

46
Q

F1 represents what?

A

formant 1- the vowel height - the lower the vowel, the higher the F1

47
Q

in low vowels, what does F1 look like?

A

F1 is widely separated from the baseline

48
Q

in high vowels, what does F1 look like?

A

F1 is right on the baseline

49
Q

F2 represents what?

A

formant 2 - vowel backness - the more front a vowel, the higher the F2 frequency

50
Q

in front vowels, what’s the relationship between F1 and F2?

A

F1 and F2 are widely separated

51
Q

in back vowels, what is the relationship between F1 and F2?

A

F2 is right on top of F1

52
Q

what does the source determine in a sound?

A

the fundamental frequency and the harmonics

53
Q

what does the filter determine in a sound?

A

the formants

54
Q

vowels are differentiated by what in a spectrogram?

A

the formants

55
Q

when the lips are rounded what happens to the vocal tract?

A

lengthens the vocal tract therefore lowering the resonant frequency

56
Q

in terms of tongue constriction, how is the resonant frequency effected?

A

the further back the tongue constriction, the lower the resonant frequency - because bigger things (mouth cavity) have a lower resonant frequency

57
Q

what is the average length of the adult vocal tract?

A

males: 16.9 cm. long
females: 14.1 cm long

58
Q

women’s vocal tracts are generally shorter than men’s, how does this effect their speech sounds?

A

higher formants, higher resonant frequency

59
Q

what is a wide-band spectrogram?

A

makes the formants more visible but blurs the harmonics together

60
Q

what is a narrow-band spectrogram?

A

harmonics are clearly visible

61
Q

when pulses are falling on a spectrogram, what does that mean?

A

the pitch is falling

62
Q

what is speech synthesis?

A

the production of speech by a machine