Task 7: Ear Flashcards
Physical definition of sound
Sound is pressure changes in the air or other medium. Referred to as ‘sound stimulus’.
Perceptual definition of sound
Sound is the experience we have when we hear. Referred to as ‘sound perception’.
Sound wave
Pattern of alternating high- and low-pressure regions in the air, as neighboring air molecules affect each other.
Condensation
Region of increased pressure on a sound wave that pSounushes surrounding air molecules together, resulting in air pressure above atmospheric pressure (= increased density).
Rarefraction
Region of decreased pressure on sound wave that spreads out air molecules to fill in increased space, resulting in decreased density.
Vibration with sine-wave motion is described by x2
- Frequency
2. Amplitude
Frequency
Number of cycles per second that pressure changes repeat (hertz, Hz)
- perceptual quality of pitch
- higher frequency = higher pitch
Amplitude
size of pressure changes determined by difference in pressure between high and low peaks os sound wave (decibel, dB)
- perceptual quality of sound
- higher amplitude = louder
What are the building blocks of sounds?
pure tones
Harmonic
made up of a number of pure tone components
Fundamental
first harmonic, a pure tone with frequency equal to fundamental frequency
Fundamental frequency
lowest frequency component of a complex periodic sound, that provides it with the strongest audible reference
Higher harmonics
Pure tones with frequencies that are whole-number multiples of fundamental frequency
What 2 things do you add to create the waveform of a complex tone?
- fundamental frequency
2. harmonics
What does a frequency spectra?
is another way to represent harmonic components of complex tone
Threshold
Smallest amount of sound energy that can just barely be detected
Loudness
Perceived intensity of a sound that ranges from ‘just audible’ to ‘very loud’
Magnitude estimation (Stevens)
Procedure that determines relationship between level in decibels (= physical) and loudness (= perceptual)
Thresholds and loudness depend on… x2
- decibels
2. frequency
Audibility curve
Indicates threshold for hearing versus frequency
- The upper curve is the threshold for feeling.
Auditory response area
Green area above the curve in which tones can be heard.
What is the range of frequencies for conversational speech?
2000 to 4000 Hz
What tones result in pain?
tones above threshold of feeling
Equal loudness curve
Indicate sound levels that create same perception of loudness at different frequencies.
Pitch
Psychological aspect of sound related mainly to fundamental frequency.
Low fundamental frequency leads to ___ pitches and vice versa
low
Why is pitch only labelled “high” or “low”
it is a psychological property of sound
Tone height
Perceptual experience of increasing pitch that accompanies increases in tone’s fundamental frequency.
Tone chroma
Notes with the same tone are considered to have same tone chroma.
Effect of missing fundamental
Effect in which the pitch remains the same, even if fundamental or other harmonics are removed.