U2 L2: Fundamentals Of Electronics, Acoustics, Sound, And Video Flashcards
What is Acoustics?
Study of the production, reception, control, transmission, and effects of sound
PRCTE
What is binaural hearing?
hearing with two ears
What are the three main parts of a sound wave?
- frequency
- amplitude
- phase
(i think)
What is frequency? And what is the frequency range of Humans?
- number of times be second that a sound wave oscillates
- measured in Hertz (Hz)
- 20 to 20,000 Hz
What is amplitude?
- strength and volume of a sound wave
- measured in Decibels (dB)
What is a phase?
- timing between two similar sound waves
- measured in degrees (0-360)
- 0= in sync
- 180= opposite/out of phase
What is Phase Cancellation?
- two sounds out of phase are added together and cancel each other, resulting in no sound
- a factor in mixing audio signals
What is a band?
- energy measured in frequency ranges
- a lot of bass=low frequency energy
What is Treble?
- high-frequency energy beyond midrange
- adds crispness to sound
What is the frequency range that our voices produce?
250-4000 Hz
What does it mean to equalize?
technique to reduce the midrange so dialogue in a film can be heard
What is Pitch?
- strongest and lowest part of the sound wave
- our interpretation of frequency
- C, E, F notes
What is harmonics?
soft and high tones that accompany a fundamental tone at each interval
What is timbre?
- tonal color/shade
- helps us distinguish voice/instruments
What is Resonance?
quality of sound in which some frequencies are amplified more than others
What is Reverb time?
- time it takes for a sound to die away
- measured by the amount of time it takes for the sound to fade to -60 dB
- lots of reverb= wet
- without reverb= dry
What is Diffusion?
high frequencies dying out more quickly than low frequencies
What is Pre-delay time?
how long after the direct sound will the reflected sound come
What is an Audio Signal Chain?
- link that connects source sound through production and recording
- acoustic source > transducers > analog, digital consoles and DAWs
What does a typical recording studio include?
- live room: performers perform
- control room: sound engineers operate hardware for recording
- machine room: noisier equipment kept
they were designed around the principles of acoustics
What is Analog recording?
sound is recorded in its original form and is taken from the microphone and put on tape
What are various types of cables used for connecting equipment?
RCA- studio gear, consumer electronics
1/4 Inch Stereo Phone- end of stereo headphone cables, connects prof gear to mixing console
1/4 Inch Mono Phone- connects synthesizers/guitars to mixing consoles
XLR- microphones, digital audio tape players, long cable runs
What is a Patchbay?
central place with strips of connectors
Who was the first computer musician?
Max Mathews
What is Digital recording?
analog wave is sampled and converted to numbers that are stored on a digital device
What is a MIDI?
- Musical Instrument Digital Interface
- connects instruments to computer equipment
What is a Mixer?
device used for blending, fading and substituting sounds from various sources
What is Nondestructive recording?
recording without having to erase recordings
What are the various uses of DAW’s?
- editing process
- blending instruments and voices
- making the recording master
What are the skills you should learn when pursuing education in Recording studio techonolgy?
- how to work analog and digital systems/equipment
- how to configure and trace a recorded signal through a recording setup
- optimize noise and avoid distortion
- understand equipment spec sheets
- understand studio and console signal flows
