WELCOME TO PHYSICS 2032A
Physics of Music
“It rocks me to think some of the same laws that govern the formation of galaxies and stars also determine where to put the holes on a clarinet!” A student from 2007
About this temporary
website:
·
This is a very brief information page for people
considering taking this course.
·
The actual course website will be on WebCT, available
to registered students at the start of the term. It is much more detailed, and will contain
lecture notes, old exams, online quizzes, announcements, etc.
About this course:
·
This course is designed for non-science students and
requires no prior knowledge of physics or musical theory, but you will know
some of both at the end!
·
Contrary to the calendar copy, knowledge of
musical notation is not ‘advantageous’ for this course.
·
There are lots of in-class demonstrations and in-class
informal ungraded quizzes to help you learn the concepts.
·
There will be 2 midterm exams (in class), some online
multiple-choice quizzes, and a final exam.
Some of the questions we
will discuss are
· What is sound according to physics?
· How are musical scales generated?
· Why do certain
combinations of notes seem more ‘pleasant’ than others?
· Why do two different instruments playing the same note
sound so different?
· What do a violin
string, human vocal folds, and the air inside a flute have in common?
· What quantity is transported by a sound wave?
· Does the speed of a
sound wave depend on the pitch of the sound?
· What determines the reverberation time of a room?
· How does the
register key on a woodwind work?
· Can a string vibrate at several frequencies simultaneously?
· Why does playing a
violin near the bridge produce a ‘thin’ sound?
· Why is it hard to sing an ee vowel at a high pitch?
· How good are you at
distinguishing two notes that are close in pitch?
· How can we hear notes that aren’t really there?
· Why does a piano
have a soundboard?
For more information,
please follow the links below.