Chapter 1-9 Flashcards
(116 cards)
1
Q
Waveform
A
a continuous line showing air pressure or voltage over time
2
Q
Axis
A
fixed reference line for the measurement of coordinates
3
Q
cycle
A
wave displacement from equilibrium to max to min and back
4
Q
phase
A
the measure of a starting waveform compared to another waveform or reference point
5
Q
Compression
A
increase in air pressure caused by the displacement of air molecules
6
Q
rarefaction
A
decrease in air pressure caused by the displacement of air molecules
7
Q
period
A
the amount of time required for a waveform to complete one cycle
8
Q
frequency
A
the number of waveform cycles occurring each second
9
Q
pitch
A
subjective perception of frequency
10
Q
What unit is frequency measured in
A
cycles per second (Hertz)
11
Q
amplitude
A
the measure of the size of displacement
12
Q
loudness (volume)
A
perception of amplitude
13
Q
spectrum
A
the measure of all frequencies and their amplitudes in a sound
14
Q
timbre
A
subjective perception of the spectrum of a sound
15
Q
sympathetic vibration
A
when something resonates because it has matching resonant frequencies with something else
16
Q
simple waveform
A
waveform with only one frequency component
17
Q
complex waveform
A
waveform with more than one frequency component
18
Q
fundamental
A
the lowest frequency in a complex waveform
19
Q
natural number
A
positive integers
20
Q
harmonic
A
a frequency which is a positive integer multiple of the fundamental frequency
21
Q
overtone
A
harmonic occurring above the fundamental
22
Q
partial
A
any frequency occurring in the spectrum
23
Q
speed of sound
A
344 m/s @15 degrees C
24
Q
What is the symbol for wavelength
A
lambda
25
node
a point on a waveform with minimum displacement
26
antinode
point of a waveform with maximum displacement
27
onset
the beginning point in time of an event
28
envelope
a description of how a parameter changes over time
29
attack
the time that it takes from the onset of a sound to grow to its loudest point
30
decay
the time that it takes for a sound to fall from its maximum level to its sustain level
31
sustain level
the measure of the constant amplitude of a sound following the decay
32
sustain duration
the portion of the envelope where the amplitude is nearly constant
33
release
the time that it takes for a sound to fall from the sustain level to zero
34
ADSR
abbreviation for a common envelope
35
resonance
the tendency of an object or enclosed space to amplify or aphasia acoustic energy at a particular frequency or frequencies
36
eigentone
the resonant frequency of an enclosed space or anject
37
standing wave
a wave where each point has an unchanging amplitude raging from zero at the nodes to a maximum at the antinodes
38
absorption coefficient
the measure of the attenuation or reduction in the energy of a waveform striking the material
39
reflection
the unabsorbed sound energy that is thrown back from a surface
40
echo
a duplicate of a sound energy that is thrown back from a surface
41
reverberation
occurs when a multiple copies of a sound overlap so that each onset is not distinct
42
reverb time
the time is takes for a single sound to drop 60 dB in intensity
43
Helmholtz resonator
any enclosed space with rigid walls that supports eigentones
44
bass trap
an enclosed space that is designed to resonate at and reduce the energy of specific frequencies
45
formants
areas of emphasized frequencies in a sound spectrum
46
fast Fourier transform
a method of analyzing complex sounds to examine their frequency content
47
frequency theory of hearing
theory that our perception of pitch is based on the firing rate of neutrons
48
volley principle
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
place theory of hearing
theory that we perceive pitch based on the point of maximum excitation on the basilar membrane
50
neuron
a nerve cell that transmits energy using chemical and electrical means
51
bone conduction
when sound vibrations travel through bone to reach the hearing processes rather than through air
52
decibel
one tenth of a bel; a measure of sound intensity
53
tinnitus
a constant ringin or high frequency heard in the ears
54
threshold of pain
the decibel level above which pain is felt in the hearing processes
55
presbycusis
age-related hearing loss
56
TTS
temporary threshold shift
57
PTS
permanent threshold shift
58
conductive hearing loss
hearing loss attributable to physical problems in the outer and middle ear
59
sensorineural hearing loss
hearing loss attributable to damage in the cochlea or neural pathways
60
Fletcher-Munson diagram
a plot of equal-loudness contours across the audible spectrum
61
equal loudness curves
curves showing the perception of matching sound levels between different frequencies
62
phon
a unit of loudness level for pure tones
63
auditory masking
when the amplitude of one frequency is great enough to cover the sound of a quieter frequency close by in a spectrum
64
temporal masking
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
audiogram
a graphic representation of a subject's hearing response
66
audio chain
the series of devices needed to record, store and reconstruct an audio signal
67
microphone
a transducer for converting sound energy into an electrical signal
68
transducer
a device that changes one type of energy into another
69
preamplifier
electrical circuit that raises the signal from a microphone a useable level
70
analog to digital converter (ADC)
circuit that measure the value of an analog voltage and outputs numbers
71
anti-aliasing filter
a filter that prior to sampling removes frequencies that are too high to be measured accurately
72
sampling rate
the number of times per second that the values of a waveform are measured
73
wavetable
a table of values obtained from measuring a waveform
74
digital to analog converter (DAC)
circuit that outputs voltages based on the digital numbers fed to it
75
smoothing filter
a filter that removes frequencies above the Nyquist limit prior to audio output
76
nyquist frequency
equal to half the sampling rate; gives the highest frequency that can be accurately sampled
77
aliasing
unwanted frequencies not present in the original sound caused by too high a frequency @ the input or too low a sampling rate
78
passive speakers
speakers with no amplifier built in
79
active speakers
speakers with an amplifier as part of the unit
80
bit
binary digit; base two numeral
81
bit depth
the number of bits used to measure an amplitude
82
quantization
the rounding off of values to fit within a measurement system
83
signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR)
a measurement of audio quality expressed as the ratio of signal strength to noise strength
84
plug
male electrical connector
85
jack
female electrical connector
86
XLR
standard three connector cable/plug/jack
87
1/4" TRS
standard two or three connector cable/plug/jack (tip ring sleeve)
88
TRRS
tip ring ring sleeve connector common with smartphones and laptops
89
speakon
locking cable specifically for speakers
90
dynamic microphone
microphone with a moving coil
91
condenser (electrostatic) microphone
microphone with a capacitor
92
phantom power
power supplied by mixer or external sound card to provide a charge in a condenser or electrostatic microphone
93
diaphragm
part of the microphone which is moved by sound waves to create a changing voltage or capacitance
94
frequency response
the manner in which a microphone reproduces a signal across the bandwidth
95
omnidirectional microphone pattern
microphone pattern which is equally sensitive in all directions
96
cardioid microphone pattern
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
figure eight microphone pattern
microphone pattern that is sensitive in a figure eight pattern
98
field recording
recording material outside of a studio
99
field recorder
portable recording unit
100
surround sound
recording with more than two channels of sound intended to replicate the listening experience in 360 degrees
101
signal
analog or digital representation of a sound in the circuitry or software
102
noise
unwanted sound in a signal
103
normalization
uniform amplification of the strength of a signal
104
filter
software or hardware that attenuates frequencies in the spectrum
105
cut-off frequency
the point in a filter above or below which frequencies are attenuated
106
high pass
a filter that allows high frequencies to pass through
107
low pass
a filter that allows low frequencies to pass through
108
band pass
a filter that allows a band of frequencies to pass through
109
notch
a filter that removes a band of frequencies
110
equalization
adjusting the relative amplitudes of frequencies across the audible spectrum
111
control tracks
in DAW, tracks that contain data to control processing parameters rather than audio or MIDI data
112
line segment
the continuous control data between two breakpoints in a control track
113
breakpoint
the beginning or end point of a line segment in a control track
114
fading
attenuating the signal in an audio track
115
panning
making it seem like the sound is moving through space by moving it from one speaker to others
116
sound horizon
the virtual line between two speakers on which sound appears to travel
