physics of sound production and resonance
harmonics and the Fourier tramsform
basics of neuronal (and muscular) cell electrophysiology and timing.
We looked at how harmonics are formed, and how we can represent and
analyze them (the Fourier transform). Then we had fun using that
Fourier transform (the "FFT" -- Fast Fourier Transform) to create
some snazzy sounds.
We also played a little bit of "catch up" and talked about the
very basics of neurons and electric circuits, with a short discussion
at the end about rhythm perception (entrainment).
class links:
Fourier analysis, harmonics, sound spectra, etc.
- link to week5's class
-- this is where the download for the "davesound.app" is
located, along with instructions for getting it to run
- basic intro to the Fourier transform
-- very simple intro, and it shows how 'harmonics' can be stacked
to draw images too. (check out this
fun Fourier drawing!)
- the unit circle
-- basic animation showing how unrolling the unit circle produces sine qnd
cosine waves.
- Who is Fourier? A Mathematical Adventure
-- link to the book explaining Fourier analysis that I entioned in class.
-
note: There are a blue billion web pages in Fourier anaylsis, the FFT,
the unit circle, signal processing, etc. Google to your heart's content.
Some of them are pretty dense.
sound-manipulation applications that use the FFT
- SPEAR
-- the SPEAR sound analysis and manipulation application, written
by Michael Klingbeil (from Columbia/CMC -- go lions!)
- Audacity download
-- where you can get the "Audacity" sound editor
- paulstretch
-- the mais page with download links and documentation for the long
sound-stretching app. It's also a plugin included with Audacity now.
(that's what I used in class)
We didn't discuss the following two applications. They have other ways
of analyzing sound and seeing acoustic features. Try them out if you'd
like!
- Sonic Visualizer
-- the sound anaylsis app from Queen Mary University/London that
has many, many analysis capabilities
- Raven sound analysis
-- the main page for the "Raven" sound analysis software from
Cornell
Neurons, electricity, circuits, rhythm
- Chapters 6-12 of Dave's Music, Math and Mind book
-- the 'biology' chapters. This has a much, much better explanation
of how neurons work than the one Brad gave in class.
NOTE: Be prepared to discuss ideas you may have for your final project in
class next week!