Some basic questions about the science of music are listed here. There is also a non-specialist Frequently Asked Questions in music acoustics on this site.

General topics Woodwind topics Brass topics String topics Percussion topics

Voice topics Related topics Related publications Related links

General topics

FAQ in music acoustics (and general acoustics). Musical Sounds and Musical Signals, an introductory book chapter for musicians, with an online appendix. Physclips – Waves and Sound is a multimedia introduction from our introductory physics site. What is a decibel? with sound file demonstrations. Measure your own hearing response. What are interference beats and Tartini tones? Tartini tones and temperament: a musician's introduction.

Note names, MIDI numbers, frequencies and keyboard positions. Frequency to note converter written by Andrew Botros. Helmholtz resonance. What is a sound spectrum? How harmonic are 'harmonics'? What is acoustic impedance? (And why is it important?) Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and the musician's uncertainty principle, with sound file demonstrations. How does a loudspeaker work?

Woodwind topics

• How do woodwind instruments work? (An easy introduction).
• The acoustics of woodwind instruments (An article for Acoustics Today).
• An introduction to flute acoustics.
• An introduction to clarinet acoustics.
• An introduction to saxophone acoustics.
• An introduction to double reed acoustics.
• Clarinet (and saxophone) articulations: a detailed investigation of how a note starts on a reed instrument.
• Open vs closed pipes (Flutes vs clarinets): an explanation of the differences using wave diagrams and flow animations.
• Pipes and harmonics. Why do conical bores (e.g. oboe and saxophone) 'overblow at the octave' and not a twelfth?
• 'Warming up' a wind instrument: how temperature, humidity and CO2 affect intonation.
• Air speed and blowing pressure in brass and woodwind instruments.
• Tuning woodwind instruments: some practical suggestions.
• Cutoff frequencies and crossfingering: how long is the effective length of the bore when some toneholes are open?
• Effect of bore cone-angle and bell diameter: how narrow cones (e.g. bassoons) and broad cones (e.g. saxophones) behave.

Brass topics and lip-reed topics

• An introduction to the acoustics of brass instruments (actually all the lip reed family).
• An introduction to the yidaki/ didjeridu: circular breathing, vocal tract and heterodyne effects.
• 'Warming up' a wind instrument: how temperature, humidity and CO2 affect intonation.
• Air speed and blowing pressure in brass and woodwind instruments.
• Effect of timpani notes on brass players' lips.

String topics

Violin acoustics. Guitar acoustics.

Waves in strings, reflections, standing waves and harmonics. Bows and strings, which includes an animation of Helmholtz motion. Torsional waves in a bowed string and how they affect Helmholtz motion. An introduction to Chladni patterns with images of violin plates. The research papers of John McLennan

Percussion topics

• For now, the only page we have on percussion is about the acoustics of bell plates. However, this introduces some of the main points applicable to vibrating bars and plates.

Voice topics

• An introduction to some of voice acoustics is a place to start.
• Voice Acoustics gives more about our research.
• Vocal tract tuning by sopranos.
• The physics of Helium speech.
• The acoustics of harmonic singing.
• Formants: what are they? A discussion of the different meanings of this term.

Related topics

• What is acoustic impedance and why is it important?
• AC circuits and electrical impedance.
• Filters made from resistors and capacitors.

Related publications

• The Science of Music.
• An Interactive Introduction to the Orchestra

Other links

• Frequently Asked Questions in music acoustics on this site.
• Frequently Asked Questions on the Acoustics Australia site.