The acoustical foundations of music
by John Backus · first published 1969
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2HN commenters
2009–2022first – last mentioned
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Explores music's scientific principles, the physiological properties of sound, how the ear perceives music, the effect of the acoustic environment, how instruments produce their sounds, and new computer applications in music.
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Another interesting one is 'the acoustical foundations of music'. ISBN 0393090965
on “The human ear detects half a millisecond delay in sound” ↗Yes, it is fascinating, highly recommended book about sound: "The Acoustical Foundations of Music" by John Backus.
on “Perfect pitch study: Why can’t we identify music notes as well as colors?” ↗I'd like to recommend a book, it's called 'the acoustical foundations of music', it has some excellent chapters on how the ear works, and what sound does when it enters the ear. No speech recognition software that I'm aware of uses the 'raw' waveform, there is always a domain transformation…
on “Rest in Peas: The Unrecognized Death of Speech Recognition” ↗…If Hermann Helmholtz could be wrong about some of this stuff then I have no doubt that people are capable of deluding themselves in to having the ability to hear things that aren't there. From "The Acoustical Foundations of Music" by John Backus, page 207: For example, the excellent quality of Stradivarius violins has been attributed to a varnish of almost magical properties used by the old instrument makers, whose secret has…
on “Violins "go to sleep" if not played for a long time ...” ↗The Acoustical Foundations of Music has been filling a role in my geek-out time rotation. Caveat: I am not well-versed on acoustics or music and that might be why I am enjoying it.
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗