Musical accoustics; or, The phenomena of sound as connected with music1881 |
Other editions - View all
Musical Accoustics; Or, The Phenomena of Sound as Connected With Music John Broadhouse No preview available - 2022 |
Common terms and phrases
amplitude cartilages chapter chords combinational tones compound tone condensation consonance consonance and dissonance corresponding crest dissonance divided elastic equal temperament exactly experiments feet fifth flat fork fourth fundamental note given gives harmonic heard Helmholtz Hence high upper partials higher holes human voice inches inharmonic instrument intervals intonation keyboard larynx length loudness lower Major Sixth major third meantone temperament membrane minor minor seventh motion musical sound musical tones node notation number of beats number of vibrations octave open pipe organ pipes organ-pipe perfect perfect fifths piano pianoforte pitch prime tone produce quality of tone rapidity rarefaction rate of vibration reed resonance result roughness scale semitone seventh sharp simple tones simple vibrations stopped pipe stretched string student syren tion tonic tonometer triads tube tuned tuning-fork unison upper partial tones velocity of sound vibration numbers vibration-number vibrations per second violin vocal cords voice wave wire
Popular passages
Page 309 - But there are certain determinate ratios between pitch numbers, for which this rule suffers an exception, and either no beats at all are formed, or at least only such as have so little intensity that they produce no unpleasant disturbance of the united sound. These exceptional cases are called Consonances.
Page 358 - It is impossible," he says, in an appendix to his translation of Helmholtz's work, " to form Octaves by just Fifths or just Thirds, or both combined, or to form just Thirds by just Fifths, because it is impossible by multiplying any one of the numbers f or £ or 2, each by itself, or one by the other, any number of times...
Page 308 - When two musical tones are sounded at the same time, their united sound is generally disturbed by the beats of the upper partials, so that a greater or less part of the whole mass of sound is broken up into pulses of tone, and the joint effect is rough. This relation is called dissonance. "But there are certain determinate ratios between...
Page 2 - When the finger is wounded, the sensor nerves convey to the brain intelligence of the injury, and if these nerves be severed, however serious the hurt may be, no pain is experienced. We have the strongest reason for believing that what the nerves convey to the brain is in all cases motion.
Page 220 - ... nearly constant, diminishing slightly as the diameter increases. Again, if a closed pipe 20 cm long respond to a given fork, it will be found that an open pipe of the same diameter and same length will respond to a fork an octave higher than the first fork. This shows that the pitch of an open pipe is an octave higher than that of a closed pipe of the same length.
Page 302 - Fifth a' ; the beats of a" will be clearly heard. To an unpractised ear the resonators already described will be of great assistance. Apply the resonator for a", and the above beats will be heard with great distinctness. If, on the other hand, a resonator, tuned to one of the prime tones d' or a', be employed, the beats are heard much less distinctly, because the continuous part of the tone is then reinforced. This last remark must not be taken to mean that no other simple tones beat in this combination...
Page 175 - Musical Tones, which are accompanied by a moderately loud series of the lower partial tones, up to about the sixth partial, are more harmonious and musical. Compared with simple tones they are rich and splendid, while they are at the same time perfectly sweet and soft if the higher upper partials are absent.
Page 338 - When the wind howls and its pitch rises or falls in insensible gradations without any break, we have nothing to measure the variations of pitch, nothing by which we can compare the later with the earlier sounds, and comprehend the extent of the change. The whole phenomenon produces a confused, unpleasant impression. The musical scale is as it were the divided rod, by which we measure progression in pitch, as rhythm measures progression in time.
Page 338 - We consequently find the most complete agreement among all nations that use music at all, from the earliest to the latest times, as to the separation of certain determinate degrees of tone from the possible mass of continuous gradations of sound, all of which are audible, and these degrees form the scale in which the melody moves. But in selecting the particular degrees of pitch deviations of national taste become immediately apparent.
Page 15 - The suddenness of the transition,' writes Wollaston, ' from perfect hearing to total want of perception, occasions a degree of surprise which renders an experiment of this kind with a series of small pipes among several persons rather amusing. It is curious to observe the change of feeling manifested by various individuals of the party, in succession, as the sounds approach and pass the limits of their bearing. Those who enjoy a temporary triumph are often compelled, in their turn, to acknowledge...