Product Description
A clearly written and organized text on the production, propagation, and perception of the sound we call music. Organized into six major parts (each with three chapters) treating the sources of sound and production of musical sound; the propagation of sound and those environmental features that have an immediate influence on the sound that is propagated; and the perceptual aspects of the musical sound. The second edition includes new material on the human voice as a musical instrument, digital recording, and the use of the computer in composing music. ... Read more

Product Description
The classic acoustics reference! This widely-used book offers a clear treatment of the fundamental principles underlying the generation, transmission, and reception of acoustic waves and their application to numerous fields. The authors analyze the various types of vibration of solid bodies and the propagation of sound waves through fluid media. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Good book on the mathematics of acoustics for engineers
This book is aimed squarely at engineering students who want to learn the mathematics of acoustics. There is very little in the realm of standing back and asking "So what does this all mean?". From the very first chapter the author dives into deriving equations that use calculus, Laplace transforms, the Fourier series and transform, circuit analysis, digital filters, and the Z- transform as well as some differential equations. There are few examples in the book, but there are problem sets that expect you to understand the theory and math well enough to apply it numerically with more intuitive knowledge than is presented. It can be done, but you'll have to read carefully when doing the exercises to figure out how to get from A to B. If you are interested in acoustics this is probably an essential reference pertaining to the mathematical aspects of the science, but you'll need other books to get the big picture. I'd recommend the old Schaum's Outline of Acoustics by Seto as a companion to this book since it has lots of examples. Unfortunately, it is out of print and you'll probably have to hunt for it.

An excellent textbook
This is a classic engineering text on acoustics for upper division college students.It first appeared in 1950.And now it is back fifty years later in a fourth edition.In the meantime, the original two authors have passed away.However, Coppens and Sanders have done a fine job in keeping the book up-to-date.

Plenty of exercises have been added, and answers to many odd-numbered problems are in the back of the book.I think it is an excellent introduction to the field (yes, I expect you to have studied calculus and differential equations as an underclassman).It's my favorite of the classic engineering acoustics textbooks.

Two new chapters have been added in this edition, one on nonlinear acoustics and the other on shock waves.That's a very good idea.If I were teaching an acoustics class with an earlier edition of the book, I'd refer students to Landau Volume 6 (Fluid Mechanics) to get some of this missing information.

Actually, I wish the authors had added a couple more chapters, one on ultrasonics and another on instruments of music.That still would not cover all of acoustics, but I feel these topics are fairly important.

Anyway, I really like the book, and I'd be happy to teach a class using it.

Not an introductory text
This text in not an introductory work, it is geared toward upper division college or graduate level engineering work.By this I am referring to the math level in the book.If you are not willing to work with partial differential equations, integrals, dot products, cross products and dell operators stay away from this book, it is intended for engineering students and not for audio, broadcast, or film students looking for a greater understanding of sound/acoustics.

Here is a list of the chapters:
Fundamentals of vibration; Transverse motion - the vibrating string; Vibrations of bars; The two-dimensional wave equation: vibrations of memberanes and plates; The acoustic wave equation and simple solutions; Transmission phenomena; Absorption and attenuation of sound waves in fluids; Radiation and reception of acoustic waves; Pipes, cavities, and waveguides; resonators, ducts, and filters; Noise, signal, detection, hearing, and speech; Environmental acoustics; Architectural acoustics; Transduction; Underwater acoustics.

OK, but better texts available
Personally, I was disappointed by the fourth edition of this venerable text, for it has become increasingly mathematical and problem oriented.If you like sitting down and whiling away your afternoon with a problem set -- this is the text for you.But if instead you wish to study acoustics through a pedagogical method that is more verbal and graphical in nature -- better texts are available.

Indeed, in my opinion, prior editions (1950, 1962, 1981) of this same text are superior, particularly the second edition.Although these too have their share of integral calculus and complex algebra, the quantity is more appropriate for a discipline that is mostly science and engineering but with aspects of art to it as well.

Bear in mind that aside from a few specialized areas -- like ultrasonics and its use in non-destructive testing, or the use of digital processing in sound generation and analysis-- little new has come about in the field of acoustics since World War II. Thus unlike with most fields of science, there is no necessity to have the most modern texts to gather a wholly modern understanding of the field.

Indeed, I recently examined almost every text relating to acoustics contained in the circumferential stacks of the Barker Engineering Library under the Great Dome of M.I.T. (and sadly, there aren't as many texts as one might hope).I was surprised both at the age of most volumes in the collection -- and the fact that most had not been checked out of the library in years.

Indeed, from the "Date Due" slips in the back, you could see the field was very popular in the 1960's and 1970's, but popularity seemed to wain in the early 1980's -- approximately contemporaneously, curiously, with the introduction of the digital CD format of audio recording.

By the mid-1990's, at M.I.T., at least, interest in acoustics among faculty and students seem to have declined precipitiously, if the popularity of library texts and the quantity of student theses published in the field is any indication.

Of all the general texts on acoustics that I examined -- to me, one clearly stood out above the others.It was published in 1957 by the lead acoustical scientist at the RCA Research Laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey, Harry F. Olsen, Ph.D. It is entitled, "Acoustical Engineering", although it contains all the fundamental science as well.This text was reprinted in 1991 and is currently available.

Olsen's work is surely a magnum opus, comprising 736 pages and 567 illustrations. It has its fair share of math, but the concepts are often additionally explained through well-crafted line drawings, showing, for example, wave forms drawn in progressive fashion in serial graphs, some of which are designed so that one can even mentally rotate the graphics to gather a three-dimensional perspective.Furthermore, the graphs are often supplemented by equivalent mechanical and electrical analogs, to further assist in understanding.

Best of all, Olsen explains virtually everything acoustical you would ever want to know, from theories of acoustical wave propagation, to an enormous variety of loudspeaker designs, to the mathematical reasoning behind Johann Sebastian Bach's tempered tuning of musical instruments, an artistic practice that is almost universal today.

Thus if it is a text for a problem-oriented course in acoustics that one seeks -- the fourth edition of the "Fundamentals of Acoustics" is a fine text.However, if one wishes to have a ready reference that is extraordinarily comprehensive, or a pedagogical work that doesn't focus on mathematical derivations, better choices can surely be made.

OK, but better texts available
Personally, I was disappointed by the fourth edition of this venerable text, for it has become increasingly mathematical and problem oriented. If you like sitting down and whiling away your afternoon with a problem set -- this is the text for you. But if instead you wish to study acoustics through a pedagogical method that is more verbal and graphical in nature -- better texts are available.

Indeed, in my opinion, prior editions (1950, 1962, 1981) of this same text are superior, particularly the second edition. Although these too have their share of integral calculus and complex algebra, the quantity is more appropriate for a discipline that is mostly science and engineering but with aspects of art to it as well.

Bear in mind that aside from a few specialized areas -- like ultrasonics and its use in medical imaging and non-destructive testing, or the use of digital processing in sound generation and vibration analysis -- little new has come about in the field of acoustics since World War II. Thus unlike with most fields of science, there is no necessity to have the most modern texts to gather a wholly modern understanding of the field (with a few minor exceptions).

Indeed, I recently examined almost every text relating to acoustics contained in the circumferential stacks of the Barker Engineering Library under the Great Dome of M.I.T. (and sadly, there aren't as many texts as one might hope). I was surprised both at the age of most volumes in the collection -- and the fact that most had not been checked out of the library in years.

Indeed, from the "Date Due" slips in the back, you could see the field was very popular in the 1960's and 1970's, but popularity seemed to wane in the early 1980's -- approximately contemporaneously, curiously, with the introduction of the digital CD format of audio recording.

By the mid-1990's, at M.I.T., at least, interest in acoustics among faculty and students seem to have declined precipitiously, if the popularity of library texts and the quantity of student theses published in the field is any indication.

Of all the general texts on acoustics that I examined -- to me, one clearly stood out above the others. It was published in 1957 by Harry F. Olsen, Ph.D., the lead acoustical scientist at the RCA Research Laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey. It is entitled, "Acoustical Engineering", although the text contains all the fundamental science as well. This volume was reprinted in 1991 and is currently available.

Olsen's work is surely a magnum opus, comprising 736 pages and 567 illustrations. It has its fair share of math, but the concepts are often additionally explained through well-crafted line drawings, showing, for example, wave forms drawn in progressive fashion in serial graphs, some of which are designed so that one can even mentally rotate the graphics to gather a three-dimensional perspective. Furthermore, the graphs are often supplemented by art showing equivalent mechanical and electrical analogs, to further assist in understanding.

Best of all, Olsen explains virtually everything acoustical you would ever want to know, from theories of acoustical wave propagation, to an enormous variety of loudspeaker designs, to the mathematical reasoning behind Johann Sebastian Bach's tempered tuning of musical instruments, an artistic practice that is almost universal today.

Thus if it is a text for a problem-oriented course in acoustics that one seeks -- the fourth edition of the "Fundamentals of Acoustics" is a fine text. However, if one wishes to have a ready reference that is extraordinarily comprehensive, or a pedagogical work that doesn't focus on mathematical derivations, better choices can surely be made. ... Read more

Product Description
Surface Acoustic Waves in Inhomogeneous Media covers almost all important problems of the interaction of different types of surface acoustic waves with surface inhomogeneities. The problems of surface acoustic wave interaction with periodic topographic gratings widely used in filters and resonators are under careful consideration. The most important results of surface wave scattering by local defects such as grooves, random roughness, elastic wedges are given. Different theoretical approaches and practical rules for solving the surface wave problems are presented. ... Read more

Product Description

Suitable for researchers and graduate students in physics and material science, "Physical Acoustics in the Solid State" reviews the modern aspects in the field, including many experimental results, especially those involving ultrasonics. Practically all fields of solid-state physics are covered: metals, semiconductors, magnetism, superconductivity, different kinds of phase transitions, low-dimensional systems, and the quantum Hall effect. After a review of the relevant experimental techniques and an introduction to the theory of elasticity, emphasizing the symmetry aspects, applications in the various fields of condensed matter physics are presented. Also treated are Brillouin-scattering results and results from thermodynamic investigations, such as thermal expansion and specific heat.

Product Description
Professor Gibson begins this first complete study of the acoustical properties of the clarinet with a hi story of the instrument, a survey of the instruments of famo us exponents and the characteristics of the national schools of manufacture. ' ... Read more

Product Description
Provides solutions to common acoustical problems that music educators often face, such as how to amplify music performances outdoors or in concert halls, how to use acoustic shells, and how to make best use of lighting and ceiling height. Includes an annotated bibliography and glossary. ... Read more

Product Description
This book's purpose is to investigate tone in terms of musical values and in many ways is an outgrowth of a course taught by the authors and some of their colleagues over the last ten years. The reader is supplied with principles rather than techniques and insights rather than rules; in short, with the fundamental facts to which all further musical activities can be related. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Learning about the basics of music
I have read many books on music but Levary end Levy book is a real step by step guide to the fundamentals of musical theory.

It is clear, easy to read and gives hints to understand many facts that are not considered in most of the books about music.

I have recommended this book in the last 25 years and hope then it will be printed again for the benefit of people interested in more than just hearing nice sounds. ... Read more

Product Description
Market: Ocean dynamicists and acousticians. "Useful to scientists or students interested in ocean dynamical modelling, acoustic propagation modelling, and particularly to those interested in the union of these fields (which is likely to be become increasingly important)." Revue de livre With complete chapters contributed by leading authorities, this work offers a comprehensive overview of current combined research in acoustics and oceanography. Following an introduction on ocean variability, acoustic propagation, and coupled models, subsequent chapters present up-to-date coverage of the developing relationship between ocean science and ocean acoustics, including an extensive review of state-of-the-art three-dimensional models. ... Read more

Product Description
This twenty-fourth volume of the long-running Physical Acoustics series provides a subject and author cumulative index and tables of contents for all previous volumes for easy reference. ... Read more

Product Description
The authors study dynamical effects of incidentcompressional and distortional elastic waves on a layer ofplanar, cylindrical, or sphericalgeometry, especiallyfocusing on the stress fields surrounding the layer. Theseresults are derived from the exact solutions for elasticwave scattering from such interfaces developped in the firstpart of the book. Comparisons of numerical solutions ofspecial problems with the analyticalsolutions are given andit is shown how the latter help to simplify the numericaltreatment. The material presented in this monograph willhelp in developing composite materials with improvedchemical and physical properties and in non-destructivetesting of such materials. Engineers, physicists, andworkers in applied mathematics will welcome thiswellwritten text. It may also be used for additional reading inacourse on elasto-mechanics. ... Read more

Product Description
The discrete sources method is an efficient and powerful tool for solving a large class of boundary-value problems in scattering theory.A variety of numerical methods for discrete sources now exist.In this book, the authors unify these formulations in the context of the so-called discrete sources method.

Key Features
* Comprehensive presentation of the discrete sources method
* Original theory - an extension of the conventional null-field method using discrete sources
* Practical examples that demonstrate the efficiency and flexibility of elaborated methods (scattering by particles with high aspect ratio, rough particles, nonaxisymmetric particles, multiple scattering)
* List of discrete sources programmes available via the Internet ... Read more