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All papers in this proceedings volume were peer reviewed. The purview of this third conference was shifted toward biology and medicine. Among the topics covered were: the constructive role of noise in the central nervous system, neuronal networks, and sensory transduction (hearing in humans, photo- and electroreception in marine animals), encoding of information into nerve pulse trains, single molecules and noise (including single molecule detection and characterization by nanopores - molecular "Coulter counting"), concepts of noise in neurophysiology (randomness and order in brain and heart electrical activities under normal conditions and in pathology), the role of noise in genetic regulation and gene expression, biosensors, etc. ... Read more

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Among numerical methods applied in acoustics, the Finite Element Method (FEM)  is normally favored for interior problems whereas the Boundary Element Method (BEM) is quite popular for exterior ones.

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The subject of the book is directly related to environmental noise and vibration phenomena (sound emission by vibrating structures, prediction and reduction, ...). Transportation noise is one of the main applications. The book presents an overview of the most recent knowledge on interaction phenomena between a structure and a fluid, including nonlinear aspects. It covers all aspects of the phenomena, from the mathematical modeling up to the applications to automotive industrial problems. The aim is to provide readers with a good understanding of the physical phenomena as well as the most recent knowledge of predictive methods. ... Read more

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Ultrasonics. A subject with applications across all the basic sciences, engineering, medicine, and oceanography, yet even the broader topic of acoustics is now rarely offered at undergraduate levels. Ultrasonics is addressed primarily at the doctoral level, and texts appropriate for beginning graduate students or newcomers to the field are virtually nonexistent.Fundamentals and Applications of Ultrasonic Waves fills that void. Designed specifically for senior undergraduates, beginning graduate students, and those just entering the field, it begins with the fundamentals, but goes well beyond the simple, general concepts of waves to a detailed treatment of ultrasonic waves in isotropic media. Addressing a wide range of topics, the author focuses on the physics of acoustic waves, their propagation, and the different modes that can be excited in various geometries.Strong emphasis on applications in the later chapters provides a concrete setting for the more formal and theoretical earlier discussions.Your search for the right introduction to ultrasonics is over. The clear, engaging prose, careful balance of theory and applications, and rigorous but accessible mathematical treatments in this book combine to build a solid foundation either for practical work in the field or moving on to higher-level studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good compendium, not for learning
I found this book useful when TEACHING a course on ultrasonics, but I would never use it as a classroom text or as reference from which to learn on your own.The reasoning behind this is that the book quite simply covers too many topics to go into details.It therefore provides only a summary of results and applications, and rarely delves into the details of derivations or the intricacies of various scientific principals encountered during these derivations.Cheeke's book does, however, provide excellent insight into applications of ultrasonics and a tremendous number of useful references of original scientific work.The book provides the reader with a survey of the breadth of topics related to ultrasonics in one source together with the pertinent equations and their applications.I found this aspect of the book useful when providing a backdrop for fundamental topics being taught in the course.

Only buy it as a last resort!
Fundamentals and Applications of Ultrasonic Waves, one of the most current books on this subject matter to be widely available within the past few years, attempts to go from the basics of acoustics and ultrasonics through acoustic devices and applications to a few specialty topics towards its conclusion. While it does contain plenty of information and elucidates some topics that may be difficult to find in similar works it has unfortunately missed the mark with respect to a most important consideration--the reader.

The fact that this is a first edition is more than obvious not only in that the presentation is questionable but that the writing style ranges from sub-standard to okay--attributes which make for an odd juxtaposition when compared with the author's credentials and experience. The writing does not deliver on the promise of clear, engaging prose as stated on the back cover. So much so that one must pause to wonder whether or not this book had been proof-read before going to final print. Nonetheless, the topical information is indeed given. The caveat is that the reader will have to practice patience and decipher the, at times, convoluted writing so as to get to central ideas.

In terms of its presentation, there is no clear indication as to the division between fundamentals and applications in the text. Accessibility for the reader could have been increased by a more sectioned approach to the chapters and their subsections that delineated such divisions. Another problem is that a significant number of the chapters seem to err on the short side in terms of length. That may not seem like a significant problem, but when you take into consideration the many cross-references given in the text to other works on points that are only briefly introduced within the discourse it is easy to see where comprehensiveness can be lost.

For the student there are some chapter summaries and questions. These are only given for chapters 2 through 10. The reader is not given any indication as to why the rest of the chapters do not deserve the same treatment. As given, the summaries represent more of a glossary to be placed in an appendix rather than clear summarizations for their respective chapters--they have no apparent order either. Answers for the chapter questions are not available. There is no information in the text pertaining to the availability of question answers for course instructors or students alike. By such unavailability the text does not lend itself well to adoption as a course text by educational institutions.

As stated in the book, university courses in ultrasonics are usually only available to upper level graduate students. Currently there are few university physics departments that give these courses. One of the author's purposes in writing this book is to fill this void and make available a book for beginning graduate students or newcomer's to this field. Though while covering many topics this book does little to improve the accessibility of the subject. Most of the basic chapters near the beginning of the text can be found in any text on acoustics, vibrations, or waves. Nothing special about them. Whereas, some of the more particular later chapters on the subject at hand appear to be more of a compilation of research results than of thoughtful discourse. This may partially explain the lack of chapter questions for the later chapters. The overall sense is that this is more of a patch work
than a smoothly connected edition. Hopefully this work will go through a thorough revision before it ever makes it into a second edition. It is not enough to just fill a volume with details. Those details must be thoughtfully drawn together to conveying rhythm and flow to the subject. In the end, this text serves better as a reference than as a course text. ... Read more

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This book, a classic in its field, deals with the physical systems and physiological processes that intervene in music. It analyzes what objective, physical properties of sound are associated with what subjective psychological sensations of music, and it describes how these sound patterns are actually generated in musical instruments, how they propagate through the environment, and how they are detected by the ear and interpreted in the brain. Using the precise language of science, but without complicated mathematics, the author weaves a close mesh of the physics, psychophysics and physiology relevant to music. A prior knowledge of physics, mathematics, physiology or psychology is not required to understand most of the book; it is, however, assumed that the reader is familiar with music - in particular, with musical notation, musical scales and intervals, and some of the basics of musical instruments. This new edition has been substantially revised and brought up to date throughout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

This Book Is Waste
For the information contained in this book, it was one of the most awkward and long-winded reads i ever experienced. I simply do not agree with the many "kind" reviews readers have given this book. I suppose if you are into the "Harry Potter" stuff, this book may appeal to you- but if you want hard-core knowledge about sound and music, save your money. This text is basically the "glorified" lecture notes of a teachers-assistant (which the book admits), padded with ranting and commentary to "blow up" what would take no more than 20 pages to explain, into a 200+ page "yellow brick road to OZ". And it is not like the book contains "invaluable" knowledge. You can get this knowledge anywhere. With the extremely poor analysis of studies and research which the author is "suppose" to "distill" and convey to the reader, who needs this book!?! You learn nothing! With explanations so typical of a teacher's assistant author- round-about, inconcise, cute- I ended up re-reading passages several times, and afterwards, still saying to myself "what is this dude trying to say?". I already knew a lot of the information coming into this book- i bought it to fill "gaps" in my knowledge (or so i thought). I find this author is weak in the knowledge, weak in the explaining, and i am at a total loss figuring out how this author and this book has made it through three editions. I STRONGLY DO NOT RECOMMEND this book if you are trying to learn the physics of sound and music for the first time, or even the N-th time. If you buy this book, you are going to "rack your brains"!

THE best musical acoustics reference by far
I only know the first edition of Juan Roederer's The PHYSICS AND PSYCHOPHYSICS OF MUSIC (almost hot off the presses when used as a textbook for my Spring 1980 Acoustics class for music majors), which I keep close at hand and refer to often (I'm strongly tempted to update though). This first edition at least is much superior to any other musical acoustics book I've encountered, and I've encountered a fair number of them.

It isn't perfect: There is some cultural bias in its explanation of tonality, and its explanation of just tuning is ahistorical and to this extent faulty.

And there are other worthy books: There is Helmholtz's ON THE SENSATIONS OF TONE, and there is the engaging introductory gloss, SCIENCE AND MUSIC by Sir James Jeans.

Excellent introduction to the physics of music.
This is an excellent introductory book about the physics and psychophysics of music. It may be useful for general interested people as well as specialists, since it was written with little mathematics but deep conceptsand explanations. In the first chapters the author explains the basic ofthe physics of music, and then he focus on the biological aspect of hearingand perception of sounds and musical sensations. The book has also threeappendices for more advanced peoplewith harder math. Very good figuresand an easy-to-read prose complete the landscape of this outstanding bookby this argentinian well-known physicist working in the US now.

exciting, comprehensive, broad fund of knowledge
excellent review of the subject; can serve as an introductory text in a course, or for self-guided reading; an entry point into an exciting new area in science and the arts; combines and broaches what have traditionally been thought of as very diverse fields; strongly recommend to the amateur as well as to the specialist ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Comprehensive, but not hands on
I bought this book for two reasons: 1) I was beginning some experiments with ultrasonics, and I wanted a "handbook" of sorts. 2) In addition to these experiments, I was wondering if I could attempt some Finite Element modelling, and I needed a book that could help me translate stress-strain data to acoustics.

For #1, I was somewhat disappointed, but it's my fault. This book is a dense, theoretical exploration of the topic of acoustics. It's first principles, through and through. It is not a quick reference handbook, not really a book you can flip through and say "oh... yes. I'll have to remember that." I was hoping for some detailed examples, but instead I've gotten more than I ever asked for. In some ways, I suppose this can be a good thing, but in others, it isn't.

For #2, I found everything I need to know in the first 6 pages. Really. Start with F = d/dt(mv) and go from there (I suppose F = ma just doesn't look complicated enough). After that, the book is already into Bessel functions in 1000 words or less.

I was really hoping for a page somewhere that said: Maxwell's Equations for Acoustics (complete with analogies between E&M and acoustics). I didn't find it. Maxwell's Equations are mentioned on page 799-800, on a mathematical assault of "magnetoacoustic waves".

This book is a lot like John David Jackson's "Classical Electrodynamics". It is *the* book, the comprehensive book, the one that all of the graduate students regard with an uncomfortable mixture of deep respect and dread. This dense, heavy book is good for slapping somebody around, both literally and figuratively. Reading through the book makes me wonder how in the heck I ever got a Ph.D. when there were people out there writng books like this. I can't give it 5 stars because I don't see how anyone can get anything out of the book without devoting half of their life to it, but I give it at least 4 stars because it's more than a person will ever need to know about acoustics. It's a masterpiece, but not practical for the scientist looking for a good reference text.

Would have been 5 stars, but too many printing errors
Overall the depth of this text is exceptional. Morse and Ingard's greatest strength is their skill at explaining the physics behind the mathematics in appropriate terms: with simple expositions when possible, but with unapologetic complexity when that is what is required to properly and precisely motivate a discussion. Exercises provided at the end of each chapter are usually challenging without being so difficult they end up discouraging the student.

Unfortunately the authors' precision is not matched by this edition's typesetters. A single errata page is included on one of the front leaves, but as the reader goes through the text he or she will quickly realize that it is littered with typesetting errors. An accurate and comprehensive list of errata would cover much more than a single page. In some cases the printers have scribbled in corrections by hand. Equation and section number references are also sometimes incorrect. Previous hardcover editions don't seem to have these issues. If you can find one, you're better off paying a few extra dollars to get it. In no way is this edition suitable as an assigned textbook for a university acoustics course, although it's invaluable a secondary reference.

Still remarkable
I am constantly amazed by this remarkable book. It remains a topical reference for theoretical methods in acoustics, despite the advent of computational methods that allow modern acousticians to solve models on their desktop. I recently had the job of reviewing a patent for an acoustic transducer -- and sure enough I found this "modern" idea in good-ol' Morse and Ingard. In my opinion it is a must.

A must for acousticians
This book was lying on the bookshelf long enough, because the title " Theoretical Acoustics" did not encourage me to take it up with any commitment. I work in the field of acoustics and I had to work on the basics of Moving Sources and that was the time I picked it up to read. The material was so clearly presented, with clear reasoning, that it motivated me to read the preceeding chapters as well.The book is very clearly written and presented. It assumes no acoustic or vibration background for the reader. The subject is built up step-by-step without comprimising on either physics or mathematics. The treatment of the subject starts with basic vibration theory, without which any further development in Acoustics is impossible and then introduces the Wave Equation. It proceeds with Radiation and Scattering of sound. This is highly relevant from the view of scattering of submarines, hulls etc., among other applications. More advanced treatment on how sound waves behave in ducts and rooms is presented. The section on structural acoustic coupling is very well presented. The entire book assumes that one has a sufficent background on fundamentals of differential equations and maths in general. If one has a flair for maths, then this is the book for acoustics. Treatment is complete with sufficient physical insight provided into the equations. This book is a must for acousticians and researchers in acoustics. An excellent work by one of the most regarded reserchers in the area of applied and theortical mathematics. ... Read more

Product Description
While the history of musical instruments is nearly as old as civilization itself, the science of acoustics is quite recent. By understanding the physical basis of how instruments are used to make music, one hopes ultimately to be able to give physical criteria to distinguish a fine instrument from a mediocre one. At that point science may be able to come to the aid of art in improving the design and performance of musical instruments. As yet, many of the subtleties in musical sounds of which instrument makers and musicians are aware and remain beyond the reach of modern acoustic measurements. Indeed, for many musical instruments it is only within the past few years that musical acoustics has achieved even a reasonable understanding of the basic mechanisms determining the tone quality, and in some cases even major features of the sounding mechanism have only recently been unraveled. This book describes the results of such acoustical investigations--intellectual and practical exercises of great fascination. Addressed to readers with a reasonable grasp of physics who are not put off by a little mathematics, this book discusses most of the traditional instruments currently in use in Western music. This second edition has been thoroughly revised to take into account the insights arising from recent research, and to generalize or clarify the presentation in many places. The book should continue to serve as a guide for all who have an interest in music and how it is produces as well as serving as a comprehensive reference for those undertaking research in the field.

FROM THE REVIEWS:

AUDIO"All in all, the book presents a fine balance between mathematical rigor, graphical detail, and verbal description. The book can function as a specialized text at the upperclassman or graduate level, but the intuitive clarity of so many of the graphs and descriptions recommends this work as a broad source of information for the reader who may, in fact, be frightened by a little mathematics!"

COMPUTER MUSICAL JOURNAL"...it captures the state of the art and is thus an essential volume for libraries of musical acoustics."

SCIENCE MAGAZINE"No comprehensive quantitative analysis of music-making devices existed until Fletcher and Rossing published THE PHYSICS OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS...Now with the second edition, this impressive volume has been nicely revised and updated."

THE AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND PHYSICIST"...an analysis of the physics of musical instruments that is both rigorous and clear...This already excellent book has been brought up to date. Anyone interested in understanding how musical instruments work will find this book a delight to read." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Exactly what the title says
I have never had the opportunity to teach a class in the physics of musical instruments, so have not been able to use this as a text, but it is the single volume to go to for "how does musical sound get produced by this instrument" questions. This book is one of the greats in musical acoustics.

Rossing's excellent introductory acoustics book Science of Sound, The (3rd Edition) is also recommended.

Hard-core book on the physics of musical instruments
This is a one-of-a-kind book on the physics of musical instruments. However, be aware that it is a book about physics ONLY. There are no hints or exercises on how to model musical instruments, nothing on acoustics or psychoacoustics, synthesis, etc. In other words, do not expect an expanded version of Perry Cook's book "Real Sound Synthesis for Interactive Applications". If you can deal with these expectations, then this is a worthwhile read for those interested in the pure physics of musical instruments who are willing to do the work of implementing the synthesis themselves, if that is the reader's ultimate goal. The first eight chapters of the book provide some pretty good background material on vibrating systems and sound waves that should be read sequentially. However, from chapter 9 through 21 the author just presents the physics of each instrument with no real organization by chapter, unless you count the fact that the physics of the instruments are presented in groups organized as either percussion, wind, or stringed instruments. There is a final chapter on materials and their properties that doesn't really fit in with previous chapters. Each chapter has an extensive bibliography. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the physics of musical instruments and has the necessary mathematical maturity to handle the material. The reader who has taken a year of college physics with maybe a specific class on acoustics and who also is comfortable with calculus and both partial and ordinary differential equations would be best qualified to make the most of the information in this book. Having had a course in the EE topic of Signals and Systems wouldn't hurt either when it comes to the discussions of frequency analysis and response.
The books that helped me get through the math and physics of this volume were Kinsler's "Fundamentals of Acoustics", "Introduction to Partial Differential Equations with Applications" by Zachmanoglou, and finally, an out-of-print work: "Schaum's Outline of Acoustics" by Seto, ISBN 0070563284.

The best reference work under this title.
This is the long-awaited second edition of Fletcher & Rossing.Note first that it really is a reference work, not a teaching text.There is no lesson plan, no problems, no solutions manual, no accompanying workbookExcept for the first two foundation sections on vibrating systems and sound waves, there is no ongoing development.Nothing builds.It's just one topic piled on another.
But the great merit of reference works is that you can cherry-pick, i.e. seek information on isolated topics with little concern for what preceded them.As a reference work, F&R get the highest possible marks from me.They are clearly the masters of this field, not least because of their numerous important contributions to it.With the possible exception of the works of Arthur Benade, they own the business.
Despite its enormous size and great depth of coverage, however, it is not an encyclopedic study of musical instruments.It is exactly what the title says: a work on the PHYSICS of musical instruments.A rigid boundary has been drawn between physics and every other aspect of music-making.In particular, psychoacoustics is totally ignored.There are no entries in the index under loudness, Fletcher-Munson, combination tones, false bass, consonance, dissonance, etc.Even equal temperament tuning gets little more than one page out of 756.
The Preface says the work is addressed to "the reader...who is not frightened by a little mathematics."Well, some of the math is "little" but some of it is not.See for example the use of Green's functions to find the air load on a vibrating membrane, pp. 588-590.Perhaps at MIT, where incoming freshman are sorted out by the do-or-die killer course in mathematical physics from Morse & Feshbach, these methods are taught to undergrads, but not at most other schools.Almost everywhere else this would be considered first-year graduate material.These pages would not only frighten the average reader; they frighten me.I always hated Green's functions and considered it part of my mission in life to prune them away wherever they grew.
There are a few typos, mislabeled equations and the like.The next-to-last sentence of text on p. 232 says, "This is an adquate approximation provided the sound wavelength is small compared to the transverse dimensions of the ducts and cavities involved."Surely "small" should read "large."
In sum, not for beginners, and probably not for most musicians either.But within its compass it reigns supreme.There is no better book in this field.

An excellent musical acoustics book
The new 1998 edition of Fletcher and Rossing is an excellent book foranyone working in musical acoustics or building instruments. Covers a widerange of instruments and gives extensive references to primary literatureand ... it's good reading too. ... Read more

Product Description
The coupling between acoustic waves and fluid flow motion is basically nonlinear, with the result that flow and sound modify themselves reciprocally with respect to generation and propagation properties. As a result this problem is investigated by many different communities, such as applied mathematics, acoustics and fluid mechanics. This book is the result of an international school which was held to discuss the foundation of sound--flow interactions, to share expertise and methodologies, and to promote cross-fertilization between the different disciplines involved. It consists essentially of a set of pedagogical lectures and is meant to serve not only as a compact source of reference for the experienced researcher but also as an advanced textbook for postgraduate students, and nonspecialists wishing to familiarize themselves in depth, at a research level, with this fascinating subject. ... Read more

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Technological developments in composite materials, non-destructive testing, and signal processing as well as biomedical applications, have stimulated wide-ranging engineering investigations of heterogeneous, anisotropic media and surface waves of different types. Wave propagation in solids is now of considerable importance in a variety of applications. The book presents many of the key results in this field and interprets them from a unified engineering viewpoint. The conceptual importance and relevance for applications were the prevailing criteria in selecting the topics. Included are body and surface waves in elastic, viscoelastic, and piezoelectric media and waveguides, with emphasis on the effects of inhomogeneity and anisotropy. The book differs in many aspects from the other monographs dealing with wave propagation in solids. It focuses on physically meaningful theoretical models, a broad spectrum of which is covered, and not on mathematical techniques. Some of the results, particularly those dealing with waves in composites, are given for the first time in the monographical literature. Both, exact and approximate approaches, are discussed. While the subject is advanced, the presentation is at an intermediate level of mathematical complexity, making understanding easier. ... Read more

Product Description
The current revolution in electronic switching and transporttechnologies promises a dramatic increase in the intimacy andsatisfaction that users will experience over imminenttelecommunications networks. However, unless there is a correspondingimprovement in the technologies of the acoustics oftelecommunications, this promise will soon prove empty. The sense ofpresence that people feel when together in a room is largely dueto the psycho-acoustic cues they sense from the human binaural hearingsystem evolved over millennia. Modern acoustic signal processing isjust now beginning to be able to deliver that same experience to usersremotely located from each other. This includes the ability tocommunicate in full duplex with wider bandwidths and multiple audiostreams (e.g. stereo, 3D audio). It also involves locating andseparating audio sources, suppressing noise, and using sound toautomatically steer video cameras. Acoustic Signal Processing for Telecommunication presentsdigital signal processing techniques for telecommunications acousticsthat are both cutting-edge and practical. Each chapter presentsmaterial that has not appeared in book form before and yet is easilyrealizable in today's technology. To this end, both new theory and newimplementation techniques are presented. Topics include new adaptivefiltering algorithms, multi-channel acoustic echo cancellation, noisecontrol, virtual sound, sound source localization for camera tracking,source separation, and microphone arrays. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good coveragebut too simple results
Topics are carefully selected. Good coverage of both traditional and cutting-edge new theories and algorithms. Less errors than a normal technique book. Only key derivations are outlined with others just omitted. This makes it easy to follow for an engineer like me but i suppose an academic researcher may dislike it somewhat. Unfortunately, too few results are given for each algorithm. Readers don't know if the algorithms have the potential to meet the various requirements of EC, i.e., residue error, convergence rate, complexity, numerical stability. (By the way, even a simple touch of industry standard of AEC might be helpful for this book)Anyway, for anyone who is interested in either accademic research or implementation of EC, i guess this book gives him/her a solid starting point. ... Read more

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Underwater Acoustic Digital Signal Processing andCommunication Systems describes new design and developmentmethodologies in underwater acoustic signal processing. The emphasisis on experimental efforts and modern DSP implementations. The bookassembles a number of contributions from authors who have contributedsignificantly to the field. The topics cover a broad range ofunderwater acoustic signal processing applications: underwaterwireless communciations, array processing for mapping, detection andlocalization of objects, biotelemetry, speech processing for divers,acoustic imaging, and use of neural networks for underwater signalprocessing. ... Read more

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This volume presents the Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Vibration Problems, held in Istanbul, Turkey, September 5-9, 2005. The main objective being to stimulate a broad interdisciplinary research. The topics covered in the book vary from the effect of ground motion on the stochastic response of suspension bridges to coupling effects between different vibrations in rotor-blade systems.

Product Description
Why does a piano sound like a piano? A similar question can be asked of virtually all musical instruments. A particular note - such as middle C - can be produced by a piano, a violin, a clarinet, and many other instruments, yet it is easy for even a musically untrained listener to distinguish between these different instruments. A central quest in the study of musical instruments is to understand why the sound of the "same" note depends greatly on the instrument, and to elucidate which aspects of an instrument are most critical in producing the musical tones characteristic of the instrument. The primary goal of Physics of the Piano is to investigate these questions for the piano. The explanations in this book use a minimum of mathematics, and are intended for anyone who is interested in music and musical instruments.At the same time, there are many insights relating physics and the piano that will likely be interesting and perhaps surprising for many physicists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Important book for piano people of all types.
Physics Of The Piano is (along with Andre Oorebeeks "The Voice of the Piano")an important addition to the literature on piano design and technology. In addition it's a great resource for anybody interested in exploring "under the hood" of pianos.

I know of no other book where so many important historical facts and descriptions of technological aspects of the pianocan be found. While there is nothing here that is necessarily new or ground breaking, collecting in one book so many details with clear, approachable explanations makes this an important addition to the book shelves of technicians, educators, pianists and piano lovers.

Included are detailed explanations of what sound is and how we perceive it, how the western musical scale came to be as well as how the piano grew out of the harpsichord and why the action invented by Cristofori was so radical and important. Also included are lucid descriptions of aspects of piano technology such as standing waves and how a string vibrates after being hit be the hammer. He goes into great detail of the reality of inharmonicity (he calls it "anharmonicity"), what it means to "stretch an octave"and why a good tuner puts a piano precisely out-of-tune in the process of tuning.

This book is definitely written by a physicist with formulas, charts and references to a surprisingly large amount of related literature and papers. For this reason it could certainly be included in college level courses and will be of great interest to more advanced technicians. However one can easily pass over the more complex material and still come away with clear understanding of many highly technical aspects of the piano, including how a soundboard vibrates and why a good hammer functions as a non-linear spring.

My only objection is to Chapter 11 where he somewhat breathlessly goes into the history of Steinway. While Steinway has certainly played an important role in the history and development of the piano, it is far from the only important, high quality piano on the market today (look to Europe for some truly great makers). While he somewhat qualifies himself in the final paragraph of the book, it is clear that he has been strongly influenced by one of the worlds great marketing companies. ... Read more

Product Description
This textbook treats the broad range of modern acoustics, from the basics of wave propagation in solids and fluids to applications such as noise control and cancellation, underwater acoustics, music and music synthesis, sonoluminescence, and medical diagnostics with ultrasound.The discussion begins with a historical overview; it then turns to a derivation of the wave equation from fundamental equations of motion for fluids and for solids; and it discusses solutions of the equation for sound waves in the open air and in such bounded media as strings, bars, membranes, and pipes; sound filters and electrical analogs for sound propagation are also treated. A chapter on measurement techniques provides a comprehensive survey of the means of evaluating sound levels and frequency content of signals. A section on the physiology of hearing and psychoacoustics includes recent findings on how the human ear functions. The remainder of the book deals with a wide variety of applications, including architectural acoustics; enclosures and barriers; noise codes and regulations, and methods of noise control; underwater acoustics; ultrasonics; control of vibrations; and music, musical instruments, and reproduction of music.Intended for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in science or engineering, the text can also serve as a valuable reference for acousticians, engineers, scientists, architects, medical researchers, and musicians. The treatment assumes that the reader has a thorough knowledge of mathematics through elementary partial differential equations and university-level physics. Virtually every chapter includes examples and problems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great material for the study of general and musical acoustics
This is an excellent general book on acoustics at the upper undergraduate to graduate level aimed at the mathematically mature. The reader should already have a knowledge of calculus, ordinary differential equations, and partial differential equations. However, unlike Kinser's book on the subject, it looks at both the forest and the trees. In most chapters the book will discuss a subject for a few paragraphs, show relevant equations, and then illustrate with a numerical example that solves a practical problem in acoustics so that the reader can join theory and practice. Chapters one through nine should probably be read in sequence, since the author is covering the basics of acoustics that is common to all disciplines. From that point forward, though, you can pick and choose what you're interested in. The later chapters have subject matter on architectural acoustics, noise and vibration control, ultrasonics, and even a short concluding chapter on nonlinear acoustics.

My personal interest was in finding a good book on acoustics that covers subject matter that is of interest to musicians but keeps the mathematics of the engineering texts on the subject while managing to not become a jungle of equations in the process. This book seems to be the one I've been looking for. Just about all of the chapters minus the ones on ultrasonics and machinery noise will be of use to students of musical acoustics, plus the longest chapter in the book focuses specifically on the physics of musical instruments and is a very good companion to "The Physics of Musical Instruments".This chapter discusses musical notation and musical instruments including strings, wind instruments, percussion instruments, and electronic instruments, as well asrecording equipment, and playback audio equipment. However, this chapter is not particularly quantitative in its treatment of the subjectand it also has no end of chapter exercises like most of the other chapters in the book, probably because it was written as a general textbook, not as one specifically for students of musical acoustics. I would recommend this as a good textbook for readers that want a good grounding in the basics and mathematics of general acoustics and also for those who want to learn something specifically about musical acoustics.

An excellent undergraduate textbook on acoustics
This is a good up-to-date engineering text on acoustics for upper division college students.There are plenty of good exercises at the ends of the chapters.

The author points out that acoustics has changed in the past twenty years to encompass ultrasonics and infrasonics.There are a number of new "applications in materials science, medicine, dentistry, oceanography, marine navigation, communications, petroleum and mineral prospecting, industrial processes, music and voice synthesis, animal bioacoustics, and noise control."And of course, improvements are being made in more classical parts of this field.

To use this text, you ought to have studied lower division physics for engineers, calculus, and ordinary and partial differential equations.

I like the fact that the book includes chapters on psychoacoustics, noise control, underwater acoustics, ultrasonics, and musical instruments.Not all acoustics texts cover all this! It makes this one of the more comprehensive acoustics books.Still, I would have liked to see even more material, perhaps on topics such as shock waves or second sound in liquid helium.

This is a well-written textbook.I'd be happy to teach a class using it. ... Read more

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Introducing the first, self-contained reference on acoustic waveform loggingAcoustic measurements in boreholes were first made as a specialized logging technique in geological exploration, but recent advances have greatly expanded the potential applications of this technique. Acoustic Waves in Boreholes provides a thorough review of the theory and interpretation techniques needed to realize these applications, emphasizing the role of guided modes and critically refracted waves in determining the characteristics of recorded waveforms. Topics covered in this comprehensive volume include the seismic properties of rocks; propagation of axisymmetric waves along fluid-filled boreholes in isotropic rocks; and symmetric and nonsymmetric sources in isotropic, transversely isotropic, and porous, permeable formations in open and cased boreholes. Each chapter includes the theory of synthetic microseismogram computation, interpretation and data inversion techniques illustrated using computed seismograms, and case histories using experimental data. Appendices providing the mathematical formulation needed to compute microseismograms, with a single consistent notation used throughout, are also included in appropriate chapters.The wide range of geomechanical properties covered in this book will interest exploration geophysicists, reservoir engineers, civil engineers, geologists, and soil scientists. ... Read more

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Musical Mathematics is the definitive tome for the adventurous musician. Integrating mathematics, music history, and hands-on experience, this volume serves as a comprehensive guide to the tunings and scales of acoustic instruments from around the world. Author, composer, and builder Cris Forster illuminates the mathematical principles of acoustic music, offering practical information and new discoveries about both traditional and innovative instruments. With this knowledge readers can improve, or begin to build, their own instruments inspired by Forster's creations shown in 16 color plates. For those ready to step outside musical conventions and those whose curiosity about the science of sound is never satisfied, Musical Mathematics is the map to a new musical world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Kraig Grady's review of Musical Mathematics
Musical Mathematicsby Cris Forster is a rigorous and highly organized book that deals with the construction and tuning of acoustic instruments. In a clear and graspable way, the book first tackles the physics of instruments, a subject that is often the greatest stumbling block for readers interested in building instruments of their own design. After a detailed examination of the subject of mass, Forster guides us through his knowledge of strings, which includes their physical properties and different usages on musical instruments. Only in retrospect does one realize what a careful choice as a starting point this is because it easily leads us to a more complex study of bars, rods, and tubes. Resonators follow, with thematic connections that reach back to earlier chapters and forward to air columns and flutes. A chapter on geometric progressions, logarithms, and cents concludes the first part of the book, and at the same time acts as a bridge to the study of tunings. The second part presents the reader with a strong foundation of the history of tuning in Western civilization and throughout the world, and the methods employed to realize these tunings. The book ends with an examination of Forster's own instruments, which are extremely beautiful in both design and sound. He remains one of the greatest practitioners among instrument builders.

Although I have spent many years in the field, I discovered in Musical Mathematics a fresh and above all generous presentation of knowledge both with regard to acoustics and the history of scales. For example, the chapter on Chinese music discusses an approach to string tuning that I have never encountered in any other sources. Because of his own translations from other languages, Forster's research is not limited to English texts; for this reason, his book is filled with many new sources that provide fresh perspectives of the historical record. The subjects of Indonesian, Indian, Arabian, Persian, and Turkish tunings are likewise treated with much care and depth. Perhaps the book might be compared to Harry Partch's Genesis of a Music, but there are marked differences. The latter was written to explain Partch's music and instruments, and only secondarily to help others build their own unique instruments. Musical Mathematics, on the other hand, focuses more on the needs of creative individuals; it encourages musicians to discover and explore aspects that are most useful and fruitful to their own work. It is toward this goal that Forster shares the benefit of his knowledge and experience.

Yes, here is a book I surely wish I would have had 30 years ago when I first started out as a just-intonation composer and instrument builder. Musical Mathematics is truly as useful to the beginner as to the most accomplished expert in the field; both will find much value in this book. Also, it is obvious from his thoroughness and practical insights that Cris is an authority who has actually worked with the materials -- an important aspect that sets this publication apart. This is a work of depth and breadth written in a spirit of sharing and helpfulness for those interested in the subject. Musical Mathematics is a watershed book that will, without doubt, change acoustic instrument building for the better, and change many of our views on the history of mankind's intonational practices.

Essential Reading for Musicians, Makers & Listeners
Musical Mathematics: On the Art and Science of Acoustic Instruments
by Cris Forster

Sir Thomas Beecham once famously quipped that, "...the British public doesn't really understand music, they just like the noise that it makes." Sadly, the same can be said for most musicians when it comes to their instruments. We all spend untold hours dealing with HOW to play them, but rarely consider WHY these marvelous inventions do what they do. In fact, the simplest concepts of rhythm, pitch, & volume, the basic building blocks of music, are all determined by numbers. But the very nature of instruments themselves - the scales they play, the colors they produce, how well they project their sound...all of these elements are also deeply determined by math. For thousands of years, this has been the realm of the instrument builder, who, more often than not, relied on intuition and received knowledge to practice their craft. Now Cris Forster has cracked the code, and reveals with uncanny scientific accuracy the principles behind instrument design, the vibrations of strings, bars and tubes and the very scales they produce.

This is not the work of some ivory tower theorist, a mathematician with music as an after hours hobby. This author has sawdust in his hair and the strong hands of an artisan, having earned this knowledge the hard way, spending decades creating museum quality instruments of striking originality. He begins with basic principles: how do strings, rods & bars vibrate? We get the mathematics for all of these, and their application on real musical instruments. These formulae are absolutely essential for luthiers & craftsman, who will be amazed that the author has also created a new method for measuring Mass called the Mica mass unit. This revolutionary approach will save builders hours of time when measuring materials by bypassing conversions from the traditional English mass unit to a new inch-based unit. This new discovery is so important that the book begins with it's explanation, which may scare off quite a few non-numerate readers, but for many, it alone will be ample reason to own this groundbreaking volume.

The realm of Music Theory (remember it's antique name: `Musical Science'?) has always promised to explain the magic of music by parsing the mystical alchemies of melody & harmony. But it has really only been in the past generation that we have developed the tools to adequately explain the complex interaction between mechanical vibration and human perception. The mathematics of human hearing are explained (how we really hear), as are the methods and units used to accurately measure pitch. It is now common knowledge that the twelve equal-tempered tones of Western music are but a few of the hundreds available to the musician. How we have arrived at this historic compromise is a fascinating story that the author reveals in exquisite detail, tracing the trajectory from the ancient Greeks (Archytas, Ptolemy, Pythagoras, Aristoxenes et al) through the Renaissance & Baroque eras, to the present day. Happily, Forster is also multilingual, translating many critical primary and secondary texts previously unavailable to the English reading public. Of course the mathematical complexities behind meantone tunings and the numerous evolutionary well-temperaments are explored in great depth before we arrive at modern equal temperament, a tuning so challenging that it's adoption over a century ago created a new profession: the piano tuner. Previously, tunings were simple enough to be done by the instrument's owners, since most included many pure intervals of Just Intonation, another subject discussed at great length and of profound importance to the development of both the language of music and its instruments.

The beauty of Forster's presentation is not only the length and depth to which he goes to explain the history and detail of these fascinating European tunings, which have all but determined the very repertoire that we hold so dear, but that is only the beginning: the section on World Tunings is alone worth the price of admission. The author admits:

"Long before I began writing this book, I envisioned discussing Chinese, Indonesian, Indian, and Arabian tuning theory in the same breath as Greek and Renaissance tuning theory. Why not? Music is a universal language not only because human beings have ears and a desire to make music, but also because people all over the world cultivate and investigate the subject of musical mathematics."

What follows is over 300 pages of superb detail devoted to the notes of the ch'in, fretting of Arabic `ud (Al Farabi, Ibn-Sina, Al-Kindi et al), various pelog & slendro scales of Indonesia, the Turkish tunbur, Indian vina, sarangi & sitar and more.

If you have ever pondered the intricate diversities of the Arabic maqam or Persiandastgahyou will find them not only beautifully diagrammed and explained, but also compared and contrasted, a clearly 21st century approach that embraces our increasingly global musical resources. How do the ancient Greek modes compare with the ragas of India? Look no further. And these are not simply diagrams of the results of research - in most cases the scores of tuning tables include the musician's original descriptions of their tunings, not just the results. In other words, we benefit from the exact description of ancient modes in modern terminology (ratios & cents), but also get specific instructions as to how they were achieved in contemporary practice, regardless of century. The result? A truly three dimensional view of our shared musical heritage.

Musical Mathematics culminates in the tunings and instruments that Forster knows best: his own. Though his credo is simple: "I build because the tunings and timbres I want to hear do not exist on store shelves", the results are anything but. From the extraordinary double-sided spinning Chrysalis to the elegant choreography of the Glassdance, Forster's instruments glisten with originality. Of course the canons and marimbas immediately recall the instruments of Harry Partch (1901-1974), and the connection is not casual, since the author spent several years as the curator for the Harry Partch Foundation, eventually rebuilding the entire `orchestra' of original instruments. Forster's versions, however, transcend the originals in both skill & scope, expanding the tonal resources to include pitches based on the 13th harmonic of the overtone series (Partch's stopped at the 11th), and reaching a stunning level of craftsmanship that one can only described as first-class.

What's missing? The most obvious thing of all: sound. A compact disc or two would have gone a long way towards making these numbers live. If ears could salivate, yours will be drooling at the chance to actually taste these vibrational delicacies, having read about them in such detail. Luckily, Forster's own music can be heard in over a dozen mp3 excerpts found on the website [...] Or, if seeing is believing, look no further than the Chryalis Foundation's recent DVD A Voyage in Music to see the instruments in action and meet the man that made them, as well as the people that play them.

There are also several compositions from various traditions that have been painstakingly transcribed from recordings. Sadly, several of these musical jewels are long since out-of-print, and though the author helpfully includes all references to those still available, it would be both costly and time-consuming to recreate his extraordinary listening library. Clearly, a compilation disc would be an excellent supplement to the book. As for the pages & pages of scales, modes, dastgah, raga, etc., it would surely have taken another few years to actually record all of the material, let alone on the appropriate instruments. Perhaps the answer as to why this was not done can be found in Chapter 13: "Building a Little Canon" - it seems as if the author is challenging the reader to make a little sawdust themselves if they want taste the fruits of all of this hard-earned knowledge!

Musical Mathematics is essential reading for anyone interested in music, innumerate or not. For the builder, it's details are simply indispensable. For the musician, the historical and practical perspective on the materials of music should be basic reading. This is surely the guidebook for 21st century musicmaking, and as such, belongs in every library. Where Partch's Genesis of a Music is in uequal parts a manifesto, autobiography, intonation history & cookbook (yes, you really can recreate the instruments with those recipes), it's author once admitted that the pioneering work was written for the rebellious young man that he was back in the 1920's. Forster's Musical Mathematics is clearly the next step: it goes deeper and farther than Genesis, keeps the editorializing to a minimum (though when it comes, it is no less piquant & provocative), and offers sophisticated & exactly practical answers to anyone daring to pick up a piece of wood or wire and ask those materials to make music. Whereas Partch was a self-proclaimed "Philosophic music man seduced into carpentry", Forster is surely a craftsman of the highest order, seduced into mathematics to answer his own burning questions as to how physical and musical materials behave, in order to bring them to the highest level of perfection. We will be thankful for generations to come that he took a decade of his own productive life to write down the conclusions.

- John Schneider, KPFK, Los Angeles
Director of MicroFest [...]













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The central theme of the chapters is acoustic propagation in fluid media, dissipative or non-dissipative, homogeneous or nonhomogeneous, infinite or limited, placing particular emphasis on the theoretical formulation of the problems considered. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Theoretical Content!
I rarely found such a deep theoretical insight in classical acoustics textbooks. This is acoustics not catering! ... Read more