The Science of Musical Sound

John Pierce has provided an exploration of the sources of music production and the psychology of music perception.

---

Behind the creation of any musical sound lie the complex processes of physics, electronics, mathematics, and human perception. The interplay of these factors is the focus of John R. Pierce's "The Science of Musical Sound", revised edition - a volume that covers the production of a single drumbeat and the wizardry of the latest recording and synthesizing techniques to explore where sound comes from and how we recognize and enjoy it as music. In "The Science of Musical Sound", John Pierce combines an explanation of the physics of musical instruments with a review of the principles of psychoacoustics. The latest research findings and Pierce's own firsthand experiences and insights inform the book's survey of the many aspects of this multifaceted field-including the physical and mathematical properties of sound waves, the relationship of sound to music, the physical correlates of consonance and harmony, the phenomena of hearing and sound perception, architectural acoustics, and much more. Pierce measures the farreaching impact of the past decade's technological revolution by charting the emergence of computers in music, compact discs, and digital recording and synthesizing.
He also looks ahead to the surprising, evolving MIDI Standard that can link any keyboard to a digital synthesizer.