Characteristics of Sound Waves

Contents / notes

• Noise and musical notes.
• Quality, pitch, intensity and loudness and their applications to musical instruments.
• Simple treatment of harmonics and overtones produced by vibrating strings and air columns.
• Acoustic examples of resonance.
• Frequency of notes emitted by air columns in closed and open pipes in relation to their lengths.

Candidate objectives

• Differentiate between noise and musical notes.
• Analyse the quality, pitch, intensity and loudness of sound notes.
• Evaluate the application of sound characteristics in the construction of musical instruments.
• Identify overtones produced by vibrating strings and air columns.
• List acoustic examples of resonance.
• Determine the frequencies of notes emitted by air columns in open and closed pipes in relation to their lengths.
• Solve problems involving echoes, reverberation and the speed of sound.