Timothy Hsu

The need to control how sound travels within a room, or how sound is transmitted from one room to another room, has necessitated a commercial industry that manufactures sound absorbing panels and sound transmission reduction products. The design of acoustic treatments targets high acoustic absorption or high transmission loss, respectively. However, many of the present-day treatments available include materials that do not meet current sustainability demands (i.e., petrochemical foam, hard Styrofoam, and molded plastic). This paper investigates sustainable options for acoustic products and seeks to quantify the acoustic absorption and transmission loss of “myco-materials,” a composite of lignocellulosic fibers bound together by fungal mycelium. These myco-materials were tested in an impedance tube under various conditions, including several modifications to the myco-material specimens that sought to alter the acoustic properties. The impedance tube tests show that myco-materials show moderate acoustic absorption and transmission loss. Myco-materials have potential for future research into improving both absorptive and transmission loss properties, they are relevant for diffuse surfaces in architectural acoustic applications.

This chapter explores various ways that music technologists communicate with devices and how devices can communicate with each other. These communication methods are essential; thus, two standard protocols are presented here. Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or MIDI, is a standardized protocol for musical instruments and other digital interfaces. The connectors, the types of messages, controllers and interfaces used, and polyphonic expression concepts are shown in this part. The other standard protocol that is presented in this part is Open Sound Control, or OSC. OSC is another open-source protocol for communication for devices over a network (either wireless or wired) or the Internet. The fundamental concepts of how OSC functions are depicted through illustrations and in the text.

Play with Sound: Manual for Electronic Musicians and Other Sound Explorers offers a thorough introduction to music technology by centering on curiosity and creativity in the exploration of the fundamentals of sound. With color illustrations throughout, this book covers topics regarding audio software, acoustical principles, electroacoustic systems, audio processing, sound synthesis, and communication protocols. Each chapter features creative exercises that utilize live electronics, production, and composition to unearth the theories presented and develop technical and musical creativity. Additionally, interactive graphics and lesson slides are available as digital resources to enhance learning inside and outside the classroom. Play with Sound is an ideal textbook for beginners of all backgrounds looking for an introduction to music technology, production, and live electronics. By engaging with this book, everyone, including traditional students as well as those learning outside the traditional classroom setting, will be able to expand their musical skills and professional opportunities into the world of music technology.

This chapter encompasses the entire music technology signal chain, defining and providing fundamental concepts to the various components that music technologists may encounter. This chapter focuses on analog devices, digital devices, interfaces, output devices, and the analog to digital conversion and digital to analog process. Within the analog component portion, various cable types, inputs, signal level differences, impedances, microphone types, magnetic pickups, mixers, and output devices are presented. Additionally, microphone directivity and commonly used stereo microphone techniques are shown. Likewise, digital systems such as computers, audio software, digital interfaces, and audio file types are discussed. Lastly, an in-depth exploration of the analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog process and implications on sample rate and distortion are expounded upon.

This chapter discusses aspects of acoustics and psychoacoustics that deal with sound waves and how humans perceive sound. The chapter starts with an overview of sound waves, from their definition to the investigation of their properties. Fundamental concepts such as speed of sound, period, phase, amplitude, wavelength, and periodicity are presented. Descriptions of the logarithmic nature of human listening and the implications towards equal temperament are highlighted. Included with the discussion on amplitude, the decibel is introduced, alongside the Fletcher-Munson curves. Lastly, timbre is investigated by analyzing both dynamic envelopes and spectral plots. Various instruments are used as examples, with accompanying waveforms and spectrograms.

Music Real-time Communication applications (M-RTC) enable music making (musiking) for musicians simultaneously across geographic distance. When used for musiking, M-RTC such as Zoom and JackTrip, require satisfactorily received acoustical perception of the transmitted music to the end user; however, degradation of audio can be a deterrent to using M-RTC for the musician. Specific to the audio quality of M-RTC, we evaluate the quality of the audio, or the Quality of Experience (QoE), of five network music conferencing applications through quantitative perceptual analysis to determine if the results are commensurate with data analysis. The ITU-R BS.1534-3 Multi Stimulus test with Hidden Reference and Anchor (MUSHRA) analysis is used to evaluate the perceived audio quality of the transmitted audio files in our study and to detect differences between the transmitted audio files and the hidden reference file. A comparison of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and total harmonic distortion (THD) analysis to the MUSHRA analysis shows that the objective metrics may indicate that SNR and THD are factors in perceptual evaluation and may play a role in perceived audio quality; however, the SNR and THD scores do not directly correspond to the MUSHRA analysis and do not adequately represent the preferences of the individual listener. Since the benefits of improved M-RTC continue to be face-to-face communication, face-to-face musiking, reduction in travel costs, and depletion of travel time, further testing with statistical analysis of a larger sample size can provide the additional statistical power necessary to make conclusions to that end.