Howmusicproductionenhancesthe

Emotionalhumanexperience.
TrudyOlmos
MauroBazanVergara
DanielMckane
SaltLakeCommunityCollege
W.McDonald
Physics1010
Abstract
Thispaperisgoingtoexplorethemanydifferentwaysthatmusicproductionisdevelopedas
wellastheshape,volumeandformthatsoundcantake,wewillalsoillustratethemethodin
whichwaveformsandharmonictonesintermingle.Withitsaudienceandhowitaffectsthe
listener'sexperiencecreatingscaleofemotionsthatcanbequantifiedbypropagation.

Thesis:
Soundisawavelikeformofenergythatcanenhancepeople'sperceptionon
emotions.Bychangingthewaywefeelaboutoneanother,changingouroutlookonlife,
changingthewayweviewascenefromamovieorbyjustchanginghowweperceiveour
surroundings.Thereareavarietyofwaysthatsoundaffectspeopleandthecontinuedusewe
haveforsound.

Howsoundisproduced
Waveforms
Waveformsareaproductofairbeingdisturbedbyvibrations.
Whentheairismovedbyavibratingsourceitcreatesadisturbancethattravelsinabackward
andforwardmotionthatiscalledalongitudinalwave.Thebackandforthmotionthatthe
waveformcreatesiscalledcompressionandrarefaction.Thecompressioniswhenthepressure
anddensityoftheairisgreatestandrarefactioniswhenthepressureanddensityoftheairis
less.Soasthesoundwavecontinuestomoveoutward,theairbecomesmoreandlessdense.
Thereareseveraldifferentnametypestothewaveformsbasedontheirdirectionoftravel.
Somewaveformscanbetransverse(perpendicular)orlongitudinal(parallel).Theexamplefor
thetransversewavewouldbetoshakealonglengthofrope,thiswouldcreateatransverse
wavenomatterwhatdirectiontheropeiswhippedin.Electromagneticwaveformsaresome
examplesofatransversewave.
Longitudinalisthewaveformthattravelsintheair.Thevibrationofsounddisturbstinybitsof
airandstaysparalleltothedirectionthatthewavewillmovein.Alongitudinalwaveformislike
aslinkyonatablethatisbeingstretchedbackandforth.Thedistancethatthewaveformwill
traveliscalledtheWavelengthandisdeterminedbyonecresttothenext.Thesecrestare
calledcycles.Thefrequencyofhowmanycyclescompletewillalsobewhatdeterminesthe
pitchofthesoundwave.

Harmonics
Inmusic,therearemanydifferentwaveformshapes.Thisisduetothefrequencythatarein
thewaveform.Thisiscalledtheharmonics,orovertones,thatarepresentwhenastringona
guitarispluckedorpianokeystruck.Thevibrationnotonlyhasasinglesoundingpitch
(fundamental)butalsohasfractionalpitchesthataretheovertones.Theseadditionalharmonics
inthesoundaretoosofttobeheardbyourears,buttheyhelptogivecolor(timbre)ofthe
objectvibrating.Thisharmonicseriesstartswiththefundamentalfrequency,whichisthemain
pitchthatwecanhear,thengoesontoasecondharmonic(anoctave)athirdharmonic(athird)
afourthharmonic(anotheroctave)andsoon.

Reflections
Reflectioniswhenasound(waveform)travelsinonedirectionitwillsometimesencounter
obstaclesthatwillthencausethesoundtoreflectoffandmoveinanotherdirection.Soundcan
bounceoffanytypeofsurfaceofanyshapeorsize.Dependingonthesurface,however,will
determinethedirectionwherethesoundwillbouncetowards.Forinstance,whenyouhearand
echoinahallwayorstaircase,itisduetothesoundhittingoffthesurfaceofthewallsorceilings
andbouncingback.

Venues
Reflectionisonereasonwhysomuchthoughthasgoneintothearchitecturalconstructionof
musicalhalls,concerthallsandothervenues.Thisisalsowhythetypeofmusicthatisbeing
playedwillalsobedeterminedbytheperformancelocation.Forinstance,ifyouinaChoral
grouporplayingtheorganalargechurchwouldsoundamazing,but,ifyouweretodothe
sametypeofperformanceinaroomthathadbeentreatedforthereverberationThenitwould
notsoundasgood.Thisisbecausethechoralandorganperformancesaremeanttobe
sustainedwiththereverberationofthelargeopenchurch.However,ifyouweregoingtohavea
rockbandorpopbandperform,alargechurchwouldnotbetheidealvenue.Thisisbecause
thefasterpacedmusicwithmorecomplexrhythmswouldsoundmuddiedandoffbeatdueto
thereverberation.Therockandpopmusicwouldsoundbestinasmallervenuelikeaclub
wheretherewouldbecouches,wallsatdifferentanglesandlowerceilingsindifferentareasof
theroom.Thiswouldhelptodiffusethesoundandhelptokeepthesoundcleanandnot
jumbled.

Interference
Interferencecanoccurwhenthecrestofthesamefrequenciesfromtwosourcesmeetatthe
samearea.Ifbothofthefrequenciesmatchup,fromthecresttothetrough,thenthe
wavelengthwillhavetwicetheamplitudeofeitherwavealone.
Ifthewavelengthsdonotmatchup,thentherewillbeacancellationofthesoundwave.
Inmostcases,interferencecanbetreatedbyadjustingthespeakerlocation,puttingtreatments
intheroomlikesoundabsorptionpanelsorcreatingjaggedwallstoallowthesoundtodiffusein
areaswherecancellationoccurs.Thesesoundtreatmentmethodscanbeusedtohelpreduce
anykindofproblemsthatmightarisefromdifferentvenues.

Timbre
Timbreisthecolorofsound,forexample:atrumpethasabright,brassycolor,whereasaflute
hasasoft,airy,andmorepuresound.Timbredependsentirelyontheovertonespresentinthe
soundsourcewaveformandtheintensityoramplitudeofeachoftheovertones.Theovertones
areaffectedbytheresonatingbodyofthesoundsourceorinstrument.Thatiswhyatrumpet
soundslikeatrumpetandaviolinsoundslikeaviolin.

Instruments

Strings:Guitars,violins,pianosStringedinstrumentsmakesoundwhenthestringsvibrate.The
pitchofthestringdependsonthelengthandthediameterofthestring.Theshorterandsmaller
thestringthehigherthepitch.
Brass:Trumpet,Tuba,Frenchhorn
Brassinstrumentsproducesoundbyincreasingtheairpressureinsidetheinstrumentforcingair
outoftheendofit.Thegreatertheairpressure,thehigherthepitch.Themoreairused,the
highertheamplitudeofthesound.Brassinstrumentshavevalvesandtubesthatcaneither
shortenorlengthenthepathoftheairfromoneendtotheothertochangethepitch.Thelonger
thepath,thelowerthepitch.Thediameterofthetubethattheairtravelsalsoaffectsthepitch,
thebiggerthediameter,thelowerthepitch.Tubashavelargediametertubesandtheairhas
longerdistancetotravelsoitproduceslowpitches.

Woodwinds:clarinets,saxophones,flutes
Woodwindsproducesoundlikebrassinstruments,increasingtheairpressureinside,forcingair
tomoveoutoftheend.Thelongerthetube,thelongerittakesforairtotravelfromoneendto
theotherandthelowertheresultingpitch.Alsolikethebrass,youcanchangethepitchat
specificintervalsbychangingjusttheairpressure.Unlikethebrass,woodwindshavekeyholes
orfingerholesthatblockorletoutairalongthelengthoftheinstrumenttochangetheair
pressurewhichchangesthepitch
Percussion
Percussioninstrumentsareplayedwithsticksormalletsusually,thesoundisproducedby
strikingtheinstrumentandmostpercussionproducequickshortsounds.
Chromaticpercussion:(xylophone)usesspecificsizesofmaterialsuspendedtoproduce
specificresonantfrequencies.Nonchromaticpercussion:(drums,cymbals)thereisnodefined
frequencybecausetheairtravelsinalldirectionswithessentiallyrandomfrequencies.

Pitch

Pitchisthehighnessorlownessofasound.Thehigherthevibratingfrequency,thehigherthe
pitch.Doublingthefrequencyresultsinanoctavewhichisessentiallyahigherpitched
frequencyofthesamepitch.(DotoDo).Inmodernwesternmusic,thereareonly12different
pitches,whichallhavedifferentoctaves.Mosthumanscanhearaslowas20Hzandashighas
20,000Hzor20kHz.Mostearthquakesvibrateatfrequencieslowerthan20Hzsowecant
heartherealaction.Batsforexample,travelbyproducingpitcheshigherthanhumanscanhear
andusethequickreflectionsofthehighfrequenciestotellwhatsinfrontofthem.
Acollectionofpitchesplayedatthesametimeresultinachord.Dependingonthepitches
used,determinesthequalityofthechord,suchasMajor(happy),Minor(sad)or7thsand9ths
etc.forjazzysoundingchords.Everysonghasaspecificcollectionofpitchesused,(usually7)
andcanchangetoanothersetof7.ThehomepitchDoisoftenusedtobeginthesongandto
endit.Otherwiseyoucanbeleftwithasenseofsuspenseorirritation.

Dynamics
TheamplitudeofsoundismeasuredinDecibelsordb.Thethresholdofhumanhearingis0dB
thoughveryfewhumanseverexperiencethat.30dBislikesittinginaclosetwithablanketover
yourheadinaquietroomwithalllightsandelectronicsturnedoff.110dBislikefrontrowofa
rockconcert.Hearingdamagecanstartrightawayat120dBorforlongexposuretosounds
abovearound80db.ThehigherthedBlevel,theshorteramountoftimeyouhavetokeepyour
earssafe.Inmusic,especiallyinclassicalpieces,theamplitudeofasongwillchange
throughoutandthatcanchangethemoodorthefeelingofthesongdramatically.
Medium
Soundisproducedwhenanobjectvibratesandcausesamediumaroundittovibrate.Themost
commonmediumforsoundistheair,butsounditselfcanbetransportedthroughavarietyof
mediums,likeliquidandsolidobjects.Inairthemostimportantfactorthataffectsthesounds
speedistemperature.

Scales
Thescaleofsoundisusuallyconsideredasagroupofpitchesarrangedinanascendingorder.
Thestandardscaleinwesternmusicisthemajorscalewhicharenumberedfromthefirstpitch,
knownasthetonic,allthewayinsequencetotheeightpitch,whichisanothertonic.Eachpitch
inthescalehasadifferentnameandadifferentfunctioninthescale.
Anothercommonlyusedscaleistheminorscalethathasadifferentpattern,whichgivesit
darkerandheaviersound.Therearemanyotherscalesandvariationsofscalesthatareused,
eachgivingthelisteneradifferentexperienceandmood.

Ears/Hearing
Ourearsarethewaythatwehearandperceivesound.Theoutereariscalledthepinnaandis
thepartthatfunnelsthesoundwavestotheinnerear(Auditorycanal).Thesoundthenhitsthe
eardrum(tympanicmembrane)whichisathindiscoffibroustissuethatisaffectedbythe
changesinairpressure.Thenextpartisthemiddleearwhichisanenclosedchamberthat
containsthreebonesthatarecalledtheOssicles.Thesethreebonesactasaleversystemthat
thentransfersmechanicalvibrationsfromtheeardrumtotheinnerear.Themechanical
vibrationsthengothroughtheCochleawhichlookslikeasmallspiralingsnailshell.Thesound
travelsthroughthespiralinsidethecochleauntilitreachestheBasilarmembrane.Whenthe
basilarmembranemoves,itdisturbsthetinyhaircellsthatareapartofthemembrane.This
producessignalstotheauditorynervesconnectedtoourbrain.Thesehaircellshelpusto
distinguishthehighandlowfrequenciesthatwehear.Humansarenotverysensitivetovery
highorlowfrequencies.Theytendtohaveahearingrangeofroughly20Hzto20,000Hz.This
averagefrequencyrangecanchangeovertimeifthepersoniscontinuallyaroundintensive
amplitudes.Whichcanthendamagethehaircellswhichreducesthefrequenciesthatwecan
hear.

Emotions/Perception
Theperceptionofsoundvariesdependingontheindividual.Noteveryoneperceivessoundin
thesameway.Physically,itisbasedontheindividualhearingsystem,asanindividualages,his
hearingsystemwilldeteriorate.Emotionally,itdependsintheindividualsperceptionofnotonly
thesounditself,butthesituation.Howmuchdoesthelistenerknowsabouttheperformerofthe
sound,hisreputation,personalityandappearanceTheageofthelistener,hisknowledgeabout
sound,andhowitrelatestohisownlifeexperiencesAlsothecontextinwhichthelisteneris
exposetosoundcanbepartofhisperception.

Effectsonpeople/media:
Amusiciancaninfluenceapersontofeelacertainway.Musicianscandecidetowriteasong
thatiseitherupliftingoraboutapastbreakupwithalover.Thefeelingsthatthemusicianswrite
intothecompositionofthemelodyandthelyricscanthenbereciprocated.
Musiccanaffectpeople'smoodseitherbyhelpingthemfeelmotivatedandinspiredorincrease
thefeelingsofsadness.Itcanalsohelpthemtofeelconnected.Peoplecanfeelenergizedby
listeningtoasongwithanupbeat,fastpacedrhythmorthathasmotivationallyricsthattheycan
singalongwith.Thus,thechoicesthataremadebasedonourmoodscanaffectwhetherwe
listentohappy,sad,fastorslowmusic.Whethergoingtowork,hangingoutwithfriends,staying
home,exercisingorjusthavingacelebrationmusichasahugeimpactonourdailylives.

Education
Educationhappenstobeanotherlargepartofhowmusicisusedinourworld.
Inearlydevelopmentofchildren,musicisusedtoteachthelettersofthealphabet.
ByusingamelodythatwascomposedinFrancebyananonymouscomposerintheearly
1700s,thelettersofthealphabetbecameeasiertomemorizeaccompaniedwiththesongAh
Vousdiraije,Maman.ThesonghasalsobeenusedfornurseryrhymessuchasTwinkle
TwinkleLittleStarandBaaBaaBlackSheep.Therehavebeenvariousotherformsofmusic
usedintheeducationofchildren.Forinstance,SesameStreethasbeentelevisingcelebrity
musiciansforover50years.Artistwilloftensingparodiesoftheirownsongsbyaddingan
educationaltwisttothelyrics.Tonameafewartist:therehavebeenFeistsinging1,2,3,4and
changingittobeaboutcountingtothenumberfour,JasonMrazsingsOutdoorsaboutchildren
playingoutdoors.
Train
performstheirhitsong
Driveby
,remadetobe
Fivebyandisabout
countingwithCountDraculaacharacterknownforhiscountingabilities
.

OthereducationalexamplesoflearningwithmusicincludethesongTurkeyinthestrawan
oldfolksongusedforlearningthestatesoftheUnitedStatesofAmericaandtheCanCanby
Offenbachforlearningtheelementsontheperiodictable.
Medical
TheAMTA(AmericanMusicTherapyAssociation)hasbeenusingmethodsofmusictoassistin
patient'srecoverywithMemoryissues,Alzheimer's,Crisisandtrauma.
OneoftheprogramsthattheAMTAhasiscalledMusic&MemorySMthatservicestoassist
theelderly,frailandthosewhohavedementia.

WhattheAMTAisprovidingisanenvironmentofmusicthatprovidesahealinginfluenceto
society.Theintroductionofmusictohelpsomeonegoingthroughsomethingtraumaticbegan
afterWorldWarIandWorldwarIIwhenthevolunteersinthecommunityofmusiciansofall
types,eveniftheywerenotprofessionals,volunteeratVeteranshospitalsaroundthecountryto
performfortheVeteranssufferingfrombothphysicalandemotionaltraumathatwasinflictedby
thewars.Theresponseandthenotableimprovementofthepatientsbylisteningtothemusic
ledthephysicianstoseekmusicianstoworkatthehospitals.Thisledtothedemandforcollege
curriculumtobecreatedtohelptrainthemusiciansinbeingabletoassistonamedicallevel.

Thisledtothefirstmusictherapydegreeprogram,whichwasfoundedatMichiganState
Universityin1944.
Movies
Before1930s,filmslackedtheabilitytointegratesoundintotheirvisualpresentation,because
ofthat,allfilmsweresilentandfocusmostlyontheexpressionsoftheactorinorderto
communicateemotion.After1930andwiththeinventionoftalkingpicture,filmdirectors,who
werefamiliarwiththeideaofusingbackgroundmusic/soundtracksfortheaterplays,wantedto
transferthatintotheirfilms.Theuseofmusicwasforhelpingtoconveyafeeling,orevenmake
theaudiencefeellikesomethingimportantwasgoingtohappen(eithercomical,terrifying,
heroic,etc.).Anotherimportantideatopointoutisthefactthataroundthisera,untillate1980s,
filmscoresweremadeexclusivelyfortheuseoffilms,andtheyweremeanttobeuseaspart
thefilmsthemselves,butaftertheinclusionofsomanydifferentgenresofmusicinfilms,some
filmsstartedtouselicensedmusictoeitherhelptheviewersassociatethefeelingofascenein
amovieevenbetter,ortopromotethemusicartistwhoperformsthesong.Nowadaysfilm
scoresareasimportantasthefilmitself,andareusedstrategicallybythefilmdirector.
VideoGames
Originallyvideogames,likePongorPacman,justusedsimple8bitchiptunemusic,createdby
usingasyntheticchips.Astechnologyadvanced,sodidthegraphicsinvideogames,and
peoplesexpectationsofitsmusic.Wellmanyvideogamesusemusicasameantoenhance
backgroundmusicforspecificscenes,likewinningabattle,roaminginanopenworldmap,or
justsavingyourfile.Manyothervideogames,thathaveanemphasisonnarrative,usemusic
justlikeaHollywoodfilm,asamatteroffact,todayvideogamesthatpresentstoriesatthe
samelevelofafilm,tendtohaveamusicalscorethathasnotonlytheinvolvementofthegame
developers,butalsoofmusicdirectors,musicsupervisors,andateamofcomposers.Themain
differenceofvideogamemusicwhencomparedtoothermediumistheuseofDynamicMusic.
DynamicMusiciswhenspecificeventsorchoicesmadebytheplayer,causethebackground
musictochange,tohighlightimportanceintheplayer'schoiceortoevokeapersonalized
feelingtotheplayer.

NewsOutlet
EverynewsstationwhetheritsplayedontheTV,radio,orinternet,hastheirownmusic
associatedwithit.Mostnewschannelswillhaveintroductionmusic,transitionmusic(suchas
goingtotheweather,traffic,andcommercials)andthenclosingmusicsimilartothe
introduction.Thesoundforbreakingnewstendstobesimilarinmostnewsstations,butthey

arealldistinctandconstructedtoattractpeoplesattention.Musicinthenewsmakeswatching
andlisteningeasiertofollowjustlikeinfilms,andittendstomakeitmoreenjoyable.Musicin
thenewsisverymemorable,mostpeoplewhohaveeverflippedthroughthenewschannels
withoutwatchingformorethanamomentatatimecantellwhatnewsstationisplayingjustby
themusicitself.

Conclusion:
So,ininference,musicoraudiohasaliteralscientificapproachinthewaythatmusicians
composemusic.Theeffectonthewaywefeel,hearandseesoundisnotnecessarilythesame
foreveryone,butcanbegeneralizedbasedonthescalesandmodesthatareusedinthe
compositionofamelody.Fromacommercialsongwrittenforapharmaceuticalcompanyto
easethelonglistofsideeffectsthatgowiththepill,tothenewestyear'smodelofcartoappear
sleekandsuave.weusesoundtoconveytheappropriateemotionofreleaseandescapeand
alltheothermillionsofusesthatweengagesoundinourlifetobothcreateandaffectthe
humansenses.

Bibliography&References:

Hollis,B.(2015).ScalesandKeySignatures.RetrievedMarch29,2016,from
http://methodbehindthemusic.com/theory/scalesandkeys/

Mohana,M.(2015,October6).Music&HowItImpactsYourBrain,Emotions.RetrievedMarch
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Http://psychcentral.com/lib/musichowitimpactsyourbrainemotions/

Thomson,W.E.(2015,April).Musicalsound.RetrievedMarch26,2016,from
http://www.britannica.com/science/musicalsound

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http://www.musicproductionguide.com/decibelscale.html

Hall,D.E.(2015).
Musicalacoustics
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https://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/woodwind.html
http://theartifice.com/theroleofmusicinvideogames/

http://attackofthefanboy.com/community/importancemusicvideogames/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/0/24083243
http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/abloom/tvf454/5filmmusic.pdf

Resource:
http://www.musicproductionguide.com/decibelscale.html
http://methodbehindthemusic.com/theory/scalesandkeys/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_and_emotion
http://www.britannica.com/science/musicalsound
http://psychcentral.com/lib/musichowitimpactsyourbrainemotions/
https://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/woodwind.html
http://theartifice.com/theroleofmusicinvideogames/
http://attackofthefanboy.com/community/importancemusicvideogames/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/0/24083243
http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/abloom/tvf454/5filmmusic.pdf
ExampleofMusicinFilms:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9V0cN4NWs
ExampleofDynamicMusicinVideogames:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PhpyZBjao
Newsmusic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy6w3mIZdk&nohtml5=False
ExampleoftheHarmonicsseries:
https://youtu.be/8KgtQHbQnDk