Reading Aaron Copland's Little Book, What to Listen For in Music.
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“To dwellers in a wood almost every species of tree has its voice as well as its feature. At the passing of the breeze the fir-trees sob and moan no less distinctly than they rock; the holly whistles as it battles with itself; the ash hisses amid its quiverings; the beech rustles while its flat boughs rise and fall. And winter, which modifies the note of such trees as shed their leaves, does not destroy its individuality.”
Under the Greenwood Tree
Thomas Hardy
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This site provides notes and illustrations for eight units on scientific aspects of sound and music, listed in the right-hand column. These units should enhance your understanding of physical concepts pertaining to music, including
• the nature of air, sound, and sound waves;
• how musical instruments (wind, string, and percussion) make sound;
• how we hear, and how we discern pitch, color, and direction of sound;
• how to test and protect hearing; and
• how microphones and loudspeakers work.
I developed this site as a supplement for a course based on Copland's book at OLLI-USM: the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of Southern Maine.
