Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception of Musical Sounds: The Sound of Music

James Beauchamp9780387324968, 0-387-32496-8, 0-387-32576-X

The problems of analyzing and synthesizing musical timbres have been prevalent for over half a century, and a book length exploration of this large and complex subject has been long overdue. Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception of Musical Sounds: Sound of Music consists of eight chapters that span the range from tutorial introduction to advanced research and application to speculative assessment of its various techniques. All of the contributors use a generalized additive sine wave model for describing musical timbre which gives a conceptual unity but is of sufficient utility to be adapted to many different tasks. The authors represent an international community of researchers and teachers in the field of analysis/synthesis/perception, and this book reflects the important trends and interests current in the subject. Due to its breadth, students will find the book a thorough introduction to current thinking and implementation of additive sine wave timbral models. Researchers new to the field will find a canvas of applications with citations to the relevant literature, which will also benefit the teacher searching for an effective syllabus. Due to its scope, Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception of Musical Sounds will become the standard reference in the field and will be seen as the catalyst for exciting research in the years ahead.

This book contains a complete and accurate mathematical treatment of the sounds of music with an emphasis on musical timbre. The book spans the range from tutorial introduction to advanced research and application to speculative assessment of its various techniques. All the contributors use a generalized additive sine wave model for describing musical timbre which gives a conceptual unity, but is of sufficient utility to be adapted to many different tasks.

Despite being a pure maths graduate, I still found that I have to read each chapter a few times before I can understand it. However, I think that’s got more to do with the subject matter than anything else, its obviously quite technical.
That being said, its exactly the information I am looking for, presented concisely, economically and with a logical structure. Pleased with my purchase.

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
front-matter……Page 2
chapter (1)……Page 23
chapter (2)……Page 112
chapter (3)……Page 144
chapter (4)……Page 167
chapter (5)……Page 197
chapter (6)……Page 250
chapter (7)……Page 272
chapter (8)……Page 294
back-matter……Page 342