The Kino-Eye.com handout collection Some notes on sound recording v.3 David Tamés, March 6, 2015 This document is in perpetual beta, please send suggestions and/or corrections to the author at
[email protected] What is sound? Characteristics of sound Sound is vibrations in air. A movement, like those of Te unique pattern of air pressure variations or sound human vocal cords, or perhaps hitting the head of a refections produced by a particular disturbance are nail with a hammer, creates waves in the air, much known as waveforms. Below is a perfect sine wave, like the waves caused by a rock throw into water or a however, actual sounds actually have much more duck swimming in a pond. Tese waves go in all complex waveforms that are made up of a directions, bounce off walls, travel around corners, combination of the fundamental frequency and a it’s very messy. It’s not like camera and light. Tere is series of overtones (a.k.a. harmonics). More on this no edge of the frame. Sound from all over mixes in later in this handout. with the specifc sound you want to record. Sound is often measured and described using two Acoustic energy travels from the source of distinct reference points: 1. our psychophysical disturbance outward as a wave, the air molecules perception of sound (as perceived by our ear and vibrate, yet, the air itself is not moving from the brain), and 2. quantifcation of sound phenomena source to our ears or to the microphone, instead the with measuring devices.