The Structure of Musical Sound

The Structure of Musical Sound is about science from the point of view of musical sound. It is also a book about musical sound from science's point of view. First and foremost, however, it is a science text for nonscientists.

You, the reader, will be introduced to the methods of science; and you will be shown how these methods are used to discover more about musical sound. You will be an active participant in both of these quests, and as a result you will become a more "scientific" person than you might have realized possible.

Parts of musical sound have scientific explanations. Examples of these parts include the rules for the formation and propagation of sound waves, the operation of musical instruments as they produce their sounds, and the acoustic conditions for good listening to musical sound in rooms and halls. The Structure of Musical Sound explains all of these scientific aspects of music.

Questions are included throughout the book. They will challenge you to demonstrate your understanding of the ideas just presented. The solutions, not just the answers, to these questions are provided at the end of this book.

Willard Charles Sperry is Professor of Physics Emeritus at Central Washington University. He received degrees from Stanford University and the University of California at Davis; and has published articles about nuclear and particle physics and science pedagogy. He wrote the student notes for a musical sound science course, which have become this book.