Product Description

While the history of musical instruments is nearly as old as civilization itself, the science of acoustics is quite recent. By understanding the physical basis of how instruments are used to make music, one hopes ultimately to be able to give physical criteria to distinguish a fine instrument from a mediocre one. At that point science may be able to come to the aid of art in improving the design and performance of musical instruments. As yet, many of the subtleties in musical sounds of which instrument makers and musicians are aware and remain beyond the reach of modern acoustic measurements. Indeed, for many musical instruments it is only within the past few years that musical acoustics has achieved even a reasonable understanding of the basic mechanisms determining the tone quality, and in some cases even major features of the sounding mechanism have only recently been unravelled. This book describes the results of such acoustical investigations-intellectual and practical exercises of great fascination. Addressed to readers with a reasonable grasp of physics who are not put off by a little mathematics, this book discusses most of the traditional instruments currently in use in Western music. This second edition has been thoroughly revised to take into account the insights arising from recent research, and to generalize or clarify the presentation in many places. The book should continue to serve as a guide for all who have an interest in music and how it is produces as well as serving as a comprehensive reference for those undertaking research in the field.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #386922 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 756 pages

Review
"Essentially everything you have ever wanted to know about the physics of musical instruments" --Physics Today

Customer Reviews

Top book all around, good reference
This book requires knowledge of some advanced mathematics and not "little mathematics" as it modestly states in the back cover. If someone is in the "little mathematics" league, he/she could still follow it but some points could be missed like the explanation of "Nonlinear Systems". Other than that, no more criticism. It is exceptionally organized. First part goes on about "Vibrating Systems", like strings, plates, membranes, etc and the description of their behavior in mathematics. Second part goes on about "Sound waves", like waves in air, in pipes, horns, cavities, etc. The other parts deal with "String Instruments", "Wind Instruments", "Percussion Instruments". The last part talks about "Materials" for musical instruments. You will also find all the right names in the bibliography. It is a good starting point for the researcher and student. If you are a musicologist entering the mechanics of sound generation on the current traditional western instruments, the maths are rather heavy. If you want only one book as a reference in the field, probably this is the one.

An excellent musical acoustics book
The new 1998 edition of Fletcher and Rossing is an excellent book for anyone working in musical acoustics or building instruments. Covers a wide range of instruments and gives extensive references to primary literature and ... it's good reading too.