Computers in music have gone from being a niche subject to becoming a ubiquitous presence that all music students are bound to encounter in their professional lives. Meant to serve as a general reference for music technology courses, Essentials of Music Technology provides an overview of musical acoustics, psychoacoustics, MIDI, digital audio, and sound recording.

Topics covered include:

* The Internet

* MIDI software

* The nature of digital audio storage

* Filters

* Effects

* Room acoustics

* Sampling and synthesis techniques

Mark Ballora has a background in theater arts, music composition, and multimedia production. He studied music technology at New York University and McGill University. He is Associate Professor of Music Technology at Pennsylvania State University.

Preface

Chapter 1 Basic Acoustics
The Nature of Sound Events
Wave Propagation
Simple Harmonic Motion
Characteristics of Waves
Refraction and Reflection
Superposition
Standing Waves, Resonant Frequencies, and Harmonics
Phase
Speed and Velocity

Chapter 2 Music and Acoustics
What Is the Difference Between Musical Sound and Noise?
Properties of Musical Sound
Frequency/Pitch
Frequency Is Objective, Pitch Is Subjective
Human Pitch Perception is Logarithmic
Loudness
Power
Amplitude
Intensity
Timbre

Chapter 3 Acoustic Factors in Combination: Perceptual Issues
Sound in Time
Localization of Natural Events
Simulated Localization in Audio Systems
Mismatches Between Measurement and Perception
Phase
Timbre
Loudness
Conclusion

Chapter 4 Introduction to Computers
Multimedia
The Internet
The World Wide Web
Caveat Emptor
Streaming Media
The Web and Music Research

Chapter 5 Representing Numbers
Numbers Are Power
Of What Value Power?
Numbers in Computers
The Binary Number System
Some Essential Technology
The Hexadecimal Number System
Integers and Floating Points

Chapter 6 Introduction to MIDI
A Brief Historical Background
What MIDI Is and What It Is Not
MIDI Compromises
MIDI Channels
Computers and MIDI
Central Traffic Control
Sequencing Software
Notation Software
Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) Software
Accompaniment Software
Editor/Librarian Software
Connecting MIDI Instruments
Basic Configurations
Computer Configurations
The Computer as Sound Generator

Chapter 7 The MIDI Language
The MIDI Language, 1: Channel Voice Messages
Structure of Channel Voice Messages
Channel Voice Message Types
The MIDI Language, 2: MIDI Modes
Channel Mode Messages
Other Types of Mode Messages
The MIDI Language, 3: System-Level Messages
System Common Messages
System Real-Time Messages
System Exclusive Messages
MIDI and Time
MIDI Synchronization
MIDI Clock
Song Position Pointer
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
MIDI Time Code (MTC)
MIDI Implementation Charts

Chapter 8 MIDI and More
Nonkeyboard MIDI Instruments
The Challenge Imposed by MIDI
MIDI String Instruments
MIDI Wind Instruments
MIDI Percussion Instruments
Additions to the MIDI Protocol
Standard MIDI Files
General MIDI
Multi Mode
Karaoke Files
GS MIDI and XG MIDI
MIDI Machine Control (MMC) and MIDI Show
Control (MSC)

Chapter 9 Digital Audio
Introduction
Digitizing Audio--The Big Picture
The Central Problem
Digital Conversion
Does Digital Sound as Good as Analog?
Characteristics of Digital Audio
Sampling Rate
The Sampling Rate of CD Audio and Its Origin
Quantization
Quantization vs. Sampling Rate
The Size of Audio Files
Filtering
What Is Filtering?
Filter Types
The Digital Filtering Process
Feedforward vs. Feedback Filters
Lowpass Filters
Highpass Filters
Bandpass and Band-Reject Filters
Other Filter Characteristics
The Digital Recording and Playback Process
Recording
Playback

Chapter 10 Working with Digital Audio: Processing and Storage
Spectral Representation
0 Hz = Direct Current
Spectra of Digital Signals
Convolution
Time Domain Localization vs. Spectral Resolution
Oversampling and Noiseshaping
Perceptual Coding
Psychoacoustics
Masking
Data Reduction
Storage Media
Compact Disc
Digital Audio Tape (DAT)
MiniDisc
DVD
DVD-Audio
Super Audio CD
Hard-Disk Recording--The Convergence of Multimedia
Digital Workstations
Transferring Data Among Devices
Audio Files

Chapter 11 Acquiring Audio
Room Acoustics
Direct and Reflected Sound
Large Performance Spaces
Small Performance Spaces
Microphones
Receptor Types
Transducer Types
Directionality
Microphone Configurations
Time-of-Arrival Stereophony
Intensity Stereophony
Near-Coincident Configurations
Support Microphones
5.1 Channel Configurations

Chapter 12 Treating and Mixing Audio
Effects: Introduction
Effects = Filtering
Filtering = Delay
Effects Processors and Word Length
Long Delays: Audible Echoes
Simple Delay
Multitap Delay
Feedback Delay
Building Blocks of Delay-Based Effects: Comb and Allpass Filters
Comb Filters
Allpass Filters
Delay-Based Effects
Flanging
Chorusing
Phase Shifting
Reverberation
Non-Delay-Based Effects
Ring/Amplitude Modulation
Compression/Limiting and Expansion/Noise Gating
Mixing
Channels
Phantom Power
Channel Insert
Equalization
Channel Fader
Mixer Buses
Auxiliary Buses
Mute/Solo
Pan
Output Buses
A Final Note on Levels

Chapter 13 Digital Instruments
Samplers
Sampler Variations
Synthesizers
Sound Fonts
Groove Boxes and Looping Software
Tracking Software
Software Synthesis
Building Blocks of Sound Synthesis
Additive Synthesis
Subtractive Synthesis
Phase Modulation
Vector Synthesis
Latency

Afterword
Appendix 1: Suggested Class Projects
Appendix 2: Web Page Template with MIDI File
References
Index

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