(Note: this is a sample syllabus, from 2009; current course syllabi may differ)
syl2009.txt July 2009
PHY 405: SIGNALS, SOUND, AND SENSATION
W.M. Hartmann, 171 Giltner Hall,
tel: 55202, hartmann@pa.msu.edu
Office hours: MW 10:30-11:30.
Class meeting: MWF 4:10 - 5:00 pm
Text: Signals, Sound, and Sensation
by W.M. Hartmann,
AIP Press (Springer-Verlag), 1997.
Demos HRW = Houtsma, Rossing, Wagenaars,
"Auditory Demos on Compact Disc."
SCHEDULE
1 Introduction to the course, sine waves.
2 Sine waves: period, frequency, amplitude, oscilloscope,
range of human hearing, auditory system anatomy
handout, peripheral auditory system, Ch.1; 1Ex 1,2,3,4.
3 Tonotopic encoding, sine wave tone color, sum of sine waves.
Complex variable review, Ch.2; 2Ex 1,2,11.
Expts. Ch. 1,2: Range of hearing for sine tones. Bekesy tracking.
The zero-crossing counter and how to fool it;
The reciprocal-reading frequency counter.
Interference between two loudspeakers.
4 Power, RMS values, crest factor. Linear systems - electrical,
mechanical and acoustical, Ch.3 pp 24-28; 3Ex 2,4.
5 Decibels I: Relative and absolute, electrical and acoustical,
sound level meters - weighting scales, Ch.3 pp 28-33 and 39-40;
3Ex 7,12.
6 Decibels II: Adding signals, spectrum level, spectrum analyzer,
Ch.3 pp 40-50; 3Ex 21,24.
Expts. Ch. 3: Measure 10:1 pulse with diverse AC voltmeters, including true
RMS meters. Sound level meters - A and C scales, fast and slow.
Mix tone and noise, power in octave bands of white and pink noise.
7 Loudness level, intensity difference limens, Weber Law,
Ch.4 pp 59-63; 4Ex 4,5,12.
8 Loudness - sones, Fechner Law, Stevens Law, Hellman-Hellman
model, Ch.4 pp 63-71; 4Ex 1,3,8.
9 Loudness summation across frequency, temporal integration,
Ch.4 pp 72-78; 4Ex 9,10.
Expts. Ch. 4: 2-dB changes, Loudness scaling HRW 7, 8. Doubling experiment.
Temporal integration, Loudness and bandwidth, HRW 3.
10 Fourier series I: Definition of the series, projecting
functions, spectrum, amplitude and phase, Ch.5 pp 81-92; 5Ex 1,2a,5.
[Handout operating instructions for HP spectrum analyzer.]
11 Fourier series II: Symmetry, computation, Ch.5 pp 92-100; 5Ex 3,7,11.
[Handout table of periodic functions and Fourier series.]
12 Fourier series III - Exercises: exponential form, optimum
finite series, 5Ex 14,17,19,21.
Expts. Ch. 5: HP 3580A spectrum analyzer and standard functions.
Sound Forge analyzer. Audible harmonics with sharp bandpass filter.
Computer synthesis of waveforms. Gibbs phenomena.
13 EXAM 1 - Chapters 1 through 5.
14 Perception of periodic tones: idealized musical tones, peripheral
analysis, pulsation threshold method, Ch.6 pp 117-123; 6Ex 3.
15 Auditory frequency analysis, masking, formant structure of
vowels, hearing out harmonics, Duifhuis pitch, segregation and
integration of tones, template matching, Ch.6 pp 123-140; 6Ex 1,2,4.
16 Pitch and tone color of periodic tones, missing fundamental,
pitch and chroma, Ch.6 pp 140-148; 6Ex 5,6.
[handout on pitch effects per HRW.]
Expts. Ch. 6: Pulsation threshold HRW 11 and pulsed Tchaikovsky.
Tonotopic harmonic analysis HRW 1, enhancement and unmasking.
Harmonic chant. Hykes - Windhorse Riders.
McAdams FM demo. Mistuned harmonic segregation.
Virtual pitch [HRW 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27.
Tuning dichotic octaves.
17 The Dirac delta function, Ch.7 pp 150-157; 7Ex 2,4,5,6,7.
18 The Fourier integral I: Definition, even and odd functions,
Ch.8 pp 161-169; 8Ex 1,2,3.
19 The Fourier integral II: Time shifting, derivatives and
integrals, convolution, Ch.8 pp 169-173; 8Ex 5,6,8,9.
20 The Fourier integral III: Introduction to correlation functions
and filtering, periodic functions, the lattice sum, large and
small scales, Ch.8 pp 173-183; 8Ex 16,17,19.
Expts. Ch. 8: Harvard tape 5 - Shepard illusions.
PC Convolution program - generate by computer - see on 'scope -
hear through phones.
21 Filters I: Transfer function and impulse response, time invariant
systems, first order filter and step function response,
Ch.9 pp 195-209; 9Ex 2,3,4. [Demo speech spectrogram ]
22 Filters II: Second order filter: transfer functions and impulse
response, resonance, Q-factor, Ch.9 pp 209-214; 9Ex 5,7,11.[Demo
state variable filter - graphic and parametric equalizer, Q,
ringing, resonance, phase shift. Music through a filter.]
23 Filters III: Transversal filters, all-pass filters, Huggins
pitch, Ch.9 pp 214-216 and 218-222; 9Ex 8,13.
Expts. Ch. 9: Speech spectrogram. State-variable filter, resonance, Q, ringing,
phase shifts. Graphic and parametric equalizers. Music in octave bands.
Construct an all-pass filter with op amps and Huggins pitch.
24 REVIEW Chapters 6 through 9.
25 EXAM 2 Chapters 6 through 9.
26 Auditory filtering I: cochlear tuning as measured in the
auditory nerve, rectangular filters and the critical ratio,
roex filter, Ch.10 pp 238-248; 10Ex 2,4,9.
27 Auditory filtering II: critical bands, gammatone filter,
subjective consequences of critical bands, Ch.10 pp 249-258;
10Ex 7,8,10.
Expts. Ch. 10: Critical bands in masking, HRW 2, 3, 9. Roughness.
Stream segregation - van Noorden, and HRW 19. Masking growth
with level. Tuning curves with pulsation threshold.
28 Musical scales, octaves and cents, Ch.11 pp 264-274; 11Ex 1,2.
29 Consonance and harmony, stretched scales, Ch.11 pp 275-279; 11Ex 5,6,7.
Expts. Ch. 11: HRW 18, 28. Music of Harry Partch. Stretched partials HRW 31.
30 Pitch of sine tones, Ch.12 pp 282-298; 12Ex 1,3.
Expts. Ch. 12: Intensity and masking effects [HRW 12, 14]. Octave enlargement
[HRW 15, 16]. Diplacusis, JND and HRW 17 - pulsed sines vs matching
vs FM detection.
31 Power spectrum, time reversed signals, onset transients,
Ch.13 pp 302-314; 13Ex 1,3.
32 Uncertainty and the pitch of short tones, spectral rake,
Ch.13 pp 317-328; 13Ex 7,8.
Expts. Ch. 13: Echoes in HRW 35. Pitch vs duration - HRW 13. Alternating
pulses. Turning on a tone.
33 Correlation functions, Wiener Khintchine relation,
periodic functions, Ch.14 pp 332-341; 14Ex 2,3,5.
34 Parseval's theorem, noise bands, symmetry, cross-correlation,
autocorrelation and pitch, Ch.14 pp 341-348 and
pp 352-355; 14Ex 8,10,12.
Expts. Ch. 14: Binaural effects HRW 37 and 38. Demo cross-correlation for
noise band through KEMAR. Incoherence detection.
35 Delay-and-add filtering, repetition pitch, Ch.15 pp 361-368; 15Ex 2,3.
Expts. Ch. 15: Repetition pitch, HRW 26. Reflections in rooms, flutter echo.
36 Beats, Ch.17 pp 393-398; 17Ex 1,2.
37 Amplitude modulation, balanced modulation, the frequency
domain grating, Ch.17 pp 399-408; 17Ex 4,5,10.
Expts. Ch. 17: Jeffress beats demo. Amplitude modulation and balanced
modulation with analog multiplier. Modulation transfer function.
38 REVIEW Chapters 10,11,12,13,14,15,17.
39 EXAM 3 Chapters 10,11,12,13,14,15,17.
40 Frequency modulation I: narrowband FM, phasor comparison
with AM, QFM, wide-band FM, Ch.19 pp 430-442; 19Ex 1,2.
41 Frequency modulation II: wide-band FM continued, detection
of FM by human listeners, Ch.19 pp 442-446; 19Ex 3,5,6.
Expts. Ch. 19 & 20: Program MIXMOD - spectrum of narrow band and wideband
FM and mixed modulation.
42 Sampled signals I: quantization, Nyquist criterion,
undersampling and aliasing, Ch.21 pp 468-477; 21Ex 1,3,6.
43 Sampled signals II: sample and hold, jitter, DFT, FFT,
oversampling, Ch.21 pp 477-486; 21Ex 4,5,9.
Expts. Ch. 21: Harvard 8, speech quantization. Program ALIAS shows aliasing.
44 Binaural physiology: Physics Today article. brainstem, midbrain.
Jeffress model and alternatives.
45 Binaural psychoacoustics: Interaural time and level differences.
Expts. Binaural: ITD and ILD difference limens. Azimuth estimation.
Binaural beats.
46 GENERAL REVIEW
FE 5:45-7:45, FINAL EXAM - Cumulative.
Grading: Class participation, homework problem sets and assigned
paragraphs, hourly exams, final exam.