Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics

by Arthur H. Benade

Landmark book by leading expert, hailed for its astonishingly clear, delightfully readable explication of everything acoustical important to music-making. "Comprehensive . . . rigorous . . . well-organized . . . will surely be the text of choice." — American Scientist. "Recommended for music lovers and audiophiles" — Stereo Review. Over 300 illustrations. Examples, experiments, and questions conclude each chapter.

Genres: Music, Science, Nonfiction

608 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 1976

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read this for the trumpet acoustics section but was drawn in to the whole web of information.

There is a ton of great information here. The only drawback is that the well-established physics is sprinkled with some less proven theory. The author admits as much at the outset, but fails to clearly mark which is which in the body of the book.

Definitely a must-have if you are a serious musician.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is THE book to read if you want to understand musical timbre (what makes one instrument sound "different" from another), and have a good tolerance for academic writing. It is also a great starting point for instrument-makers.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

an exhausting study of sound, how it works, how we capture and analyze it. there's so much here to chew on - not a book intended to be read from front to back, although it seems perfectly reasonable to do that as a way in, but a book you want to have around to refer to if questions arise.

[Brady]

about as good theory as i can find that goes from fundamentals to a more or less complete treatment of this multidisciplinary subject. you can go deeper, but you'd need a good reason to.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun brain-flexing material, if you're a music-and-math nerd.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alpha and Omega