Physics and the Sound of Music

John S. Rigden was an internationally renowned American physicist. His areas of expertise were molecular physics and the history of science.

• Partial table of contents: THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The Physics of Music. A PURE TONE--A CAPPELLA. The Origin of Musical Sound. The Transmission of Musical Sound. TWO PURE TONES TOGETHER. The Superposition of Vibrations. The Superposition of Waves. ARCHETYPAL INSTRUMENTS: THE TROMBA MARINA, THE FIFE, THE COACHHORN, AND THE DRUM. The Origin of Complex Tones: Strings, Tubes, and Membranes. THE WHOLE ORCHESTRA. The Instruments of Musical Sound. The Musical Environment. SOUND REPRODUCTION. Sound System Components. ELECTRONIC MUSIC. Synthesized and Digital Sound.