Science of Sound, The

Thomas D. Rossing completed his B.A. at Luther College in 1950, his M.S. and Ph.D. at Iowa State University in 1954. His dissertation was in the field of molecular physics. After graduating, he went into industrial research, and from there, he went to teaching. Currently, he is a professor at Northern Illinois University.Professor Rossing has published more than 200 papers and ten books. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has held about a dozen research positions other than at his home institution—in national laboratories, in research universities, and in several other countries. The Acoustical Society of America awarded him the Silver Medal in Musical Acoustics.

• I. VIBRATIONS, WAVES, AND SOUNDS. 1. What is Sound? 2. Vibrating Systems. 3. Waves. 4. Resonance. II. PERCEPTION AND MEASUREMENT OF SOUND. 5. Hearing. 6. Sound Pressure, Power, and Loudness. 7. Pitch and Timbre. 8. Combination Tones and Harmony. 9. Musical Scales and Temperament. III. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 10. String Instruments. 11. Brass Instruments. 12. Woodwind Instruments. 13. Percussion Instruments. 14. Keyboard Instruments. IV. THE HUMAN VOICE. 15. Speech Production. 16. Speech Recognition, Analysis, and Synthesis. 17. Singing. V. ELECTROACOUSTICS. 18. Electronic Circuits. 19. Loudspeakers. 20. Microphones, Amplifiers, and Tuners. 21. Digital Circuits and Techniques. 22. Sound Recording. VI. ROOM ACOUSTICS. 23. Auditorium Acoustics. 24. Electronic Reinforcement of Sound. 25. Small Rooms, Home Listening Rooms and Recording Studios. VII. ELECTRONIC AND COMPUTER MUSIC. 26. Music Technology and its Origins. 27. Analog Electronic Music. 28. Digital Audio and Processing. 29. Computer Music and Virtual Acoustics. VIII. ENVIRONMENTAL SOUND. 30. Noise in the Environment. 31. Effects of Noise on People. 32. Control of Noise.