Chapter 4 Sound 2232021 Overview Introduction to sound

Chapter 4 Sound 2/23/2021

Overview • • • Introduction to sound. Multimedia system sound. Digital audio. MIDI audio. Audio file formats.

Overview • • MIDI versus digital audio. Adding sound to multimedia project. Professional sound. Production tips.

Power of Sound • Vibrations in the air create waves of pressure that are perceived as sound. • Sound waves vary in sound pressure level (amplitude) and in frequency or pitch. • ‘Acoustics’ is the branch of physics that studies sound. • Sound pressure levels (loudness or volume) are measured in decibels (d. B). • Humans hear sound over a very broad range (see p. 91)

Sound • Sound is energy, caused by molecules vibrating • Too much volume can permanently damage your ears and hearing • The perception of loudness depend on the frequency or pitch • Harmonics cause the same note played on a cello to sound different from one played on a piano.

Using Sound in Multimedia • You need to know – How to make sounds – How to record and edit sounds on the computer – How to incorporate sounds into your multimedia project

Multimedia System Sounds • System sounds are assigned to various system events such as startup and warnings, among others. • Macintosh provides several system sound options such as glass, indigo, laugh. • In Windows, available system sounds include start. wav, chimes. wav, and chord. wav. • Multimedia sound is either digitally recorded audio or MIDI (Musical Instrumental Digital Interface) music.

Multimedia System Sounds • Most computers have sounds ready to use

Multimedia System Sounds • Mac and Windows have built in sound recorders

Multimedia System Sounds • Windows system sounds are. WAV files in the WindowsMedia directory • MS Office includes additional sounds • You can add your own sounds by including them in the WindowsMedia directory and selecting them from the Sound Control Panel

MIDI Audio • MIDI is a series of musical instructions Click to play

MIDI vs. Digital Audio • MIDI ( Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a communications standard developed in the 1980’s for electronic instruments and computers. • It allows instruments from different manufacturers to communicate.

MIDI vs. Digital Audio • MIDI data is NOT digitized sound- it is music stored in numeric format • Digital audio is a recording, which depend on your sound system • MIDI is a score and depends on both the quality of the instruments and the sound system • Quality depends on end user’s device rather than on the MIDI device and is device dependent.

Making MIDI Audio • Creating a MIDI score requires: – Knowledge of music and some talent – Ability to play a musical instrument – Sequencer software – Sound synthesizer • Built into PC board • Add-on for MAC • MIDI can synthesize over 100 instruments

Making MIDI Audio You will need: • Sequencer Software (Smart Score) • A Sound synthesizer ( built into PC sound board, an add on for MAC) • MIDI keyboard or device • Ability to play the piano and music theory background • or a hired “expert”

MIDI • A MIDI file is a list of commands that are recordings of musical actions, that when sent to a MIDI player results in sound • MIDI data is device dependent • MIDI represents musical instruments and is not easily used to playback spoken dialog

MIDI Audio • MIDI is a shorthand representation of music stored in numeric form. • Since they are small, MIDI files embedded in web pages load and play promptly. • Length of a MIDI file can be changed without affecting the pitch of the music or degrading audio quality. • Working with MIDI requires knowledge of music theory.

Digital Audio • Digital audio is a representation of the original sound • Sampling rate is measured in kilohertz (k. Hz) Click to play

Digital Audio • Digital audio represents a sound stored in thousands of numbers or samples. • Digital data represents the loudness at discrete slices of time. • It is NOT device dependent and should sound the same each time it is played • It is used for music CD’s

Digital Audio • The three sampling frequencies most often used in multimedia are CD-quality 44. 1 k. Hz, 22. 05 k. Hz and 11. 025 k. Hz. • The number of bits used to describe the amplitude of sound wave when sampled, determines the sample size. • Digital audio is device independent. • The value of each sample is rounded off to the nearest integer (quantization).

Preparing Digital Audio • Balance file size versus quality • Set recording levels • Edit the recording

Preparing Digital Audio • Balance file size versus quality § To calculate file size in bytes: Mono: sampling rate duration of recording in seconds (bit resolution 8) 1 Stereo: sampling rate duration of recording in seconds (bit resolution 8) 2

Digital Audio Editing • Once a recording had been completed, it almost always needs to be edited. • Basic sound editing operations include: trimming, splicing and assembly, volume adjustments and working on multiple tracks.

Digital Audio Editing Additional available sound editing operations include format conversion, resampling or downsampling, fade-ins and fade-outs, equalization, time stretching, digital signal processing, and reversing sounds.

MIDI vs. Digital Audio • MIDI data and digital audio are like vector and bitmapped graphics: • Digital audio like bitmapped image – samples original to create a copy • MIDI – like vector graphic- stores numeric data to recreate sound

MIDI vs. Digital Audio • MIDI data is device dependent; digital audio is not • MIDI sounds (like vector graphics) are different on different devices; • Digital sounds are identical even on different computers or devices.

MIDI Advantages • MIDI file are much more compact and take up less memory and system resources • MIDI files embedded in web pages load and play much faster than digital • You can change the length of a MIDI file by varying its tempo • With high quality MIDI devices, MIDI files may actually sound better than digital

MIDI Disadvantages • MIDI represents musical instruments not sounds and will be accurate only if your playback device is identical to the production device • MIDI sound is inconsistent • MIDI cannot be easily used to reproduce speech

Digital Audio Advantages • Digital audio sound is consistent and device independent • A wide selection of software support is available for both MAC and PC • A knowledge of music theory is not required for creating digital audio, but usually is needed for MIDI production

Choose MIDI data • If you don’t have enough RAM memory, or bandwidth for digital audio • If you have a high quality sound source • If you have complete control over the playback hardware • If you don’t need spoken dialog

Choose Digital Audio • If you don’t have control over the playback hardware • If you have the computing resources and bandwidth to handle the larger digital files • If you need spoken dialog

Digital Audio • You can digitize sound from a microphone, synthesizer, tape recording TV broadcast, or CD’s. • Digitized sound is sampled every nth of a second. The more often you take the sample, the better the sound. • Sample sizes are either 8 or 16 bits and common frequencies are 11. 025, 22. 05, and 44. 1 k. Hz (See pp. 209 - 211)

Digital Audio • To prepare digital audio from analog media, record it from a device, like a tape recorder, into your computer using digitizing software. • Balance the sound quality with your available RAM • Set proper recording levels for a good clear recording

File Size vs. Quality • Audio resolution determines the accuracy with which a sound is digitized. (More bits in the sample size produces better quality and larger files) • Stereo recordings are more realistic and require twice as much storage space and playback time. • Mono files tend to sound “flat”

Editing Digital Recordings • Apple’s Quick. Time Player Pro provides for primitive playback and editing • Sonic Foundry’s Sound Forge is a more serious sound editor • These can be used to trim, splice, volume adjustment and format conversion as well as special effects

Audio File Formats • A sound file’s format is a recognized methodology for organizing data bits of digitized sound into a data file. • On the Macintosh, digitized sounds may be stored as data files, resources, or applications such as AIFF or AIFC. • In Windows, digitized sounds are usually stored as WAV files. • Both can use MIDI files (. mid)

Audio File Formats • CD-ROM/XA (Extended Architecture) format enabled several recording sessions to be placed on a single CD -R (recordable) disc. • Linear Pulse Code Modulation is used for Red Book Audio data files on consumer-grade music CDs.

Sound for the World Wide Web • To play MIDI sound on the web – wait for the entire file to download and play it with a helper application – stream the file, storing it in the buffer and playing it while it downloads • Streaming is dependent on the connection speed • FLASH allows sound to be integrated in a multimedia presentation, controlled by buttons and saved as. mp 3

Adding Sound to a Multimedia Project • Decide what sounds you will need and include them in the story board or cue sheet. • Decide whether to use MIDI or digital audio • Acquire source material (record/buy) • Edit the sounds • Test the sounds to be sure they are timed properly

Adding sound to Multimedia • CD- quality audio §Standard is ISO 10149, a. k. a. the “Red Book Standard” §Sample size is 16 -bit §Sample rate is 44. 1 k. Hz § 11 seconds of audio uses 1. 94 MB of space

Professional Sound • The Red Book Standard- ISO 10149 – ( 16 bits at 44. 1 k. Hz) allows accurate reproduction of all sounds humans can hear – Software such as Toast and CD-Creator can translate digital files from CD’s directly into a digital sound editing file or decompress. mp 3 files into CD-Audio

Professional Sound • Compression techniques reduce space but reliability suffers. • Space can be conserved by downsampling or reducing the number of sample slices taken per second. • File size of digital recording (in bytes) = sampling rate X duration of recording (in secs) X (bit resolution/8) X number of tracks.

Advanced Sound Management • Scripting Languages such as Open Script (Toolbook), LINGO(Director), or Action Script ( FLASH) provide better control over audio playback • Requires some programming knowledge

Production Tips • Vaughn’s Law of Minimums - there is an acceptable level of adequacy that will satisfy the audience; • If your handheld microphone is good enough to satisfy you and your audience, conserve your money and energy.

Production Tips • Recording on inexpensive media rather than directly to disk prevents the hard disk from being overloaded with unnecessary data. • The equipment and standards used for the project must be in accordance with the requirements. • Sound and image synchronization must be tested at regular intervals

Production Tips • Audio recording - use CD’s, or VCR tapes, or DAT ( digital audio tape) tapes • Create a good database to organize your sounds, noting the counter and content • Testing and Evaluating- (delaying a fast machine if needed to sync with animation)

Production Tips • Copyright Issues • Securing permission for the use of sounds and music is the same as for images • Can buy royalty-free digitized sound clips • DO NOT use someone’s original work without permission!

Summary • Vibrations in air create waves of pressure that are perceived as sound. • Multimedia system sound is digitally recorded audio or MIDI (Musical Instrumental Digital Interface) music. • Digital audio data is the actual representation of a sound, stored in the form of samples.

Summary • MIDI is a shorthand representation of music stored in numeric form. • Digital audio provides consistent playback quality. • MIDI files are much smaller than digitized audio. • MIDI is device dependent digital audio is not • MIDI files sound better than digital audio files when played on high-quality MIDI device.