Music, Physics and Engineering [Paperback]

Harry F. Olson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1967

This extraordinarily comprehensive text, requiring no special background in physics, math or music, discusses the nature of sound waves, musical instruments, musical notation, acoustic materials, elements of sound reproduction systems — from the telephone to stereo sound systems — and electronic music. "Very thorough, and full of well-presented facts." — Musical Times. Includes 376 figures.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications; Revised edition (June 1, 1967)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486217698
• ISBN-13: 978-0486217697
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Applied
  • #10 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Acoustics & Sound

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From the Father of the Mark II, May 10, 2000

By 

Nicholas Croft (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Music, Physics and Engineering (Paperback)

The science of musical sound has evolved a great deal since 1966 when the second edition of 'Music, Physics and Engineering' was first published. However, this historical work can be of value to musical engineers even in today's fast changing technological world.

The author, Harry F. Olson was staff vice president of the acoustical and electromechanical research department of RCA laboratories. The thorough science reported in this book was perhaps instrumental in the development of the RCA Mark II Electronic Music Synthesizer of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center.

Chapters such as: Sound Waves, Musical Terminology, Musical Scales, Resonators and Radiators, Musical Instruments, Characteristics of Musical Instruments and Properties of Music have much to teach those with an engineering background about the science of music.

This book has been extraordinarily useful to me in seeking to design sound events in software with nothing other than a 'C' compiler and some audio file format spec sheets to work with. It is a great read for the aspiring musical engineer.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still could be helpful, July 12, 2003

By 

Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Music, Physics and Engineering (Paperback)

Although this book was first published over 50 years ago, there are still many parts of it that can still be read profitably, due mostly to the fact that musical theory and the physics of musical instruments does not change with time. I read the book years ago to get some ideas for physics demonstrations in the classroom, and it was of great assistance in that regard. Those readers who intend to specialize in musical engineering would still find it a useful supplement to more modern treatments. The audio CD of course was not known at the time of publication, nor even the 8-track tape, but the development of both of these technologies was dependent on what came before them, and so a perusal of this book will allow insight into more contemporary technologies. The book also is one of the first to emphasize the psychological factors that must be taken into account when developing a technology for sound reproduction. The author in fact emphasizes the need for paying attention to the psychological factors in the preface to the second edition of the book. With the incredible advances in sound reproduction that have taken place since this book was written, one can appreciate his comments even more. One can only give thanks to the ingenuity of the sound and musical engineers both in the author's time and now for giving the listener an incredibly rich and satisfying auditory experience.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still relevant and should-be-required-reading, January 25, 2009

By 

R. Hoffman "Engineer / Composer / Motorcyclist" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Music, Physics and Engineering (Paperback)

Sure, electronic music technology has advanced a fair bit since this book was written. BUT, the laws of physics have not changed. Olson's book does a fantastic job of explaining the inner workings of timbre, acoustics, recording, sound reproduction, music synthesis, and various other scientific rigor concerning all things sound. This book should be required reading for anyone who does anything in the fields of sound design, recording, production, and even composition and performance of music.

In addition to containing a great explanation of the theory behind musical acoustics, the book is also loaded with lots of empirical measurements of the acoustic characteristics of real-world instruments; it's an invaluable reference for anyone working with live music.