Customer Reviews

Science of Sound, The (3rd Edition)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book should have been a classic introduction to musical acoustics. Instead, it tries to hard, is convoluted, often in error, and confuses musicians.

When I taught from this book, I and the class found errors in equations, references to equations, and calculations. When undergraduates are struggling to learn, this is a very bad context.

The book is so concerned with a level of comprehensiveness, that measured clarity is left out. At the same time, for the expert, it is too little. Therefore, it appeals to neither the introductory level nor the more advanced level.

I gave up using this book.

I have taught a course entitled "Acoustics for Musicians and Recording Engineers" to Engineering, Music, and Film majors using Rossing's THE SCIENCE OF SOUND. He has toned down the equations enough that the students aren't groaning, yet he's remained true to the interdisciplinary nature of acoustics as a pursuit of physics, psychology, math, and engineering. The structure of the book provides a wonderful outline for the course and it has been an invaluable resource for both me and the students who have wished to continue with their study of acoustics.

I have used this book as the primary textbook for an introductory course in the physics of music. It is at a somewhat higher level than some of its competitors (e.g. "The Acoustical Foundations of Music" by Backus) but still suitable for non-science majors with weak math backgrounds. It is the most thorough and informative book I have seen at this level. However, the students complained that it was somewhat dull. Also, the section on electronic reproduction of music is out of date--relatively little on CD's etc., and nothing on mp3 and related technologies. Still, I plan to use it again.

This book is terrible for beginners. It doesn't explain things well. The graphs and diagrams are hard to understand and it doesn't give enough examples to help you do the exercises at the end of the chapter. Also, there are a lot of typos and errors. For instance I tried to look up "attenuation of sound" in the index and the word was there with no page number. And I found a graph where the graph didn't match the descrpition. I have the advantage of having one of the authors of the book as my professor, and I still have a hard time understanding this book. It's horrible.

Good book - decent used quality. Usually used for multiple semesters so it's worth the used price. It starts out with the basics for those of us who haven't had physics in a while!

I bought this book for class. It was required and extremely boring and uncomprehensive. The authors are probably music majors or teachers because they expect you to already know musical terms. Very hard to understand for non-music majors. Also the exercises in the book do not have answers or explanations.

This book is exceptionally clear in its writing and careful attention to definitions and summaries of key facts. I wish all of my technical books were this clear.

An abundance of writing and grammatical errors do not make the already confusing explanations in this book any easier to grasp. I got bogged down in technical mistakes before I could begin to use the provided formulas. This is one of the worst textbooks I've ever read, and taking a supplemental course from one of the authors only added to one of the worst experiences of my college career.

This book is very informational and thorough for a college student. Best of all, for a decently thick book, it's very lightweight! Great for a student like me with a bad back. Highly suggested for anyone who wants to learn more about the world's sounds.

I received my order in a decent time span. The book was in good condition.