The Acoustical Foundations of Music

by John Backus

Although the science of acoustics is fundamental to the art of music, relatively few musicians understand the scientific properties of musical sound. The original purpose of Professor Backus's book was to collect and organize the scattered results of research, past and present, in the areas of scientific knowledge that are relevant to music: the physiological properties of sounds; the effect of acoustical environment; the acoustical behavior of musical instruments; and the various applications of electronics and computers to the production, reproduction, and composition of music. The aims and organization of the second edition remain the same; the results are more complete and up-to-date.

Genres: Music, Science, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1969

Reviews

[Stephen Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be completely honestly, the last 75-100 pages of this book were skimmed through. I can't say this is the author's fault holistically. I did eventual become bored with the topic when it reached a degree of detail that superseded my reasons for reading. That being said, it was a fascinatingly informative book. It relies on a basic understanding of mathematics and music, but does a fairly good job of carrying the amateur (myself) along for the ride. The first several chapters were what I wanted the most; the scientific properties of sound in general. However if you are interested in the mechanics of the various instrumental groups this book would be a good resource. Being published in 1969, it's chapter on Electronic Reproduction of Music is dated. Overall, I blame myself more than the author for my 3 stars. I just didn't care enough to continue to read with the same commitment and veracity as I started. Regardless, I did enjoy the read while I was hooked.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fascinating, although probably to detailed even for me.

It's about how music/audio and musical/audio perception work. It has a lot of good stuff about how scales could be formed differently, depending on the tradeoffs you make that determine temperament.

I bought this over 30 years ago at the SUNY-Buffalo bookstore, when I had aspirations of supporting myself with a career in guitar. I only skimmed a few parts then. Now that my son is thinking about being a professional pianist, it seemed apropos to read it and pass it on (not yet though, still puzzling over some of it).

[Joshua Key · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was a doozy. But I could probably build a violin or organ now if I was really motivated, so I’d say it was worth it.

Something he said near the end really summed up the value... sound itself is rarely understood by musicians... it’s like the value of a painter knowing the principles of behavior of light and color. (Worked for DaVinci...)

I would have given it 5 stars if it had been a little less dry... this book was eating raw oatmeal. You know it’s good for you, but a lot of effort to chew and swallow.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned numerous facts and properties about sound and specifically musical sound. An interesting property that I learned which I was specifically searching for in a fantasy project (but won't mention), and found in this book, is that the human ear can only tolerate decibels so loud. The typical full orchestra for a symphony with violins, wind instruments, brass and percussion never approaches a volume that can damage the human hearing. In other words amplified sound will exceed the limit tolerable. It is more complex than that but to find the details and reasons why, the study of the way sound is produced and then the study of the equations and graphs will lead you to understand why this is true. I think this is interesting in the terms that most music performed live, even in small venues, is perhaps unnecessarily amplified. etc. etc. Or is the decibel volume checked when sound techs amplify? That's all for this review. (Here-I suppose bagpipes are fine!!)

[Bjm Index]

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[Alex Kintzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The majority of the book provides a very good introduction for anyone looking to further their understanding, but the last 50 or so pages was a little more detailed than necessarily accessible.