Ben McgimseyPrincipal Lecturer Physics and Astronomy
Physics of Music and Speech
In this occasional series, we ask Arts and Sciences instructors to discuss how they engage students in the great questions of our time.
Q. How would you describe this course?
A.It’s not what people typically think of as a physics course. It’s basically a study of sound and sound as a wave. We go past that, and we begin to talk about how hearing works and how sound works in rooms in closed spaces. We talk a little bit about the design of auditoriums and then we move from that and talk about sound enhancement like speakers, microphones and so forth.
From there, we move into a bit about music and why certain musical tones sound good and others sound distorted. We talk about musical scales and instruments and how sound is produced from a flute or clarinet versus when it’s produced from a trombone or trumpet.
Q. What makes this course appealing for students?
A. I think students take this course because they end up enjoying it and learning a new appreciation for their major. They are able to learn a little more about why things work, rather than how. For example, the history of musical scales and why we use something called the equal tempered scale today. Musicians get the opportunity to have a new appreciation for how a trumpet works. I know a lot of them find that very interesting.
I’ve had people in speech therapy take the course. People in hearing therapy take the course. Musicians and music technology majors and every now and then a physics student.
Q. What can students gain from this course that will help them in the workplace and in life?
A. I hope everyone taking this course learns something that will broaden their understanding of sound and how it is generated, transmitted and received beyond their own major. For example, students can learn about auditorium shapes and how they’re constructed. I think people in music technology know how to set up speakers and microphone systems but don’t quite understand how the shape of a room can be a factor.
I also talk about different kinds of microphones and how they’re used and why they might be used. For those who are musicians, we talk a lot about musical scales and what makes notes sounds pleasing versus not pleasing.
Q. What got you interested in this subject?
A. I play the banjo. While I’m not a musician, it’s fun and I enjoy it and I enjoy learning something about what I’m doing, too.
Q. What is the most unusual or interesting assignment you give in this course?
A. I ask the class to do a written assignment that requires them to go much deeper into their own major, whether it's playing an instrument, music technology, hearing, etc. One example is when a student wrote a paper on reverberation. Reverberation is just a particular type of sound echo, but as part of the term paper, the student dove into the cases of reverb and where reverberation was desirable and undesirable. The student also discussed design characteristics of auditoriums and other spaces that either enhance or reduce reverberation. While this is a topic we discussed in class, the student went into greater depth. In the end, the student and I learned more about reverberation.
– Interview by Horace Holloman III. Photo by Raven Schley.