Do you ever wonder how sound is produced? Have you thought about what a sound wave is? Sound, the very thing that we hear every single day is actually more complex than you may realize. Sound is a complex structure composed of many different parts and without the basic knowledge of a soundwave, it can be difficult to strive in audio production. Breaking down a sound wave can be a tricky process but here I am going to help you define each part of a sound wave’s anatomy.
When I began my journey with audio production a couple of years ago, I was quite lost and I was not sure where I should have begun. I eventually started doing research on how to get into the audio production business and soon found myself reading heavily on the technicalities of how sound is actually produced. When I started reading about the individual structures of sound waves, I was quite surprised by how many individual sections there are and even by what sound actually is! If you become knowledgeable on these individual structures then editing and creating a project becomes much easier as you can make smaller adjustments that you may have not completed without this information.
The ability to appropriately dissect the anatomy of a sound wave is a crucial element in audio production. Thankfully, this anatomy can be broken down into just a few small parts and all it takes is just a few minutes of research and reading. For instance, did you know that sound is produced when an object vibrates which creates a pressure wave? Small bits of information like this can be very helpful and go a long way in your career when it comes to audio production.
A sound wave can be broken down into five different parts and these include wavelength, period, amplitude, frequency, and pitch. A sound wave is made up of “points” and “cycles” and the wavelength of the wave is considered to be the distance between any two successive points on the soundwave. The “period” of a sound wave is the time required for one complete cycle of the sound wave to pass by a point. The amplitude is considered the height of the wave. When there is a loud sound, the wave is high and the amplitude is large and smaller amplitudes represent softer sounds, respectively. Every cycle of a sound wave has a single point of condensation or a region of increased pressure, and one rarefaction and this information correlates to the frequency of a sound wave. Frequency is measured in hertz and is typically considered the number of times per second that a sound pressure wave repeats itself. Pitch is usually associated with frequency and how the brain interprets the frequency of an emitted sound is called the pitch. Faster vibrations produced by a sound produce a higher pitch. Therefore, when the frequency is low, the sound is lower. Your feedback is appreciated. Ask me another question that you would be excited to have answered!
I will catch you in the next one. Stay Classy!