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Sound Defined

What are we doing?
Basics of Soundproofing

This is an introductory article looking at the basic purpose and types of sound insulation that are available to anyone seeking to soundproof a space.

You will find that although the principles are straightforward, the actual implementation can get pretty technical pretty quickly.

There are lots of resources on Drumdojo but if you seek clarification on some issue or if you can offer to add to the useful information, please visit us on the Drumdojo forums - Sensei

So, what is sound?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?.

No. Until there is an ear there is no sound! Sound only qualifies as such when it is 'received'. Up to that point it is simply vibration moving through the in the air.

Some will disagree with me :)

Characteristics Of Sound by: Ryan Fyfe

Sound in brief but remarkeable terms is a vibration, that our ears percieve by the sense of hearing.

Most commonly vibrations travel to our ears via the air. The ear then converts these sound waves into nerve impulses that are sent to our brains, where the impulses become sound.

To say all that in a more technical language: Sound "is an alternation in pressure, particle displacement, or particle velocity propagated in an elastic material" (Olson 1957). Sound is also a series of mechanical compressions and rarefactions or longitudinal waves that successively propagate through media that are at least a little compressible.

What causes sound waves is known as "the source of waves". Examples of sounds sources is: A violin string that vibrates upon being bowed or plucked. The four characteristics of sound are frequency, wavelength, amplitude and velocity.

The frequency of sound is the number of air pressure oscillations per second at a fixed point occupied by a sound wave.

The amplitude is the magnitude of sound pressure change within the wave. Basically this is the maximum amount of pressure at any point in the sound wave. A sound wave is caused literally by increases in pressure at certain points causing a "domino effect" outward, the higher pressure points are the crests in a http://www.mysoundsite.com - sound wave, and behind them are low pressure points which tail them. These are known as the troughs on a wavelength graph.

Sound's propagation Velocity depends largely on the type, temperature and pressure of the medium through which it propagates. Because air is nearly a perfect gas, the speed of sound does not depend on air pressure. The frequency range of sound that is audible to humans is approx. between 20 and 20,000 Hz. This range of course varies between individuals, and goes down as are age increases.

Sounds will begin to damage our ears at 85 dBSPL and sounds above approximately 130 dBSPL will cause pain, as a result are known as the: "threshold of pain". Of course again this range will vary among individuals and will change with age.

About The Author

Ryan Fyfe is the owner and operator of My Sound Site - http://www.mysoundsite.com,

which is the best site on the internet for all sound related information.

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the article, this caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

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Paul Marshall
		About the author:
		Paul is the owner of Drumdojo and the Dojo Sites, He is responsible for writing and collating a lot of of the material that you see here on drumdojo. Playing drumset since age 5, Paul has been a drummer on and off for most of his life. He plays every drum he can get his hands on. Paul works as an instrument designer, has designed many instruments for the Stomp orchestra and more recently in Holywood Movies. Paul is a prolific web designer and currently has a portfolio of around 40 business and hobby sites.