Week 2: Phase, Harmonics, Acoustic Envelope, Pitch & Distortion

Weekly Reflection This week's session was quite a short and direct one. The aim was to understand the different glossary terms and create a coherent and accurate definition that can be used within project 1. The terms which we were required to define were: phase, harmonics, acoustic envelope, pitch & distortion. My definition of these terms can be found below under the class notes section but also on the project 1 page. As a pre-class activity, we were required to watch two frequency videos and discuss the way in which frequencies within the harmonic content can influence the sound. Another task that we were presented with during this lesson was to identify and define the different units of sound measurement.I was already familiar with these commonly used terms, but it was useful to refresh my memory on them and understand how they work together and will be reflected on in project 1. My main aim during today's session was to fully understand and apply the learning terminology to my project. However, due to being online, I was also aiming to get started and begin the research session of our group project. However, due to being online, I was unable to collaborate with my group members to come up with a chosen track and reflective content. Despite these challenges, I personally feel that this lesson was a great experience as it provided support and development towards project 1. In terms of my next steps in order to improve and ensure progress for my project 1 submission, I will be communicating with my lecturer through email to understand what the final requirements are and how I will be able to achieve them, I will request support once I arrive back on campus be place within a group. This will enable me to understand what other members have done but also what will be required in order to achieve the HD grade in the overall project submission. Taking into consideration past units when it comes to the presentation of work, I will be required to identify each of my group members and what each of us has achieved and contributed to within this project. I will also be ensuring that my work is correctly referenced and cited throughout. In regards to this week's reframed transferable skills, I personally feel that the strongest ones were self-reflection and problem-solving. The reason behind this decision is due to the fact that I was required to reflect on the content that was covered in week 1 and ensure that the same standards of reflective practice were included. I was also required to apply my previously learnt research skills to conduct further research on pending glossary terms, which will support and help with track descriptions in project 1. My next steps in order to succeed in project 1 before next week's class will be to ensure that all content is up-to-date on the project 1 page and that all reflective practices and research are completed.

Notes

Harmonics: A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the 1st harmonic, the other harmonics are known as higher harmonics. As all harmonics are periodic at the fundamental frequency, the sum of harmonics is also periodic at that frequency. The set of harmonics forms a harmonic series (Wikipedia, n.d).

Acoustic Envelope: An envelope is the evolution of sound in any music piece. The most common type of envelope is the ADSR envelope, (Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release). This type of envelope is mainly used to control the loudness of a sound or song. The Attack phase determines how loud a sound can reach full volume or peaks before it reaches the Decay stage. The Decay stage determines the sound’s drop length, from the sound’s peak, all the way until the sound reaches the Sustain stage. The sustain stage determines the sound’s volume for it’s entire hold time between the decay and the release stage. The Release stage determines the speed at which a sound ends, the release time can be either long or short (MasterClass, 2022).

Distortion: Distortion refers to when there is a deviation from the original waveform that is desired. There are three types of distortion, they are Fuzz, which was made famous by rock bands like the Rolling Stones and legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. This allowed them to use reed-based instruments like a saxophone. Exciters are frequency-based distortion units. These units allow producers to ‘excite’ certain frequencies by creating upper harmonics that weren’t present in an original signal. This in turn makes the sound more brighter and detailed. The third and final type of distortion is a saturation, which is when a piece of circuitry is driven to almost to the point of distortion. This type of distortion is mainly to add subtle harmonics and warmth to a sound (Splice, 2020).

References

Frequencies & Sound Explained #4 : Harmonics & Harmonic ... https://www.youtube.com/watch/FzeZbJceKZE.
“Yipcw-Edu717-Site - the253-2019SP.” Site, https://sites.google.com/site/yipcwedu717site/home/classes/the253-2019sp.
“Frequency.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/science/frequency-physics.
MasterClass. (2022). ADSR Envelopes Explained: 4 Stages of an ADSR Envelope. Retrieved from: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/adsr-envelope-explained#4-stages-of-an-adsr-envelope
MasterClass. (2022). Pitch in Music Explained: 5 Examples of Pitch in Music. Retrieved from: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/pitch-in-music-explained#how-is-pitch-measured
Producer Hive. (n.d). Audio Filter Types (Explained Simply). Retrieved from: https://producerhive.com/music-production-recording-tips/audio-filter-types/

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