"If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music... I cannot tell if I would have done any creative work of importance in music, but I do know that I get most joy in life out of my violin." -Albert Einstein

PHYS 1240: Sound and Music

July 9 - August 9 (2019)

MTWThF 11:00 AM - 12:35 PM in Duane G1B30

Welcome to Physics 1240: Sound and Music, a 3-credit course designed for non-science students to explore the interrelation between art and science in a way that is both informative and enjoyable. Our class meets daily from 11:00 AM - 12:35 PM in Duane's lecture hall G1B30, with lectures interspersed with clicker questions, collaborative assignments, science demos, and music demos (including student performances, if possible). The goals of the course are as follows:

1. Gain a physical intuition for how sound works, including how it can be generated (instruments, speaking, synthesizers, etc.), transmitted (wave dynamics, room acoustics, etc.), and received (human ears, microphones, psychoacoustics, etc.)
2. Explore how individual sounds can combine to form what we call music
3. Discover the joy in using science to understand how the world works (a.k.a. have fun learning!)

Syllabus:

The syllabus for the course, including infomation about the grading breakdown and required course materials, can be found here.

Textbook:

The text for this course is Musical Acoustics by Donald E. Hall, 3rd edition, Brooks/Cole, 2002 (ISBN-10: 0534377289, ISBN-13: 9780534377281). This textbook is recommended but not required - though no grades will explicitly rely on your direct access of the book, sections of the text aligned with lecture material will be referenced, and both homework assignments and exams will likely contain problems derived from the textbook and its exercises. The chapters and sections of the text covered in each lecture are listed in the course calendar, and best practice is to read these sections before each lecture to familiarize yourself with the material covered.

iClicker Registration:

We will be using iClicker remote transmitters in class to keep track of participation and to facilitate an active learning environment. These remotes can be purchased at the CU bookstore.

In order for your clicker usage to be linked to your name and counted for a grade on Canvas, you need to register your iClicker once every year. To register, log in to myCUinfo and follow the link for CUClicker registration above your class schedule. Here are more detailed instructions if you are having any troubles.

Student Instrument Demonstrations:

Throughout this course, extra credit will be provided for students who are willing to give a short demonstration on an instrument they have experience playing. These demonstrations only need to last about five minutes and consist of a rundown of how your instrument is played, how sound is produced, etc., followed by a performance of a piece of music. Note that we have access to a select few instruments (violin, trumpet, guitar, et al.) if needed. If you would like to give a demonstration, let the instructor know! (Forms for this purpose will be handed out the first day of class.)

In order to access grades, solutions, and other sensitive material for this course, please log in to the course's Canvas site.