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Unit 35 - Sound Creation and Manipulation - LO1 - Sam Hayes

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Acoustic Theory and Fundamentals of Synthesis In this article, I am going to discuss the basics of acoustic theory and the fundamentals of synthesis along with examples, to give you an insight into the world of creating sound and how that relates to acoustic theory. The Basics of Acoustic Theory The most basic sound wave is a sine wave.  A sine wave is one pure tone and the sound of this tone will be shown in the amplitude, wavelength and frequency of the sound. The wavelength is how long it takes to make one whole cycle, with the frequency being how many there are of these cycles per second (this is measured in Hertz). The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch of the tone. The amplitude is the measure of how high the crest/ peak/displacement goes during the tone, AKA the volume or dynamics of the tone. A basic sine wave is a 'pure tone', but for instruments and sounds to have their specific 'timbre', they will have harmonies and overtones that will so...