UNIT 1. SOUND. 1º E.S.O.

Activity 1. From your point of view, what is MUSIC? Write your answer below:
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1. SOUND:

Sound is a vibrating wave that travels at high speeds through a medium (air, water or a
solid object) until reaching a receiver (e.g. our ears).
Sound travels through the air at 340 meters per second, and even faster through water
(1435 m/s) and solid objects (5000 m/s through iron).

1.1. HOW WE HEAR:

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Sound waves reach our ear, travel through the ear canal and hit the tympanic membrane
or eardrum, which connects our outer and middle ear, transmitting these vibrations to
the brain as nerve impulses through the Eustachian tube.

1.2. REVERB AND ECHO:

These two phenomena are produced when sound waves find obstacles in their way.

-Reverb: It is produced when sound waves find an obstacle up to 17 meters/metres

away. As a result, sound is amplified. (e.g. when we speak or sing in an empty room).
-Echo: It is produced when the obstacle is more than 17 metres/meters away, reflecting
sound separately.
Reverb and echo are so useful in nature. For example, a sonar e mits an acoustic signal or
sound into the water. If an object is in the path of the sound pulse, the sound bounces off the
object and returns an “echo” to the sonar that let know which object is there and its depth in
the water. Also, bats use these phenomena to find their way avoiding obstacles.

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- 1.3. SILENCE:

Activity 2: What is silence? According to you, does silence exist?

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Silence would be the lack of sound, but absolute sound does not exist, because, even in
an isolated place, we would continue hearing our body´s inner sounds. (e.g. 4´33´´. John
Cage. Aula Virtual).

In music, we use the term REST to refer to silence, and it has several functions such as
a break during a performance (you can breath if a wind instrument player), a previous
condition to music (we need silence to listen to music) or a resource of expressiveness
(e.g. in a horror film).

Activity 3: Listen to the following pieces.

Track 1:

Track 2:

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1. Which instrument/s performs these sheets?
T1……………………. T2…………………………

2. Mark the rest signs on the sheets. How many parts (phrases in music) could you find
on them?
T1……………………. T2………………………..

4. Which sensations do these rests produce on you?

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5. Do you know who are the composers and what are the name of the pieces?
T1………………………………………………………………………………………….
T2………………………………………………………………………………………….

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2. QUALITIES OF SOUND:

The qualities of sound are parameters that allow us to identify the different types of
sound. There are four qualities of sound: Pitch, Duration, Intensity and Timbre.

* Pitch: It is a quality that divide the sounds into high and low. Pitch depends on the
wave frequency (number of vibrations per second). It is measured in Hertzes (Hz). We
can listen to sounds between 20 (infrasounds – so low)) and 20.000 Hz (ultrasounds –
so high).

* Duration: It is a quality that divide the sounds into long and short. It depends on the
wave persistence (how long a sound lasts until fading out).

* Intensity: It is a quality that divide the sounds into loud and soft. It depends on the
wave amplitude (the bigger amplitude, the bigger intensity). It is measured in Decibels
(dB). We can listen to sounds between 0 dB to 120 dB.

Noise pollution is considered to be any unwanted or disturbing sound that affects the
health and well-being of humans and other organisms. The World Health Organization
(WHO) defines noise above 65 decibels (dB) as noise pollution. Sounds that reach 85
decibels or higher can irreversibly harm a person’s ears, even losing hearing (a subway
train can reach between 90 to 115 decibels, a loud rock concert between 110 to 120 dB,
and a siren between 120 to 140 dB).

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* Timbre: Its is a quality of sound that allow us to distinguish the sound of different
voices and instruments, and identify them. It depends of the mixture of harmonic
sounds. Every instrument or voice has its inner timbre. In the case of human voice,
timbre can be inherited from our parents.

QUALITY SOUNDS Produced by…

PITCH High Wave frequency

(Hz)

Low

DURATION Long Wave persistence

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 Short

INTENSITY Loud Wave amplitude

(Db)

Soft

TIMBRE Voice Harmonic sounds

Instrument

Activity 4: Listen to the following pieces.

1. Piotr Tchaikovsky. Sugar plum fairy. The nutcracker.

2. Jean Sibelius. Finland.
3. Frederic Chopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu.
4. Richard Strauss. Also spoke Zarathustra.

According to you, which quality of sound (or types of sound) predominated on them?
(1 or 2 types, possible).

1……………………………………………………………………….
2 ……………………………………………………………………...
3 ………………………………………………………………………
4 ……………………………………………………………………...

Activity 5: Composing music.

In groups, create a musical piece or a Soundtrack using the different qualities of sound
and types of sound studied in this unit.

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a) Try to tell a story and reflect an atmosphere. Write a short story in english creating 4
ppt slides. Give it a title.
b) Decide the timbre (different instruments) you will use in your composition.
c) Write a sheet with alternative graphic notation representing your performance. You
have to write every instrument in a different line and reflect duration, intensity and
pitch.
d) One of you should conduct the piece and read the story on the slide show.

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KEY WORDS:

Wave: onda
Receiver: receptor
Ear canal: canal auditivo
Tympanic membrane or eardrum: tímpano
Eustachian tube: trompa de eustaquio
Reverb: reverberación
To Bounce off: rebotar
Echo: eco
Rest: silencio
Pitch: altura
Duration: duración
Intensity: intensidad
Timbre: timbre
High: agudo
Low: grave
Long: largo
Short: corto
To fade out: desvanecerse, desaparecer
To measure: medir
Hertzes: Hercios
Loud: fuerte
Soft: suave
Decibels: decibelios
Noise pollution: contaminación acústica
Inherited: heredado
Soundtrack: banda sonora
Sheet: partitura
Performance: interpretación
To conduct: dirigir