E4896: Music Signal Processing
Reading
The following is a list of annotated reference material that will be used throughout
the course. Students are encouraged to review as much of this as possible. Abbreviation
codes are provides here, and used in the Syllabus
page.
Required Books
Total Recording, Dave Moulton (distributed by KIQ Productions,
www.kiqproductions.com, ISBN 0-9674304-0-2).
A great overview of sound recording and engineering, with a substantial amount
of non-trivial engineering detail. Make
sure you also get my list
of corrections. [Abbreviation TR]
DAFX – Digital Audio Effects, U. Zolzer, Editor, Wiley,
2002 (ISBN 0-471-49078-4).
Excellent book about digital audio effects, full of Matlab examples. This
grew out of a European research project on digital audio effects that has resulted
in an ongoing series of conferences (DAFX). [Abbreviation DAFX] You can
download the Matlab code from the
book's web site.
Recommended Reading
Digital Signal Processing
A Digital Signal Processing Primer (with Applications to
Digital Audio and Computer Music), K. Steiglitz, Addison-Wesley, 1996 (ISBN
0805316841).
If you are not very confident about your understanding of digital signal processing,
or you would like to get a good and quick overview this is an excellent book.
The fact that is focusing on audio and music for its application examples is
a big plus. [Abbreviation DSPP]
Digital Signal Processing: A Computer-Based Approach, 2nd
Edition, S. Mitra, McGraw-Hill, 2001 (ISBN 0-07-232105-9).
This is the textbook that is used for our Digital Signal Processing course
(E4830). It is a comprehensive and very well-written book, and it uses Matlab
extensively. [Abbreviation DSPC]
Introduction
to Digital Filters, J. O. Smith III, 2003.
This online book, developed at Stanford's Center
for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) is an excellent introduction
to the subject, and includes a lot of advanced material as well. [Abbreviation
DF]
Mathematics
of the Discrete Fourier Transform, J. O. Smith III, 2003.
Also available online, this is a great introduction to the DFT and its applications.
It even includes chapters on the definition of the various dB scales used in
audio, as well as numbering systems. [Abbreviation MDFT]
Dither
Explained , N. Aldridge, 2002.
This online article provides a nice overview of the origin and effects of
dithering, including spectral plots that demonstrate the dither's effect on
quantization noise. The article is weak, however, in its discussion of probability
concepts (it seems the author may confuse Gaussing and white). Still, the diagrams
and overall discussion are useful. In case the article is no longer online,
a PDF version
is available as well (thanks to Uday Arya).
Sound Engineering
Sound Reinforcement Handbook, 2nd edition, G. Davis and
R. Jones, Hal Leonard, 1990.
This book grew out of sucessful technical manuals written for Yamaha systems.
It's very technical, but from an applied perspective. A must-read. [Abbreviation
SRH]
Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science, B. Katz, Focal
Press, 2002 (ISBN 0240805453).
One of the best books on audio from one of the most well-respected mastering
engineers. Although it addresses primarily the mastering process, it includes
very good discussions of a number of topics of general interest in audio. Although
the author is not an engineer, he demonstrates a very good grasp of important
engineering concepts (that are often misunderstood by practicing audio engineers).
Some of my favorites are the need for standardized/calibrated monitoring, issues
of quality of digital systems, and the effects of jitter. [Abbreviation MA]
- Sound System Engineering, 2nd Edition, D. Davis and C.
Davis, Focal Press, 1997 (ISBN 0-240-80305-1).
-
This is definitely one of the modern “bibles” for the design,
performance analysis, and optimization of acoustic spaces. [Abbreviation
SSE]
- JBL Professional: Sound System Design Reference Manual,
John Eargle, 1999.
-
An excellent booklet (about 100 pages) summarizing all the basic concepts
of acoustics and sound reinforcement. It also includes numerous sample designs.
Another must read. It is available online by JBL and its free (download
Part
1 or Part
2). [Abbreviation JBL]
- Professional Microphone Techniques, D. Huber and P. Williams,
MixBooks, 1998 (ISBN 0-872886-85-9).
-
An extensive discussion of microphones and the various different miking
techniques for all sorts of different instruments. The book has a companion
CD with good examples of the results of different miking approaches. [Abbreviation
MIC]
-
Computer Music
The Computer Music Tutorial, C. Roads, MIT Press, 1999 (ISBN
0-252-18158-4).
One of the best books on computer music, and one of the most comprehensive
too. It includes a section on mixing and signal processing.[Abbreviation CM]
Magazines
It is highly recommneded that every student checks out at least one copy of
either of the following two magazines. It will provide a good overview of current
technology trends, information about available manufacturers and products, current
state of the art systems, and so on.
- Electronic Musician Magazine -
http://www.emusician.com
- Emphasis on synthesizers and computer-based systems.
-
- Mix Magazine -
http://www.mixonline.com
- The focus here is on audio recording, but of course computer-based systems
are covered extensively as well.
Web Sites
The following is a preliminary list of interesting web sites, listed alphabetically.
The list is not intended to be exhaustive - it just provides a set of entry
points for technical and product related information. More links with research-related
sites will be added shortly.
- Audio Engineering Society (AES) -
http://www.aes.org
- This is the principal technical organization for sound engineering. It publishes
one of the most authoritative journals in the field (AES Journal) and runs
what I consider to be the best conference on the subject (AES Convention).
The reason is that, like the ACM SIGGRAPH, it also includes an exhibition
of products. Most of the seminal papers on the subject have appear in this
journal. Student membership is only $20, which includes access to the online
version of the Journal (information is on the AES
web site).
-
- Chesky Records -
http://www.chesky.com
- "Audiophile" quality CD recordings and test CDs.
-
- Cycling ’74 -
http://www.cycling74.com
- Max/MSP and other computer-based synthesis software packages.
-
- Digidesign -
http://www.digidesign.com
- Makers of Pro Tools. In addition to the very interesting products section,
the site's DigiZine often has interesting "Tech Talk" sections.
-
- Mark of the Unicorn -
http://www.motu.com
- Makers of Digital Performer and numerous other software and audio interface
hardware products.
-
- Mastering WebBoard -
http://webbd.nls.net:8080/~mastering/login
- A WebBoard frequented by some of the best names in audio/mastering.
-
-
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A. Eleftheriadis,
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