Volume, Tone, & Pitch
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Sound is to hearing as what light is to sight and acoustics are to hearing as what reflection is to seeing. Both sight and hearing have a body part that is specifically used to perceive or capture sound or light. When we talk about ‘sound and acoustics’ we are referring to the space that surrounds a sound.
Imagine the space around an object as being a box with six faces (top, bottom, front, back, right, and left). The core of the sound exists in the center of the box, and any quality or event can exist or be measured before it, after it, above it, below it, and to it’s left and right sides through an imaginary ruler on each side. There are many other directions as well (ie. Diagonally), however the main goal here is to understand that an object, person, sound etc exists within a space and that it can be measured in many directions.
There are official names for each of these directions/measurements however for the purpose of explaining some basic elements of sound, we will simply focus on the most common measurements of Length, Width, and Height of the box. Now imagine that within this box/space, which can represent a theatre, a stage, or a room, lies another box which is sound itself. As is the case for the room, the sound can also be measured along it’s length, width and height … where the length can be the Amplitude, the width can be the Tone, and the height can be the Pitch.
Sound can therefore be broken down into smaller components/topics that could explain it from the bottom-up, back and forth, and side to side. Every one of these measurements (and more) make up a sound and it is important to understand these main parts to understand the bigger picture of why certain instruments are made a certain way, why a Soundman is needed at public events, and even whether you need that new amplifier or guitar pedal.
Sound is therefore a combination of elements that enter our auditory field (hearing), with a specific length, width and height … or in musical terms: a specific tone, pitch, and amplitude/volume. These qualities can be modified as the sound originates, or transmitted, as well as at perception. We will discuss this in more detail shortly however for now it’s simply important to understand that all sounds can be measured or broken down into various components/data elements.
