Good reading for science of sound/electronic music? Starting w/ basics Options

[yakkady]

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some guides or good books I can read through that'll help me understand the science of sound/electronic music. My knowledge of the subject at the moment doesn't extend much further than sound being vibration of particles that travels in waves, or something along those lines. I'd like to go a lot deeper with that though, to find out how complex music travels through the air, how different speakers produce that sound, how different audio formats capture and play those sounds, and how they're created digitally in the first place.

I'd like to be able to play around with music creation software in the future, but this seems like the right first step.

[Fedot L]

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some guides or good books I can read through that'll help me understand the science of sound/electronic music.

The Complete Guide to High-End Audio / Edition 3. by: Robert Harley, Keith Jarrett.
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Complete Guide to Digital Audio. By: Chris Middleton, Allen Zuk (Editor), Allen Zuk.

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Audio and Hi-Fi Handbook. Third Edition. Editor IAN R. SINCLAIR.

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Sound and Recording, Fourth Edition: An Introduction (Music Technology) by Francis Rumsey.

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Loudspeaker and Headphone Handbook, Third Edition by John Borwick.

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Introductory Guide to High-Performance Audio Systems: Stereo - Surround Sound - Home Theater. by Robert Harley.

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Master Handbook of Acoustics. F. Alton Everest (Author), Ken Pohlmann (Author).

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Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems (2011 Edition) (Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video & Audio Systems). Mark Fleischmann (Author).

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Home Theater For Dummies. Danny Briere (Author), Pat Hurley (Author).

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Perfecting Sound Forever. Greg Milner

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http://www.cirrusresearch.co.uk/glossary_of_terms.html

[Ethan Winer]

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some guides or good books I can read through that'll help me understand the science of sound/electronic music ... I'd like to go a lot deeper with that though, to find out how complex music travels through the air, how different speakers produce that sound, how different audio formats capture and play those sounds, and how they're created digitally in the first place.

If you can wait two months, my upcoming book is exactly what you're looking for:

Ethan's Audio Book

--Ethan

[Fedot L]

The Complete Guide to High-End Audio / Edition 3. by: Robert Harley, Keith Jarrett.

Already fourth edition:
The Complete Guide to High-End Audio 4th Edition.

[dhromed]

The value of books notwithstanding, just becoming a member of HA has done a great deal for my understanding of audio theory, combined with the often HA-inspired trips to wikipedia, and playing around in software like Audacity.

[Speedskater]

The Complete Guide to High-End Audio / Edition 3. by: Robert Harley, Keith Jarrett.

Already fourth edition:
The Complete Guide to High-End Audio 4th Edition.

While I have not read several of the books on the long list, the above book is the one I would skip!
Robert Harley is the Editor-in-Chief at "the absolute sound" magazine. A magazine not noted for getting the facts correct.

[krabapple]

The Complete Guide to High-End Audio / Edition 3. by: Robert Harley, Keith Jarrett.

Already fourth edition:
The Complete Guide to High-End Audio 4th Edition.

While I have not read several of the books on the long list, the above book is the one I would skip!
Robert Harley is the Editor-in-Chief at "the absolute sound" magazine. A magazine not noted for getting the facts correct.

Harley is noted for touting such dubious concepts as the audible directionality of copper crystals in wire.

This post has been edited by krabapple: Mar 10 2012, 23:01

[yakkady]

Thought I'd replied to this but I must have got distracted by something, but I appreciate the suggestions. The title was supposed to be 'starting with the basics' though, so I think one or two of thes might be beyond my level at the moment.

[db1989]

The title was supposed to be 'starting with the basics' though

It was truncated by the board software because its length exceeded 70 characters. I’ve edited it to reflect your original intention and still fit in.

[DonP]

Thought I'd replied to this but I must have got distracted by something, but I appreciate the suggestions. The title was supposed to be 'starting with the basics' though, so I think one or two of thes might be beyond my level at the moment.

Wander into a college bookstore and look for titles like (possibly with "introduction to" on the front) "Communications systems" "Linear Systems" "Digital Electronics" "Feedback systems"
"Digital Signal Processing." SInce you aren't taking the courses for credit, save money buying old editions.