Schmidt-Jones, Catherine(Connexions, April 1, 2011)
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Abstract:
The amplitude of the sound waves are described in music as dynamic levels. Unlike scienti c measures
of amplitude, dynamics describe the perceived loudness of the music.
When sound waves come as a very regular, pitched tone, there are two useful measurements you can
make that tell you something about both the sound waves and about the tone they are making. One
measurement is the distance between one wave and the next. This is the wavelength1, which is also related
to the frequency2 and the pitch3 of the sound. The other measurement you can make is the size of each
individual wave - its "height" or "intensity" rather than its length. This is the amplitude of the wave, and
it determines the loudness of the sound.