Sound and Music

Sound and Music

1. MP3 Players

   • -Plays music files stored digitally in MP3 file format.
     • -Are small and portable.
       • -Stores thousands of music tracks.
         • -Now part of many mobile phones.

2. Sounds Cards

   • -Circuit boards containing chips and other components.
     • -Allows high quality music or sound to be produced.
       • -Both recorded and outputted.

3. Microphones

   • -Microphones are input devices.
     • -They're used to enter voice, sounds, live music, etc...

4. Speakers and Headphones

   • -Are both output devices.
     • -Are used to output the sounds or music after being processed by the computer.

5. MIDI

   • Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
     • -Allows musical instruments to transfer music to a computer where it can be edited or stored.
       • -MIDI can play back the stored music using the device used to create it.
         • -Keyboards use MIDI.

6. Sound Conversion

   • -Sound is an analogue signal.
     • -Nearly all computers process digital data.
       • -The analogue sound needs to be converted (digitized).
         • -An analogue-to-digital converter is used.
           • -To play back the music, the digitial data is converted to analogue using a digital-to-analogue converter.

7. Sequencers

   • -Hardware or software used to manage music.
     • -An example of this is a drum machine. They play a series of notes in a set order automatically.
       • -Music workstations can also provide sequencers.

8. Notators

   • -Software that allows you to compose your own music.
     • -Enter notes into the computer via the keyboard, a MIDI system, etc...

9. Sound Wave Editors

   • -Allows sound waves to be altered.
     • -You can alter, cut and paste, have effects like echo, amplification and noise reduction.

10. File Formats

    • WAV- Wave- Highest quality, will record perfectly but file sizes are large.
      • MP3- MPEG Layer 3- Most popular format, high compression rate, no loss of quality.
        • WMA- Windows Media Audio- High quality, high compression, only configured for windows.

11. Downloading Music

    • -Can be easily accessed by a range of different mediums.
      • -Ability to download only tracks rather than whole albums.
        • -Can be easily loaded onto portable devices.