Audio Lab 1

Task 1

The first part of this lab was to look at the chosen sound wave as it originally was and then how it was once we had zoomed in and zoomed out.

        Here is the wave originally:

     Once we zoom in the wave we can see that the track disappears off screen. This is because originally we started by seeing all 1 minute and 4 seconds of the track on the screen but after zooming in we can only see 0.25 seconds of full track. Looking at the amplitude of the original and the zoomed in track we can see that the crests and troughs are visibly clearer to the eye. The wavelength can also be seen now that we have zoomed in. Overall by zooming in it makes the wavelength and amplitude much more easily spotted and observed.

      Once we zoom out it is immensely difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between each wave as the track length has decreased meaning that we can see the full length in a smaller view. The amplitude has been compressed meaning that it is nigh impossible to differentiate between each individual crest and trough. Unlike the previous example, where the wave was stretched, this has been compressed.

Task 2

For task 2 we were to add our own effects in to our chosen sound file. 

        I chose to add a "Fade in" and "Fade out" effect into the file. I added the fade in at the beginning and if you compare it with the original you can see that the amplitude of the waves are lower than the rest of the piece but they gradually build up. The build up will be demonstrated in an increase of volume. Similar to the beginning I added a fade out effect at the end so that it will have the opposite effect on the piece. At the end the amplitude grows smaller in size which is conveyed with the decrease in volume towards the end of the piece.

 Task 3

Task 3 wanted us to display the plot spectrum of our piece.

                                                                                

      Below is the analysis of the piece. Rather than looking at time lines and waves, amplitudes, troughs and crests we can see the measurement of the piece in Decibels and Hertz. A Decibel is the unit we use to measure the power of sound. If we change from linear frequency to log frequency we can immediately see a change of shape. The chart displays a more curved and rounded shape rather than peaks and points.

Task 4

Task 4 is to apply a reverb to our original piece and compare the results.

       Small room reverb shows that the wave has increased in amplitude from the original. The tonation and sound of the piece remains mostly unchanged but there is an echo effect on the sound that changes the sound of the piece.

       Large room reverb will show a complete opposite from a small room. The amplitude seems to have decreased dramatically. Once again though the piece of music's tonation does not change that much but there is a change in how it sounds because of the effect that was added.