Loudness
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The relative volume of a sound, ranging from loud to quiet.
Loudness can be scientifically defined in terms of amplitude, BUT it is in fact a relative property of sound.
if we have a quiet sound followed by a 'loud' sound, the 'loud' sound will appear to sound louder than if the 'loud' sound is preceded by another loud sound. In this way, if we want something to sound very loud, we should surround it with silence or very quiet sounds.
What is Loudness?
Loudness is a way of describing the volume of one sound, relative to another.
In traditional notation loudness (or dynamics) is indicated by symbols below the musical stave (p or f ).
When describing sounds outside of this tradition we can say that sounds range from being quiet to loud.
Loudness is Relative
An interesting aspect of loudness is that it is all relative. A loud sound in a noisy place will seem less loud, than exactly the same sound in a quiet place.
Controlling Loudness
By a simple change of loudness, a type of sound can suddenly or gradually become more or less prominent against its background.
We can affect the loudness of sounds by applying (or lowering) the gain. In this way composers and studio engineers are able to balance the sounds in their work.
The faders on large mixing consoles are designed to give hands on control of the loudness for many sounds at the same time.
Compose with Sounds has its own digital faders within the computer programme to allow you to change the relative levels of the sounds within your piece. When you see the 'Gain Badge' you'll be able to change the loudness of the sound file.
Proximity and Loudness
Distance, of course, also affects loudness. The closer we stand to an object that is producing sound then the louder that sound will appear to us.
This might seem obvious, but it can be very useful to think about this in composition. Recognising this important fact can allow us work out how to produce the impression of sounds moving towards or away from us, or for sounds that are close or distant.
A loud object that is far away may appear to sound quieter than it actually is.
For Example:
think of an ambulance. When it is far away its siren sounds quiet, but the closer that it gets the louder the siren becomes, until the ambulance directly passes you and the siren is deafening.
Monitoring Loudness
Because we only have one pair of ears its very important that we protect them. Loud sounds can damage your ears PERMANENTLY. Once they have been damaged by loud sounds there is no way of repairing them.
Therefore it is really important to be able to see the volume level when working with or listening to sounds. Most music software will have a bar that displays the output level. Green is low or safe, yellow is the danger zone and red is loud. Not only will having sounds in the red level damage your hearing but it will also cause clipping and distortion on your sounds.
Extra
How does Loudness Work?
Loudness, and volume, are directly caused by the amount of air displaced by a vibrating object. The more air that is displaced, the louder the sound will appear.
Example:
1.A string is gently plucked. The string vibrates and moves back and forth a little bit.
◦Because the string only moves back and forth a small amount, very little air is displaced.
◦Therefore the sound is very quiet.
2.A string is thwacked hard! The string vibrates back and forth, moving far from its resting point.
◦Because the string moves back and forth a lot, it pushes away and displaces a lot more air.
◦This higher 'air pressure' created by the pushing away of more air, results in a louder sound.
Often people talk of measuring Sound Pressure Level (SPL) which is a scientific measurement of loudness, and the amount of air that is being displaced.
Encyclopedia:
The relative volume of a sound, ranging from loud to quiet.
Loudness can be scientifically defined in terms of amplitude, BUT it is in fact a relative property of sound.
For example:
if we have a quiet sound followed by a ‘loud’ sound, the ‘loud’ sound will appear to sound louder than if the ‘loud’ sound is preceded by another loud sound. In this way, if we want something to sound very loud, we should surround it with silence or very quiet sounds.
Careful, loud sounds can damage your ears PERMANENTLY!
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