10. Final Exam (Fall '22)

Computer Hardware:

1. What makes a computer a computer?

   • How Computers Work (27min of short videos in a playlist)

2. What is a transistor, what did it replace, and why is it the most important invention of the 20th Century?

3. When working in an application, when do you save your work?

   • when you first begin working and frequently throughout

     Computer Software:

4. Describe the difference between “open” and “proprietary” file formats and how that plays into “digital obsolescence”. What is a “proprietary” music notation file format? What is an “open” music notation file format?

   Computer Networks (& Website Development):

5. In what type of format is everything encoded to transfer data between connections of the internet?

   • binary

   How does the information physically travel down a copper wire (Ethernet)?

   • electricity (high voltage = 1; no electricity = 0)

   How do bits physically travel down a “glass wire”(fiber optic)?

   • light (light = 1; no light = 0)

6. Describe the difference between HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

   • HTML provides the basic structure of sites

   • CSS is used to style the HTML (control presentation, formatting, and layout)

   • JavaScript is used to control the behavior of different elements.

   Physics of Sound:

7. Provide a drawing that illustrates a time-domain waveform representation of a sound wave (label the following on your drawing: compression, rarefaction, zero crossing, amplitude, and wavelength).

8. What unit is used to indicate a ratio of the following? Also provide a range of examples of things/environments that create different loudness levels (from nearly silent all the way to the threshold of pain for humans) … use that unit.

   • what humans perceive as silence to how loud a sound seems to be to a human

9. What is the frequency range of human hearing?

10. Define complex tone (or complex wave form) and timbre (use the term overtones in your answer).

11. How is a spectrogram (frequency domain) different than a waveform (time domain)?

    • 3d Spectrogram in Chrome

      Audio Synthesis:

12. Oscillator = What is an oscillator? List a few basic waveforms created by different oscillators.

13. Amplitude = Explain what amplitude is.

14. Envelop = Explain what an amplitude envelop is (using the term ADSR).

15. Filter = List some examples of audio filters.

16. Modulation = Define modulation and give an example of how an LFO can be used in modulation (hint = tremolo and vibrato).

    Analog Sound Reinforcement:

17. What is proper gain staging (or proper gain structure) for live sound? (talk about the steps you would take to find the proper level for each part of the system — from mic to speaker)

    • *First* turn off the main speakers

    • on the mixer

      1. set channel volume faders and main outs to Unity (ØdB)

      2. set the preamp gain knob to lowest setting

      3. set proper gain structure for each channel one at a time = slowly bring up preamp gain knob as performer sounds into the mic until the VU meter averages around -18dB and never peaks at higher than -6dB

    • *Last* (after all channels have been setup individually) have everyone perform together while you do the following:

      • turn the volume knob of the main speakers all the way down

      • turn on the main speakers

      • slowly turn up the volume knob of the main speakers until you reach the desired volume in the space.

18. Explain what a preamp does.

    • note Voltage Levels in Audio Gear

    • see Understanding Signal Levels

    • see What is a Preamp

19. Define clipping (or distortion). Draw it.

20. What is feedback and what are some ways to avoid/lesson it?

    • reasons for feedback:

      • mic too close to PA speaker

      • mic too far from source being amplified

      • too many mics

    • ways to minimize feedback issues:

      1. experiment with the placement of a microphone

         • the closer the microphone is to the source the more the preamp gain can be lowered

         • placing the speakers between the microphone and the audience (speakers along the front of the stage) can greatly lesson feedback issues because the microphone will not pickup its own amplified signal

      2. use directional mics to isolate sounds being picked up

      3. add acoustic treatment (absorption) to especially "live" rooms with many hard surfaces

      4. add an audience! (rooms without an audience sound very different than rooms with no audience)

      5. use a spectral analyzer to identify feedback frequencies and fine tune EQ

    Notation Software:

21. Discuss the difference between a MIDI file and a WAV file. What type of information is stored in each file?

    Digital Audio:

22. Explain analog to digital conversion and digital to analog conversion (include the terms samples, sample rate, and bit depth).

    • How Digital Audio Works (MSP documentation by Cycling'74)

    • https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/digital-audio-basics-sample-rate-and-bit-depth.html

    • What is a sample? = https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/sample/

23. Write the following out with blanks filled in:

    • An analog signal is a continuous signal; analog signal values are known for all moments in time.

    • A digital signal is a discrete signal; digital signals are only known at certain specific times.

    Audio Recording/Mixing:

24. How do the acoustics and noise present in the recording space effect mic placement when recording? (For instance: Where would you place the mic if you didn’t like the space and didn’t want the characteristics of the space to be apparent in the recording?)

    • see Mic Placement in Audio Recording (in Appendix)

25. Explain proper gain structure (or staging) in the recording process. What two levels are you looking for on the level meter when you are recording?

    • set each of the audio interface's input preamps at a level that averages around -18dB and never peaks about -6dB

      Audio Editing:

26. Explain proper gain staging in the mixing processes. What plugin should you add to every track in the very beginning of the mixing process [in order to keep *all* faders initially at 0db … or -6dB if you choose that technique]?

    • add a gain plugin to each track and adjust each gain plugin so each track averages around -18dB and never peaks above -6dB

27. What is the purpose of automation in a DAW? Provide some examples of parameters you might automate.

28. Define and compare/contrast normalization and compression of dynamics (be sure to include the terms “threshold” and “compression ratio”).

    Copyright & Licensing

29. Describe the purpose of copyright *and* discuss what isn't covered under copyright and when something falls out of copyright.

30. Describe the purpose of music related licenses and when you need to optain one. Give an example of a music license.