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Synthesis & Psychoacoustics - ELE00059I

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  • Department: Electronic Engineering
  • Module co-ordinator: Prof. Andy Hunt
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
    • See module specification for other years: 2024-25

Module summary

This module builds upon your experience of software synthesisers, along with understanding the basics of sound, musical computing, and synthesis techniques. This module also explores psychoacoustics; the science of the perception of sound. This will start with the fundamentals of pitch, loudness, and timbre perception, and build to an understanding of various psychoacoustic phenomena and the perception of music. At the end of the module you will not only understand how to build synthesisers but will also have a deep appreciation of how and why they sound different.

Related modules

This is a transition year module and will run in 2023/24 only.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2023-24

Module aims

Subject content aims:

  • To give the students more advanced practical experience of a digital synthesis package in order to explore the basic underlying techniques of sampling and synthesis

  • To introduce the fundamentals of psychoacoustics, including the perception of pitch, loudness, and timbre.

  • To develop from these fundamental percepts to an understanding of the perception of musical sounds.

  • To introduce various psychoacoustic phenomena, the theory underpinning those phenomena and give the students practical experience of generating audio examples demonstrating them.

  • To give the students experience of analysing audio signals in the time- and frequency- domains.

Graduate skills aims:

  • To establish fundamental skills in gathering and presenting information from reliable sources and technical writing, recognising issues of plagiarism and collusion

  • To foster creativity, innovation and critical thinking

Module learning outcomes

Subject content learning outcomes

After successful completion of this module, students will:

  • Explain the theory behind sampling and synthesis systems

  • Be able to manipulate and analyse digital audio signals against target specifications

  • Be able to build a reasonably complex synthesis system in Pd and critically evaluate the results

  • Discuss the fundamentals of psychoacoustic perception.

  • Describe the perception of musical sounds.

  • Be able to develop an interactive demonstration of a psychoacoustic phenomenon in Pd.

  • Be able to make use of time- and frequency- domain analysis tools to evaluate audio signals, and relate this analysis to psychoacoustic features.

Graduate skills learning outcomes

After successful completion of this module, students will:

  • Be able to construct basic technical reports and identify reliable sources of information, recognising issues of plagiarism and collusion

  • Have developed skills in analysis, problem solving, critical evaluation, innovation and creativity

Module content

  • Introduction to psychoacoustics

  • Structure of the human auditory system

  • Perception of pitch, loudness, and timbre

  • Masking

  • Spatial hearing and auditory localisation

  • Timbral analysis

  • Time- and frequency- domain audio analysis (the fourier transform, spectral analysis, spectrograms)

  • Further use of the Pd audiovisual programming language

  • Synthesis Methods (Additive Synthesis, Envelope Generators, Subtractive Synthesis, Frequency Modulation (FM), Wavetable Synthesis, Karplus-Strong synthesis)

  • Composition with computers

  • Sequencing with Pd

  • Synthesisers of the future (including an overview of current research)

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Psychoacoustic Phenomenon Exercise		 N/A 50
Essay/coursework
Synthesis Design Exercise		 N/A 50

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

There are 2 assessments for this module, which will be issued towards the start of the teaching sessions.

  1. Synthesis Design Exercise: Students will design, build and test a synthesiser in Pd, based on the synthesis methods taught in the module. They will design and test a prototype for a marketable package consisting of one major synthesis type of their choice, focused on good sound quality, presets and user-control, with some form of sequencing built in. The Pd code must be designed well for a new user, and contain its own documentation (structure and comments). Students write a short technical report to explain the design and construction, and to show evidence of user testing and evaluation. In addition they will focus on the potential market applications of such a synthesiser.

  2. Psychoacoustic Phenomenon Exercise: Students will develop an interactive demonstration of a psychoacoustic phenomenon in Pd. The submitted Pd patch should be self documenting, and accessible to a lay audience. The students will submit an accompanying technical report explaining the design of their patch with reference to relevant academic literature. They will also make use of time- and frequency- domain analysis tools to relate the properties of the produced audio signal to the percepts of the phenomenon.

Reassessment

None

Module feedback

'Feedback’ at a university level can be understood as any part of the learning process which is designed to guide your progress through your degree programme. We aim to help you reflect on your own learning and help you feel more clear about your progress through clarifying what is expected of you in both formative and summative assessments. A comprehensive guide to feedback and to forms of feedback is available in the Guide to Assessment Standards, Marking and Feedback.

The School of PET aims to provide some form of feedback on all formative and summative assessments that are carried out during the degree programme. In general, feedback on any written work/assignments undertaken will be sufficient so as to indicate the nature of the changes needed in order to improve the work. The School will endeavour to return all exam feedback within the timescale set out in the University's Policy on Assessment Feedback Turnaround Time. The School would normally expect to adhere to the times given, however, it is possible that exceptional circumstances may delay feedback. The School will endeavour to keep such delays to a minimum. Please note that any marks released are subject to ratification by the Board of Examiners and Senate. Meetings at the start/end of each term provide you with an opportunity to discuss and reflect with your supervisor on your overall performance to date.

Statement of Feedback

Formative Feedback

Regular labs allow you to engage with the programming material and receive verbal help and feedback on your coding and design.

Weekly quizzes on the module Wiki page help you to gain feedback on your understanding of the key module material covered in the lectures.

Emails to the Module Staff with Questions / Comments will be answered as soon as possible.

Questions can also be submitted at any time via the Question Box on the module Wiki page.

A draft version of your assignment can be submitted to the module staff before the end of term, who will confirm whether this is all in the correct format, along with some general written feedback comments, and a series of recommendations for improvement.

Summative Feedback

You will receive a customised feedback sheet, showing the mark breakdown in each of the key areas being assessed (For the Synthesis Design Exercise: Synthesiser Design & Programming Quality; Audio Demonstration; Report quality; For the Psychoacoustic Phenomenon Exercise: Effectiveness of the demonstration of the psychoacoustic phenomenon, programming quality, evidence of individual research, evaluation of the output, report quality) along with personalised feedback and suggestions for improvement. The comments explain how well you have met the learning objectives, and also give you feedback about the things you could improve in future assignments).

Indicative reading

The Module Wiki page gives a variety of reading, viewing, and listening material, paced throughout the semester.


Howard DM and Angus JAS, (2009). Acoustics and psychoacoustics, 4th Ed., Oxford: Focal Press.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.