Subject 01 / Research centre
Sound & listening
Begin with vibration, pitch and the qualities that give a sound its character.
6 published articles · Read in sequence or follow a question.
- 01Foundation · 5 min read
What is music theory?
Learn to describe what you hear, ask useful musical questions, and connect explanation with listening and making.
- 02Foundation · 5 min read
Sound and vibration
Follow a sound from a vibrating source through the air, and learn how frequency, amplitude and resonance answer different questions.
- 03Foundation · 5 min read
Pitch and frequency
Understand the difference between a measurable repetition rate and the musical experience of a sound being high or low.
- 04Foundation · 5 min read
Timbre and overtones
Explore why two sounds can share a pitch and still have different identities, and why tone colour changes during a note.
- 05Foundation · 5 min read
Dynamics and loudness
Separate expressive dynamic markings from sound-level measurements, and learn to shape a phrase without losing its musical direction.
- 06Developing · 5 min read
Tuning and temperament
Discover why a fixed set of pitches cannot make every interval acoustically pure, and how musicians choose workable tuning relationships.