Chapter 5

Sound
Table of contents
● Introduction to Sound
● Digital Audio and MIDI Audio
● MIDI vs Digital Audio
● Multimedia System Sounds
● Audio File Formats
● Adding Sound to Multimedia Project
● Sound Editing Tools

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.: Introduction to Sound
• Vibrations in the air create waves of pressure that are perceived
as sound.
• Sound waves vary in sound pressure level (amplitude) and in
frequency or pitch.
• “Acoustics” is the branch of physics that studies sound.
• Sound pressure levels (loudness or volume) are measured in
decibels (dB).

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.: Digital Audio and MIDI Audio
• Digital audio data is the actual representation of sound, stored
in the form of samples.
• Samples represent the amplitude (or loudness) of sound at a
discrete point in time.
• The quality of digital recording depends on the sampling rate (or
frequency), that is, the number of samples taken per second.
• The three sampling frequencies most often used in multimedia
are CD-quality 44.1 kHz, 22.05 kHz, and 11.025 kHz.
• The number of bits used to describe the amplitude of a sound
wave when sampled determines the sample size.

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• Digital audio is device independent.
• The value of each sample is rounded off to the nearest integer
(quantization).
• Crucial aspects of preparing digital audio files are:
• Balancing the need for sound quality against available RAM and
hard disk resources
• Setting appropriate recording levels to get a high-quality and clean
recording

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• Once a recording has been completed, it almost always needs
to be edited.
• Basic sound editing operations include trimming, splicing and
assembly, volume adjustments, fade-ins and fade-outs,
equalization, time stretching and working on multiple tracks.
• Audio resolution determines the accuracy with which sound can
be digitized.
• Size of a monophonic digital recording = sampling rate x
duration of recording in seconds X (bit resolution/8).
• Size of stereo digital recording = sampling rate x duration of
recording in seconds x (bit resolution/8) x 2.
(size in byte, divide by 1024 to become Kb)
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.: Digital Audio and MIDI Audio (cont.)
• MIDI (Musical Instrumental Digital Interface) is a shorthand
representation of music stored in numeric form
• A sequencer software and sound synthesizer is required in
order to create MIDI scores.
• It is not digitized sound.
• Since they are small, MIDI files embedded in web pages load
and play promptly.
• The length of a MIDI file can be changed without affecting the
pitch of the music or degrading audio quality.
• Working with MIDI requires knowledge of music theory.
• MIDI is device dependent.
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.: MIDI vs Digital Audio
• MIDI is analogous to structured or vector graphics, while digitized
audio is analogous to bitmapped images.
• MIDI is device dependent, while digitized audio is device
independent.
• MIDI files are much smaller than digitized audio.
• MIDI files sound better than digital audio files when played on a
high-quality MIDI device.
• MIDI is difficult to play back spoken dialog, while digitized audio can
do so with ease.
• MIDI does not have consistent playback quality, while digital audio
provides consistent playback quality.
• One requires knowledge of music theory in order to run MIDI, while
digital audio does not have this requirement
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.: Multimedia System Sounds

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.: Audio File Formats
• A sound file’s format is a recognized methodology for organizing
data bits of digitized sound into a data file.
• On the Macintosh, digitized sounds may be stored as data files,
resources, or applications such as AIFF or AIFC.
• In Windows, digitized sounds are usually stored as WAV files.
• The CD-ROM/XA (Extended Architecture) format enables
several recording sessions to be placed on a single CD-R
(recordable) disc.
• Linear Pulse Code Modulation is used for Red Book Audio data
files on consumer-grade music CDs.
• MP3 compression is a space saver.
• MP4 is used when audio and video are streamed together.
• ACC (Advanced Audio Coding) is used by Apple’s iTunes store. 11/15
.: Adding Sound to Multimedia Project
• File formats compatible with multimedia authoring software being
used, along with delivery mediums, must be determined.
• Sound playback capabilities offered by end users’ systems must be
studied.
• The type of sound, whether background music, special sound
effects, or spoken dialog, must be decided.
• Digital audio or MIDI data should be selected on the basis of the
location and time of use.
• Create or purchase source material.
• Edit the sounds to fit your project.
• Test the sounds to be sure they are timed properly with your
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• Recording on inexpensive media rather than directly to disk prevents the
hard disk from being overloaded with unnecessary data.
• The project’s equipment and standards must be in accordance with the
requirements.
• It is vital to maintain a high-quality database that stores the original sound
material.
• Keeping track of your sounds (for mobile/web)
• Sound and image synchronization must be tested at regular intervals.
• The speed at which most animations and computer-based videos play
depends on the user’s CPU
• The sound’s RAM requirements as well as the user’s playback setup must
be evaluated.
• Copyrighted material should not be recorded or used without securing
appropriate rights from the owner or publisher 13/15
.: Sound Editing Tools
• Adobe Audition.
• GarageBand.
• Logic Pro X.
• Ableton Live.
• Descript.
• Audacity.
• Studio One.
• Sound Forge.
• WavePad

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