THE SCIENCE OF MUSIC (PC1327/GEK1519)

End-of-Term Class Test, Semester 1, 2007/08

This is an open book test. The test is one hour long.
Give your answers to ALL 25 questions on the computer-readable sheet provided, using a soft (2B)
pencil to shade the appropriate choice for each question.
1. Which of the following is the most appropriate example of technology in music?
(a) A child practising her scales on the piano.
(b) A musical instrument maker inventing a new type of mouthpiece for a clarinet.
(c) A guitarist composing a new piece of music to be played on his guitar.
(d) An engineer listening to a symphony orchestra at a concert.
Answer: (b) The child, guitarist and engineer are all performing essentially musical activities.
The musical instrument maker is creating a device which will be of use to those who play the
clarinet, and so is carrying out a technological activity.
2. A clarinet player is playing the note C4 (Middle C) on his clarinet. A second clarinet player
then plays a note on her clarinet while the first clarinet player is playing the C4 note. Which
of the following notes should the second clarinet player play in order to ensure that we hear a
unison between the two notes?
(a) C3.
(b) C4.
(c) C5.
(d) None of the above.
Answer: (b) The term unison denotes two or more notes being played at the same pitch, so
the second clarinet should play the same note as the first clarinet i.e. C4.
3. Two trumpet players are competing to find out which of them can play a note on their respective
trumpets with as high a pitch and as loudly as possible. In which of the following ways should
they try to play their trumpets?
(a) With the lowest possible frequency and the least possible power.
(b) With the lowest possible frequency and the greatest possible power.
(c) With the highest possible frequency and the least possible power.
(d) With the highest possible frequency and the greatest possible power.
Answer: (d) Each trumpeter should play with as high a frequency as possible, in order to
play the highest possible pitch. To play as loudly as possible they should try to play with the
greatest possible power.
4. A man and a woman sitting next to each other are attending a boring public lecture, and
they both nod their heads up and down repeatedly as they start to fall asleep. The mans
head makes 5 complete up and down movements i.e. 5 complete cycles during the same time
that the womans head makes 7 complete cycles. If the womans head nods up and down at a
frequency of 1.4 Hz, what is the frequency with which the mans head nods up and down?
(a) 1 Hz.
(b) 1.4 Hz.
(c) 25 Hz.
(d) None of the above.
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Answer: (a) If the womans head has a frequency of 1.4 Hz, this means that in 1 second, her
7
head completes just 1.4 of a cycle. To complete 7 cycles, her head would take 1.4
seconds i.e.
5 seconds. If this is the same time in which the mans head completes 5 cycles, then the mans
head has a frequency of 55 Hz i.e. 1 Hz.
5. A fire engine is passing right in front of you, and its siren registers a reading of 95 dB on a
sound level meter which you are holding. When it is about 50 meters away from you, its siren
registers only 75 dB on the same meter. How much less sound power is reaching you from the
siren when the fire engine is 50 meters away as compared to when it was right in front of you?
(Assume that the sound level meter reading is due only to the sounds from the siren.)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

1,000 times less.

10 times less.
100 times less.
None of the above.

Answer: (c) When the fire engine is 50 meters away, the meter reading has decreased from 95
dB to 75 dB, which is a decrease of 20 dB. For each decrease in sound power which is 10 times
less, the meter reading will decrease by 10 dB. Since 20 dB is equal to 10 dB plus 10 dB, the
sound power must have decreased by 10 times twice or by 10 times 10 times i.e. 100 times.
6. A bass singer walks past a stationary bus, whose engine is producing a low whine which has
a frequency of 80 Hz. The bass singer then sings a note which is exactly a Just fourth below
the whine of the bus engine. A tenor singer who is next to the bass singer then sings a note
which is 2 octaves above the note of the bass singer. What is the frequency of the note sung
by the tenor singer?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

30 Hz.
60 Hz.
120 Hz.
None of the above.

Answer: (d) The ratio of a Just fourth is 43 , so the frequency of the note sung by the bass
singer is 80 Hz divided by 43 or 80 Hz times 43 i.e. 60 Hz. The note sung by the tenor singer is
2 octaves above 60 Hz or 60 Hz times 2 times 2 i.e. 240 Hz.
7. A certain tune has a time signature of 5/4 at its beginning. Which of the following combinations
of notes will fit exactly into one bar of the tune?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

8 quavers.
3 crotchets and 4 quavers.
1 minim, 1 crotchet and 1 quaver.
None of the above.

Answer: (b) The 5/4 time signature means that each bar of the tune should have the duration
equivalent of 5 crotchets, or 10 quavers. 4 quavers are equivalent to 2 crotchets, so 3 crotchets
and 4 quavers are equivalent to 5 crotchets and would thus fit exactly into one bar.
8. If you start from Middle C on a standard piano keyboard, move down by 14 of an octave and
then move up by 2 and 31 octaves, what is the letter name of the note on which you will finally
end? (Assume that the piano is tuned to Equal temperament tuning and thus has 12 equal
semitones per octave.)
(a) C.
(b) C sharp.
(c) D sharp.
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(d) None of the above.

Answer: (b) An octave consists of 12 semitones, so 14 of an octave is 3 semitones, and 13 of an
octave is 4 semitones. Starting from Middle C, if you go down by 3 semitones you arrive at
the note A. Going up by 2 octaves brings you to another A. Finally, going up by 4 semitones
will bring you to the note C sharp.
9. A string which is 90 cm long is vibrating with 6 antinodes between its two ends. A second string
which is 60 cm long and is vibrating with a frequency of 1,500 Hz has 5 antinodes between its
two ends. At what frequency is the 90 cm long string vibrating? (You should assume that the
two strings are the same in all respects except length.)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

1,200 Hz.
1,000 Hz.
800 Hz.
None of the above.

Answer: (a) As the 60 cm long string has 5 antinodes between its two ends, it is vibrating
at its 5th harmonic, and its fundamental frequency is equal to 1,500 Hz divided by 5 i.e. 300
Hz. The second string which is 90 cm long thus has a fundamental frequency given by 300 Hz
times 60
i.e. 200 Hz. This string has 6 antinodes between its two fixed ends, so it is vibrating
90
at its 6th harmonic, and its frequency is equal to 200 Hz times 6 i.e. 1,200 Hz.
10. A closed pipe which has a 5th harmonic frequency of 1,400 Hz is cut into 4 shorter pipes of
equal length. What is the 2nd harmonic frequency of one of the 4 shorter pipes which is an
open pipe?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

280 Hz.
2,240 Hz.
4,480 Hz.
None of the above.

Answer: (c) The fundamental frequency of the original closed pipe is 1,400 Hz divided by
5 i.e. 280 Hz. An open pipe of the same length would have a fundamental frequency double
this i.e. 560 Hz. The shorter open pipe is one-quarter the length of the long pipe, so its
fundamental frequency is equal to 560 Hz times 4 i.e. 2,240 Hz. The 2nd harmonic of the
shorter open pipe is thus given by 2,240 Hz times 2 i.e. 4,480 Hz.
11. A guitarist is tuning the A string of her guitar, and uses an electronic tuner producing a musical
tone with a frequency of 110 Hz to help her. When she plucks the A string, she hears beats
of 3 Hz. On tightening the A string, the frequency of the beats increases to 5 Hz (without
passing through 0 Hz). What was the frequency of the A string when the beat frequency was
at 3 Hz and when the beat frequency was at 5 Hz? (Give the answer for 3 Hz followed by the
answer for 5 Hz.)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

107
107
113
113

Hz
Hz
Hz
Hz

followed
followed
followed
followed

by
by
by
by

105
115
105
115

Hz.
Hz.
Hz.
Hz.

Answer: (d) When the beat frequency was at 3 Hz, the A string frequency is either 110 Hz
minus 3 Hz i.e. 107 Hz, or 110 Hz plus 3 Hz i.e. 113 Hz. On tightening the string, its frequency
should increase. If the beat frequency increases to 5 Hz, this means that the A string frequency
is getting further from 110 Hz. Therefore the string frequency must originally have been higher
than 110 Hz when the beat frequency was at 3 Hz i.e. it must have been 113 Hz. When the
beat frequency was at 5 Hz, the A string frequency must have increased to 110 Hz plus 5 Hz
i.e. 115 Hz.
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12. The 5th harmonic frequency of a closed pipe forms beats of 10 Hz with the 4th harmonic
frequency of a vibrating string. If the fundamental frequency of the string is 450 Hz, what are
the two possible values of the fundamental frequency of the closed pipe?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

358 Hz and 362 Hz.

447.5 Hz and 452.5 Hz.
560 Hz and 565 Hz.
1,790 H and 1,810 Hz

Answer: (a) If the fundamental frequency of the string is 450Hz, its 4th harmonic frequency
is 450 Hz times 4 i.e. 1,800 Hz. If the 5th harmonic frequency of the closed pipe forms beats
of 10 Hz with 1,800 Hz, then this 5th harmonic frequency can be either 1,800 Hz minus 10
Hz i.e. 1,790 Hz, or 1,800 Hz plus 10 Hz i.e. 1,810 Hz. The two possible values of the closed
pipes fundamental frequency are 1,790 Hz divided by 5 i.e. 358 Hz, or 1,810 Hz divided by 5
i.e. 362 Hz.
13. Which of the following is most appropriate as a description of a Cristofori piano?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Wind instrument.
MIDI instrument.
String instrument.
Electronic instrument.

Answer: (c) The Cristofori piano is obviously not a MIDI or electronic instrument, as it was
invented in the 18th century. It is also not a wind instrument, but it can certainly be described
as a string instrument.
14. The three levers of the action of a Cristofori piano increase the distance travelled by the load
as compared with the effort by 1, 2 and 4.5 times respectively. If a pianist strikes a key on
this piano with a velocity of 12 cm per second, what is the speed which is imparted to the
corresponding hammer which rises to hit its string?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

1.33 cm per second.

12 cm per second.
54 cm per second.
None of the above.

Answer: (d) The three levers when combined will increase the overall distance travelled by
the hammer as compared to its corresponding key by 1 times 2 times 4.5 i.e. by 9 times.
Therefore if the key is given a velocity of 12 cm per second, it will impart to the hammer a
velocity of 12 cm per second times 9 i.e. 108 cm per second.
15. The MIDI in socket of an electronic synthesizer is connected to the MIDI out socket of an
electronic keyboard. The keyboard sends a MIDI message to the synthesizer to turn on the
musical note E4 as slowly as possible, in the highest numbered MIDI channel. What is the
correct sequence of numbers (in the decimal system) which make up the MIDI message?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

9,
9,
9,
8,

15, 64, 0.
0, 64, 0.
15, 62, 0.
15, 64, 0.

Answer: (a) The first number should be 9, indicating that a note is to be turned on; the
second number is 15, indicating that the MIDI message is for the highest numbered MIDI
channel; the third number is 64, indicating that the note to be turned on is E4 (C4 has the
key number 60); and the fourth number is 0, indicating that the note is to be turned on as
slowly as possible.
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16. A computer is connected via a MIDI interface box with MIDI in I1 and MIDI out O1 sockets.
An electronic keyboard has MIDI in I2, MIDI out O2 and MIDI thru T2 sockets, and a
synthesizer has MIDI in I3, MIDI out O3 and MIDI thru T3 sockets. The computer is to
be connected to the keyboard, and the keyboard connected to the synthesizer such that the
same MIDI messages from the computer will be sent to both the keyboard and the synthesizer.
Which of the following connections between the computer, keyboard and the synthesizer are
appropriate for this purpose?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

O1 to I2
O1 to I2
I1 to O2
O1 to I2

and
and
and
and

O2 to I3.
T2 to O3.
T2 to I3.
T2 to I3.

Answer: (d) O1 should be connected to I2 to send the MIDI messages from the computer to
the keyboard. To send the same messages from the keyboard to the synthesizer, T2 should be
connected to I3.
17. The waveform of a certain musical instrument is electronically synthesized by generating a
waveform very rich in harmonics, and then using an electronic filter to remove the undesired
harmonics and enhance the desired harmonics. What is this method of synthesis usually known
as?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Additive synthesis.
Subtractive synthesis.
Amplitude modulation (AM) synthesis.
Frequency modulation (FM) synthesis.

Answer: (b) The description is that of subtractive synthesis, which starts with a waveform
rich in harmonics, and then uses a filter to remove or accentuate certain harmonics to bring
the frequency spectrum closer to that of the desired waveform.
18. You are attempting to synthesize a waveform by the Frequency Modulation or FM synthesis
technique. You use a carrier wave with a frequency of 4,000 Hz and a modulator wave. On
observing the frequency spectrum of the carrier wave which is frequency modulated by the
modulator wave, you observe a harmonic at 4,000 Hz, which represents the carrier wave, with
harmonics on either side separated by regular intervals. The harmonics closest to 4,000 Hz are
3,500 Hz, 3,750 Hz, 4,250 Hz and 4,500 Hz. What is the most likely frequency of the modulator
wave?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

125 Hz.
250 Hz.
500 Hz.
None of the above.

Answer: (b) On the lower frequency side of the carrier wave frequency of 4,000 Hz, the closest
harmonics are 3,500 Hz and 3,750 Hz, which are separated from each other and the carrier
wave by an interval of 250 Hz. Likewise on the higher frequency side, the harmonics are 4,250
Hz and 4,500 Hz, which are also separated by 250 Hz. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude
that the modulator frequency is 250 Hz.
19. The NUS Chinese Orchestra is being recorded digitally so that the highest frequency to be
preserved in the digital recording is 16,500 Hz. What should the sampling frequency of the
digital recording be, according to the sampling or Nyquist theorem or criterion?
(a) 8,250 samples per second.
(b) 16,500 samples per second.
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(c) 33,000 samples per second.

(d) None of the above.
Answer: (c) According to the sampling or Nyquist theorem or criterion, the sampling frequency should be double the highest frequency to be preserved in the recording, which is 16,500
Hz. Therefore the sampling frequency should be 16,500 times 2 i.e. 33,000 samples per second.
20. The bit length of the digital samples selected for the quantization process during analog to
digital conversion directly determines the number of quantization levels, which in turn determines how accurate the quantization process is. In general, there will be 2n quantization levels
for a sample with a bit length of n bits. How many quantization levels will there be for a bit
length of 9 bits?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

64 quantization levels.
128 quantization levels.
256 quantization levels.
None of the above.

Answer: (d) For a sample length of 9 bits, there will be 29 i.e. 512 quantization levels.
21. A pop concert is to be transmitted digitally over a microwave radio link. If the microwave
radio link can transmit the digital signals at a maximum bit rate of 450,000 bits per second,
and the highest frequency to be preserved in the concert recording is 15,500 Hz, what is the
maximum bit length of the samples which can be transmitted? (Assume that the recording is
not in stereo i.e. there is only one audio channel.)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

11 bits.
13 bits.
15 bits.
None of the above.

Answer: (d) For the highest frequency of 15,500 Hz to be preserved, the sampling theorem
gives a sampling rate of 31,000 samples per second. Therefore each sample can have a bit length
given by 450,000 bits per second divided by 31,000 samples per second i.e. approximately 14.516
bits. But bit length must be an integer, so that maximum possible bit length of the samples
is 14 bits.
22. A performance of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra at the Esplanade is being digitally transmitted over the Internet. The maximum bit rate which can be transmitted is 880,000 bits per
second, and the highest frequency to be preserved in the performance is 18,000 Hz. If the
transmission is in stereo sound, with two audio channels of equal bit rate, what is the signal
to noise (S/N) ratio of the digital transmission in terms of dB? (Assume that each bit of the
sample bit length contributes 6 dB to the S/N ratio.)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

66 dB.
72 dB.
78 dB
None of the above.

Answer: (b) If the highest frequency to be preserved is 18,000 Hz, the sampling frequency
should be 36,000 samples per second. For a stereo transmission with two audio channels of
equal bit rate, each channel can have a maximum bit rate of 880,000 bits per second divided
by 2 i.e. 440,000 bits per second. For each channel, the number of bits per sample is given
by 440,000 bits per second divided by 36,000 samples per second, which gives approximately
12.22 bits per sample. Since the bit length must be an integer, the bit length cannot be more
than 12 bits long. In terms of signal to noise ratio, this gives 12 bits times 6 i.e. 72 dB S/N
ratio.
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23. A concert by the NUS Symphony Orchestra is being sent digitally over a cable. If the highest
frequency to be preserved in the performance is 19,000 Hz, and the signal to noise (S/N) ratio
of the performance is to be at least 80 dB, what is the minimum bit rate which the cable should
be capable of transmitting, assuming that the concert is being sent in stereo sound with two
audio channels of equal bit rates? (Assume that each bit of the bit length of the digital samples
contributes 6 dB to the S/N ratio.)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

532,000 bits per second.

988,000 bits per second.
1,064,000 bits per second.
None of the above.

Answer: (c) For each of the two stereo audio channels, the sampling frequency must be
equal to 19,000 Hz times 2 i.e. 38,000 samples per second. For 80 dB S/N ratio, we require
the samples to have a bit length given by 80 dB divided by 6 i.e. approximately 13.33 bits.
Therefore the sample length must be 14 bits to give 84 dB S/N ratio, as a 13 bit length would
give only 78 dB, which is too low a S/N ratio. Hence for each audio channel, the bit rate is
equal to 38,000 samples per second times 14 bits i.e. 532,000 bits per second. For two stereo
channels, the bit rate is 532,000 bits per second times 2 i.e. 1,064,000 bits per second.
24. You wish to digitally record a symphony concert being broadcast on the FM radio classical
music station. The highest frequency to be preserved in your recording is to be 18,000 Hz,
and the bit length of the digital samples is 15 bits. If the length of the concert is 80 minutes,
calculate the number of bytes which you will need on your hard disk drive to record the concert.
(Assume the recording is in stereo i.e. there are two audio channels to be recorded, and that
each audio channel has the same bit rate.)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

324,000,000 bytes.
648,000,000 bytes.
5,184,000,000 bytes.
None of the above.

Answer: (b) For the highest frequency to be preserved in the recording to be 18,000 Hz, the
sampling frequency should be double this i.e. 36,000 samples per second. If the digital samples
are 15 bits long, then in one second you will need to store 36,000 samples times 15 bits i.e.
540,000 bits. This is equal to 540,000 bits divided by 8 i.e. 67,500 bytes. For the 80 minutes of
the recording, the total number of bytes which has to be stored per channel is given by 67,500
times 60 times 80 i.e. 324,000,000 bytes. Therefore for two audio channels the total number
of bytes is 324,000,000 bytes times 2 i.e. 648,000,000 bytes.
25. A standard audio compact disk or CD digitizes music at a total bit rate for two stereo channels
of 1,411,200 bits per second. If you compress a stereo music track on a standard audio CD to
give an MP3 track which has a bit rate of 128,000 bits per second, which of the following is
closest to the compression ratio in going from the standard audio CD bit rate to this MP3 bit
rate?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

10
11
12
13

to
to
to
to

1.
1.
1.
1.

Answer: (b) The compression ratio is simply obtained by dividing 1,411,200 bits per second
by 128,000 bits per second, giving a compression ratio of 11.025 to 1.
END OF TEST PAPER