Babies crying, school bells ringing, cars roaring by, the ding signaling that a new text message has arrived . . . sounds are all around us, but how are they made? And how do we hear them? Sounds are created when air vibrates, and we hear them because our ears are specially developed to funnel in and process those vibrations. Through the activities and experiments in this book, you’ll take a hands-on look at how sounds are made and how they are heard. From salt drums to xylophones and sonic booms, you’ll have fun making music and noise—and learning a little along the way!
Babies crying, school bells ringing, cars roaring by, the ding signaling that a new text message has arrived ... sounds are all around us, but how are they made? And how do we hear them? Sounds are created when air vibrates, and we hear them because our ears are specially developed to funnel in and process those vibrations. Through the activities and experiments in this book, you'll take a hands-on look at how sounds are made and how they are heard. From salt drums to xylophones and sonic booms, you'll have fun making music and noise-and learning a little along the way! Book jacket.
User experience design is the discipline of creating a useful and usable Web site or application that’s easily navigated and meets the needs of the site owner and its users. There’s a lot more to successful UX design than knowing the latest Web technologies or design trends: It takes diplomacy, management skills, and business savvy. That’s where the updated edition of this important book comes in. With new information on design principles, mobile and gestural interactions, content strategy, remote research tools and more, you’ll learn to: Recognize the various roles in UX design, identify stakeholders, and enlist their support Obtain consensus from your team on project objectives Understand approaches such as Waterfall, Agile, and Lean UX Define the scope of your project and avoid mission creep Conduct user research in person or remotely, and document your findings Understand and communicate user behavior with personas Design and prototype your application or site Plan for development, product rollout, and ongoing quality assurance
Unity Game Audio Implementation offers a unique, practical, project-based approach to learning about aspects of Interactive Game Audio for those who have never used a game engine before and don’t want to learn computer programming right now. The book offers insight into the skills needed to design game-ready sounds in current Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and shows how to implement these sounds within the Unity game engine. The reader will also learn about interactive music and how to set this up to respond to a variety of events in the game, with the option of adding in their own story and dialogue. All the information is presented in a practical working context from an established Game Audio Sound Designer with AAA games experience. The chapters are accompanied by several game levels teaching all about the techniques and theories before offering instructive steps for how to put them into action. After completing the practical tasks in this book, not only will the reader create an interactive soundscape for a multilevel playable game featuring all their own audio, they will also receive tips on how to use their finished project in support of an application for Video Game Sound Designer jobs.
Winner of the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism A New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book of the Year Time magazine Top Ten Nonfiction Book of 2007 Newsweek Favorite Books of 2007 A Washington Post Book World Best Book of 2007 In this sweeping and dramatic narrative, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, weaves together the histories of the twentieth century and its music, from Vienna before the First World War to Paris in the twenties; from Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia to downtown New York in the sixties and seventies up to the present. Taking readers into the labyrinth of modern style, Ross draws revelatory connections between the century's most influential composers and the wider culture. The Rest Is Noise is an astonishing history of the twentieth century as told through its music.
Discover how to achieve release-quality mixes even in the smallest studios by applying power-user techniques from the world's most successful producers. Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio is the best-selling primer for small-studio enthusiasts who want chart-ready sonics in a hurry. Drawing on the back-room strategies of more than 160 famous names, this entertaining and down-to-earth guide leads you step-by-step through the entire mixing process. On the way, you'll unravel the mysteries of every type of mix processing, from simple EQ and compression through to advanced spectral dynamics and "fairy dust" effects. User-friendly explanations introduce technical concepts on a strictly need-to-know basis, while chapter summaries and assignments are perfect for school and college use. ▪ Learn the subtle editing, arrangement, and monitoring tactics which give industry insiders their competitive edge, and master the psychological tricks which protect you from all the biggest rookie mistakes. ▪ Find out where you don't need to spend money, as well as how to make a limited budget really count. ▪ Pick up tricks and tips from leading-edge engineers working on today's multi-platinum hits, including Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, Michael Brauer, Dylan "3D" Dresdow, Tom Elmhirst, Serban Ghenea, Jacquire King, the Lord-Alge brothers, Tony Maserati, Manny Marroquin, Noah "50" Shebib, Mark "Spike" Stent, DJ Swivel, Phil Tan, Andy Wallace, Young Guru, and many, many more... Now extensively expanded and updated, including new sections on mix-buss processing, mastering, and the latest advances in plug-in technology.
For intermediate programmers, beginning sound designers. Sound gives your native, web, or mobile apps that extra dimension, and it's essential for games. Rather than using canned samples from a sample library, learn how to build sounds from the ground up and produce them for web projects using the Pure Data programming language. Even better, you'll be able to integrate dynamic sound environments into your native apps or games--sound that reacts to the app, instead of sounding the same every time. Start your journey as a sound designer, and get the power to craft the sound you put into your digital experiences. Add sound effects or music to your web, Android, and iOS apps and games--sound that can react to changing environments or user input dynamically (at least in the native apps). You can do all this with Pure Data, a visual programming language for digital sound processing. Programming Sound with Pure Data introduces and explores Pure Data, building understanding of sound design concepts along the way. You'll start by learning Pure Data fundamentals and applying them, creating realistic sound effects. Then you'll see how to analyze sound and re-create what you hear in a recorded sample. You'll apply multiple synthesis methods to sound design problems. You'll finish with two chapters of real-world projects, one for the web, and one for an iOS and Android app. You'll design the sound, build the app, and integrate effects using the libpd library. Whether you've had some experience with sound synthesis, or are new to sound design, this book is for you. These techniques are perfect for independent developers, small shops specializing in apps or games, and developers interested in exploring musical apps.
Scientists have known for a long time that things move in predictable patterns. It took an apple falling to help further their knowledge, though. We now know how things move and why. Scientists continue to study motion and the forces that cause it, and you can too! In this book, you’ll learn about pushes and pulls and different types of energy. The next time you play soccer, you’ll be able to use your new scientific knowledge to teach your friends and family why that soccer ball moves the way it does.
The water you drink. The air you breathe. This book you’re holding. Everything around you is made of matter. Learn more about what makes up matter, the forms it can take, and nature’s rules about it. With inexpensive items that you probably have lying around your home, you can do these easy and fun experiments on solids, liquids, and gases. Think like a chemist as you construct a tower of liquids, grow your own crystals, and even measure the speed of smell. Explore the powerful world of matter, from the visible to the invisible.
