Sound is something most people take for granted. Our environment is full of noises, which we have been exposed to from before birth. What is sound, how does it propagate, and how can it be quantified?

At a physical level sound is simply a mechanical disturbance of the medium, which may be air, or a solid, liquid or other gas. However, such a simplistic description is not very useful as it provides no information about the way this disturbance travels, or any of its characteristics other than the requirement for a medium in order for it to propagate. What is required is a more accurate description which can be used to make predictions of the behaviour of sound in a variety of contexts.

The purpose of this workshop is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the subject of acoustics, including the principles of human perception of sound, sometime called psychoacoustics. The participants will understand the basic elements of sound, the way it propagates, and related topics. This will help us to understand both the nature of sound, and its behaviour in a variety of acoustic contexts and allow us to understand both the operation of musical instruments and the interaction of sound with our hearing.