what is the best... book on sound design?

[chris979899]

I am looking for a book on sound design that will teach you the relationships of harmonics, overtones, partials etc. I am just finishing my degree in electronic music production and sound engineering where we did do sound design and advanced sound design as modules. I would like to look more into the science (or math) of relationships of frequencies etc. Maybe a book isn't needed maybe there's a good series of writings from a website or writer? Anything more in depth on sound design would be great.

[fmr]

I am looking for a book on sound design that will teach you the relationships of harmonics, overtones, partials etc. I am just finishing my degree in electronic music production and sound engineering where we did do sound design and advanced sound design as modules. I would like to look more into the science (or math) of relationships of frequencies etc. Maybe a book isn't needed maybe there's a good series of writings from a website or writer? Anything more in depth on sound design would be great.

Maybe Jean-Claude Risset book is what you are looking for:

An Introductory Catalogue of Computer Synthesized Sounds - Jean-Claude Risset

This too: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/504 ... nstruments (A synthesist's guide to acoustic instruments - Howard Massey)

[Winstontaneous]

I'd check out one of the classics:
"Horns, Strings & Harmony" or "Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics" by Arthur Benade.
Harry Olson's "Music, Physics & Engineering" is an excellent overview of acoustic phenomena, and the characteristics of instruments that give them their unique timbres. Olson made the RCA Mk1 & MkII Synthesizers which are foundational to all the analog synths that followed.

@fmr - that Massey book looks like a great resource! In that vein is Sound On Sound's 63(!) part "Synth Secrets" series that delves into some very creative attempts to synthesize the tones of many "real" instruments.

[fmr]

@fmr - that Massey book looks like a great resource! In that vein is Sound On Sound's 63(!) part "Synth Secrets" series that delves into some very creative attempts to synthesize the tones of many "real" instruments.

Yes, that series you mention is a great resource for synthesis in general. I even started compiling it in Word format, to later convert it in PDF. The aim is to made it available to my students in a more convenient format (and also because sooner or later, I'm afraid it will become unavailable). The only obstacle is that formatting all that in a good and legible in Word is a very difficult and time consuming task.

I wish Sound-On-Sound or the author made that available in book format. I think it deserves that.

[digitallysane]

Yes, that series you mention is a great resource for synthesis in general. I even started compiling it in Word format, to later convert it in PDF. The aim is to made it available to my students in a more convenient format (and also because sooner or later, I'm afraid it will become unavailable).

OneNote is a great tool for this.

[fmr]

Yes, that series you mention is a great resource for synthesis in general. I even started compiling it in Word format, to later convert it in PDF. The aim is to made it available to my students in a more convenient format (and also because sooner or later, I'm afraid it will become unavailable).

OneNote is a great tool for this.

What, to save hundreds of HTML pages? Really? Have to check that. Is there any place where I can learn how to do it?

[digitallysane]

OneNote is a great tool for this.

What, to save hundreds of HTML pages? Really? Have to check that. Is there any place where I can learn how to do it?

Yes. I'm using it to collect docs from various websites (including embedded YouTube players etc).
It has a nice web clipper, but copy-paste from sites works as well (and includes a source link).

Also, there are Classroom tools included, so you can share the resulting notebook with your students and have a central place for writing notes etc.

[fmr]

OneNote is a great tool for this.

What, to save hundreds of HTML pages? Really? Have to check that. Is there any place where I can learn how to do it?

Yes. I'm using it to collect docs from various websites (including embedded YouTube players etc).
It has a nice web clipper, but copy-paste from sites works as well (and includes a source link).

Also, there are Classroom tools included, so you can share the resulting notebook with your students and have a central place for writing notes etc.

Looks great. I am feeling stupid for not having tried it before. Again, do you have some sources where I can learn how to do things? Or is it really "that" easy?

Thanks for the tip, BTW

[digitallysane]

Looks great. I am feeling stupid for not having tried it before. Again, do you have some sources where I can learn how to do things? Or is it really "that" easy?

Thanks for the tip, BTW

It's easy, I'd say.

TBH, OneNote has been my main documentation tool (and also writing tool, project development tool etc) for so long that I simply can't remember when I was actually learning stuff about it. I'm "just using it".

Some example screenshots:
Clipping an article from the SoS series with the browser clipper:

Screenshot 2021-11-22 112831.png

The resulting page in OneNote, inside my "Music" notebook where I keep all my collected music docs from the web, organized in various sections (coloured tabs). I opened the Class Notebook menu at the top so you can get an idea of the tools for that:

Screenshot 2021-11-22 113509.png

Another example, my notebook where I keep everything related to the MODX, showing an example where I have clipped pages with embedded YouTube players. the videos will play directly inside OneNote.

Screenshot 2021-11-22 113609.png

[fmr]

OK, I just tried OneNote with this. I guess I have to give it a lot more attention

Thanks

[excuse me please]

The Bible. Still creates a heck of a noise.

[Michael L]

The OP is not interested in noise of biblical proportions, but rather in harmony.
I suggest the highly regarded book, "A Geometry of Music: Harmony and Counterpoint in the Extended Common Practice"
https://dmitri.mycpanel.princeton.edu/g ... music.html
Check out the rest of his site

[Aloysius]

The best book on sound design is the one that balances the wonky leg of the table your synth rests upon Grasshopper.

[excuse me please]

List of sound design books:
https://www.asoundeffect.com/books-abou ... udio-post/

[chk071]

Looks great. I am feeling stupid for not having tried it before. Again, do you have some sources where I can learn how to do things? Or is it really "that" easy?

Thanks for the tip, BTW

It's easy, I'd say.

TBH, OneNote has been my main documentation tool (and also writing tool, project development tool etc) for so long that I simply can't remember when I was actually learning stuff about it. I'm "just using it".

Some example screenshots:
Clipping an article from the SoS series with the browser clipper:
Screenshot 2021-11-22 112831.png


The resulting page in OneNote, inside my "Music" notebook where I keep all my collected music docs from the web, organized in various sections (coloured tabs). I opened the Class Notebook menu at the top so you can get an idea of the tools for that:
Screenshot 2021-11-22 113509.png


Another example, my notebook where I keep everything related to the MODX, showing an example where I have clipped pages with embedded YouTube players. the videos will play directly inside OneNote.
Screenshot 2021-11-22 113609.png

Very cool. I gotta try that as well.

Waves have some nice articles on their website.

Edit: That's absolutely brilliant. Much better than the Print to PDF feature in the browser. Thanks a lot for sharing the tip.