An Explication Songtext
von Daughter

Digital audio is a highly sophisticated technology. It pushes the
Envelope of many diverse engineering and manufacturing disciplines

Although the underlying concepts have been well understood since
The 1920s, commercialization of the digital audio did not begin
Until the 1970s. Because theory had to wait 50 years for technology
To catch up, the complexity of digital audio is all the more reason
To begin the discussion with the basics. Once we understand the
Nature of sound, we can begin to explore ways to encode the
Information contained in an audio event and process it and store it

Digitally. It would thus be a mistake for the study of digital audio
Technology to forget the acoustic phenomena for which technology has
Been designed. Music is an acoustic event. Whether it originates from
The instruments radiating in the air or from the direct creation of
Electrical signals, all music ultimately finds its way into the air
Where it becomes a matter of sound and hearing. It is therefore
Appropriate to briefly review the nature of sound

Acoustics is the study of sound and is concerned with the
Generation, transmission, and reception of sound waves


The circumstances for those three phenomenons are created
When energy causes a disturbance in the medium. For example

′Cause I'm packin′ to compete
That is stackin' to the base
That is backin' off the face
I′m always mackin′, I'm takin′ the stage
When I'm happenin′ in your face
Now I'm laughin′, give me space

'Cause I'm crashin′ in the thoughts
That I′m havin', yo, the thoughts
That I′m havin' blow me off
They leave me crashin′ while
You be blastin' out your ass
I′ll send you back and I'm takin' you out
With the trash ′cause there′s no doubt
My shit is fat
When I'm breakin′ it, takin' it nice
So be sure to pay attention

Uh, pay attention


The kettle drum is struck
It is a drum head that disturbs the surrounding air, the medium
The outcome of that disturbance is the sound of the kettle drum
The mechanism is simple

The drum head is activated and vibrates back and forth
When the drum head pushes forward
Air molecules in front of it are compressed
When it pulls back, that area is rarefied
Disturbance pressure consists of regions above
And below the equilibrium atmospheric pressure

Nodes, they define areas of minimum displacement
And the antinodes are areas of maximum
Positive or negative displacement
Displacement is quite small
In normal conversation

Particle displacement is about one millionth of an inch
A crowd′s acoustic outpouring might cause
Displacement of one thousandth of an inch

Sound is propagated by air molecules through the successive
Displacement that corresponds to the original disturbance