Introduction

Musicians have been using filters for thousands of years to shape the sounds of their art in various ways. For example, the evolution of the physical dimensions of the violin constitutes an evolution in filter design. The choice of wood, the shape of the cutouts, the geometry of the bridge, and everything that affects resonance all have a bearing on how the violin body filters the signal induced at the bridge by the vibrating strings. Once a sound is airborne there is yet more filtering performed by the listening environment, by the pinnae of the ear, and by idiosyncrasies of the hearing process.

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Subsections

• What is a Filter?
• Why learn about filters?

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written by Julius Orion Smith III
Julius Smith's background is in electrical engineering (BS Rice 1975, PhD Stanford 1983). He is presently Professor of Music and Associate Professor (by courtesy) of Electrical Engineering at Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), teaching courses and pursuing research related to signal processing applied to music and audio systems. See http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/ for details.