Examples of Application

Abstract

In our human society, acoustical communication plays a very important role, because besides our receiving system (our ears), we also have a transmitting system (our speech organ). Therefore, the applications of psychoacoustics are spread across many different fields. Most often, psychoacoustical data provide the fundamental basis from which solutions to problems (such as finding the limiting characteristics of transmitting systems, or the limits of noise production) are elaborated. Even in the region of art, to which music belongs, the characteristics of our hearing system as the receiver of music play the dominant role. Consequently, psychoacoustics is very important also in musical acoustics. In view of the diversity of the field. it is impossible to discuss a large number of different applications in detail. However, this chapter gives some impression of how much psychoacoustics is involved in the different fields that have been mentioned, and may give those who want to solve similar problems some hints on how they might proceed. The list of papers for each section of the chapter may also be of help.