Sound is almost always around us, anywhere, at any time, reaching our
ears and stimulating our brains for better or worse. Sound can be the
disturbing noise of a drill, a merry little tune sung by a friend, the
song of a bird in the morning or a clap of thunder at night. The science
of sound, or acoustics, studies all types of sounds and therefore covers
a wide range of scientific disciplines, from pure to applied acoustics.
Research dealing with acoustics requires a sound to be recorded,
analyzed, manipulated and, possibly, changed. This is particularly, but
not exclusively, the case in bioacoustics and ecoacoustics, two life
sciences disciplines that attempt to understand and to eavesdrop on the
sound produced by animals. Sound analysis and synthesis can be
challenging for students, researchers and practitioners who have few
skills in mathematics or physics. However, deciphering the structure of
a sound can be useful in behavioral and ecological research - and also
very amusing.
This book is dedicated to anyone who wants to practice acoustics but
does not know much about sound. Acoustic analysis and synthesis are
possible, with little effort, using the free and open-source software R
with a few specific packages. Combining a bit of theory, a lot of
step-by-step examples and a few cases studies, this book shows beginners
and experts alike how to record, read, play, decompose, visualize,
parametrize, change, and synthesize sound with R, opening a new way of
working in bioacoustics and ecoacoustics but also in other acoustic
disciplines.
