Acoustic design education for general liberal arts students

Abstract

Products and services concerning acoustic design are widely available, and the designers who create and maintain them are generally specialists in acoustic design. Therefore, acoustic design education is important, and much effort has been made by many colleges and schools. However, education for not only designers, but also users of acoustically designed environments is important. For example, knowledge of time alignment of loudspeakers for 5.1 channel surround sound is important for producing a better sound field. Scientific and acoustic knowledge can enrich and improve quality of life by utilizing acoustical technologies, products, services, and environments. An acoustic design class for general students enrolled in liberal arts education has been introduced at the Tokyo University of Information Sciences. The main topics of the class are physical and psychological aspects of sound, noise and noise control, introduction to building acoustics, hearing impairment and hearing aids, soundscapes, music ther...