THE LAST NOTE

Welcome! The delay effect, which we studied in last month’s column, is usually defined as a very obvious repeat of a sound. In the world we inhabit, spaces have lots of surfaces—some near, some far—each of which consist of different materials. Sounds bounce off these surfaces, creating repeated echoes. Multiple such reflections from close range may not be separately distinguishable to the human ear; instead, we perceive the bigger or wider sound of reverberation—‘reverb’ for short.