In terms of sound, the volume of the sound and the intensity of the sound are often confused very often and are used as synonyms, however, this is incorrect, since they are completely different terms from each other although it seems that they are not.
Even many books and articles on music identify intensity and volume as synonyms, something that in my opinion is a big mistake, since it confuses students when it comes to identifying both qualities of sound.
The reason for the usual confusion between the two terms is that both are related to the human perception of whether a sound is loud or soft, but there are some small tangible differences between the concepts that make them slightly different from each other, therefore they are not synonyms.
The differences between the two are actually related to perception, being subtle and difficult to find for the inexperienced eye. However, with an article like this and enough attention and understanding, you can easily figure out the difference between the two terms.
If you do so, not only will your musical culture improve, but if you are a music student, you will know how to correctly answer one of the most common exam questions that they usually ask, therefore, you have no excuse for not learning to differentiate them.
From doncomos.com I am going to teach you how to differentiate intensity from volume, explaining step by step the definition of the terms and ensuring that you never forget the difference between them again.
What do you need to differentiate the volume from the intensity?
- Reading comprehension and a minimum of musical knowledge.
Instructions to differentiate volume from intensity
- Definition of musical intensity: I know that sometimes I repeat myself, but I always say that I prefer to differentiate the concepts separately first, indicating first of all what exactly they consist of, because that way it is much easier to differentiate and define the concepts, since it is difficult to know the difference between two concepts if you don’t even want to know what they mean. We define musical intensity as the force at which sound is emitted, a quality that is measured in hertz and decibels. If, for example, we say that an airplane emits a sound at 100 decibels, we will be explaining its intensity, which, as you can see, is absolute and does not vary from one person to another, but is emitted at that intensity and that’s it.
- Definition of musical volume: We already know the definition of musical intensity, therefore, it remains to define what musical volume means in order to have both terms defined and explained correctly. Musical volume is defined as each person’s perception of the intensity of a sound. Musical volume is a perfectly subjective quality, since the perception of intensity varies from person to person. For example, if you set the TV volume to 30, for some people it’s very loud, for other people it’s a normal volume, and for other people it’s low. The volume of an object is directly proportional to the intensity, but it is also true that it depends on the person and their qualities such as hearing acuity, proximity to sound and hearing health.
- Differences: Now we know the definitions of both, therefore, it is time to differentiate between them. The main difference between the two is that the intensity of sound is an invariable absolute value and the volume of sound is a relative quality that varies from person to person. For example, if we take into account the sound emitted by a television, it will always have an intensity of 60 decibels if we set it to 30 (for example), however, the volume will vary depending on the person, depending on how close or far they are. whether we are watching the television or according to our hearing capacity. To people who are used to hearing things low, it will seem like a high volume, to those who are half deaf, it will seem like a low volume, to those who are close to the TV it will seem like a high volume, and to those who are far away, it will seem like a low volume. If you look closely, both are related, since the intensity and the volume are proportional (in the same person, if you increase the intensity, the volume will increase), but the intensity never varies from one person to another, since 60 decibels will always be 60 decibels, regardless of who is hearing the sound,
Tips to differentiate volume from intensity
- Do not confuse them again: To never confuse them again, a little advice. Always think that the volume depends on you and that the intensity does not depend on you. IF you have to think about the intensity, think that it does not vary and that the volume that you feel will not be the same as that of a partner.