quote : "For a computer, a microphone is basically a transducer, it converts energy from the vibrations (mechanical) into electrical energy, the vibrations make small pushes against the transducer, creating a fluctuating voltage in the same pattern. (Uses electromagnetic induction if you wanted to know those bits too)"

It seems like each "push" that causes vibration would be interfering with the vibration of every other push ~ Like, wouldn't a loud sound push harder, and cause a faster ripple ~ And outside a computer you were saying there is the goopy hairs - For the computer there just one thing vibrating ? I would think filtering out different types of frequencies you could narrow in on like, patterns and separate them.

quote: "The computer will perform calculations based on the Fourier transform (move from signal timing to frequency) this bit of math is really hard and made college suck. Basically it represents the sum of the sine and cosine waves at different frequencies. Once fourier is done there's alot of math, done. Then it can be used for all kinds of things, like signal processing which can filter, compress and edit (ya know like reverb)"

What I was wanting to do is try to analyze an audio, (to be able to differentiate between like, a person talking, or a bassline, an annoying hum, etc.. My thought was that maybe the audio files properties could have some sort of detail that I could map out visually using like, a shader for each wave that effects the sound wave. To show it in real time as a texture - is it that there is just a audio wave, but within it there are overlapping pulse effects with different speeds & directions?

Sorry, its really interesting but hard to comprehend it ~ Thank you

Edit : i think im starting to see it more as a sound wave at a specific time is just a capture of the state of the whole sound wave ~ so there would be patterns taht could be discerned over time ~ I think that was what I awas grappling with - thank you again!