This thesis considers linear perturbations to the steady flow of a compressible inviscid perfect gas along a cylindrical or annular duct. Particular consideration is given to the model of the duct boundary, and to the effect of curvature of the duct centreline. For a duct with a straight centreline and a locally-reacting boundary, the acoustic duct modes can be segregated into ordinary duct modes and surface modes. Previously-known asymptotics for the surface modes are generalized, and the generalization is shown to provide a distinctly better approximation in aeroacoustically relevant situations. The stability of the surface modes is considered, and previous stability analyses are shown to be incorrect, as their boundary model is illposed. By considering a metal thin-shell boundary, this illposedness is explained, and stability analysed using the Briggs–Bers criterion. The stability of a cylindrical thin shell containing compressible fluid is shown to differ significantly from the stability for an incompressible fluid, even for parameters for which the fluid would otherwise be expected to behave incompressibly. The scattering of sound by a sudden hard-wall to thin-shell boundary change is considered, using the Wiener–Hopf technique. The causal acoustic field is derived analytically, without the need to apply a Kutta-like condition or to include an instability wave, as had previously been necessary. Attention is then turned to a cylindrical duct with a curved centreline and either hard or locally-reacting walls. The centreline curvature (which is not assumed small) and wall radii vary slowly along the duct, enabling an asymptotic multiple scales analysis. The duct modes are found numerically at each axial location, and interesting characteristics are explained using ray theory. This analysis is applied to a hard-walled RAE 2129 duct, and frequency-domain solutions are convolved to give a time-domain example of a pulse propagating along this duct. Finally, some numerical work on the nonlinear propagation of a large-amplitude pulse along a curved duct is presented. This is aimed at modelling a surge event in an aeroengine with a convoluted intake.