Wall compliance and violin cavity modes

Violin corpus wall compliance, which has a substantial effect on cavity mode frequencies, was added to Shaw's two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) network model for A0 ("main air") and A1 (lowest length mode included in "main wood") cavity modes. The 2DOF model predicts a V(-0.25) volume dependence for A0 for rigid violin-shaped cavities, to which a semiempirical compliance correction term, V(-x(c)) (optimization parameter x(c)) consistent with cavity acoustical compliance and violin-based scaling was added. Optimizing x(c) over A0 and A1 frequencies measured for a Hutchins-Schelleng violin octet yielded x(c) approximately 0.08. This markedly improved A0 and A1 frequency predictions to within approximately +/- 10% of experiment over a range of about 4.5:1 in length, 10:1 in f-hole area, 3:1 in top plate thickness, and 128:1 in volume. Compliance is a plausible explanation for A1 falling close to the "main wood" resonance, not increasingly higher for the larger instruments, which were scaled successively shorter compared to the violin for ergonomic and practical reasons. Similarly incorporating compliance for A2 and A4 (lowest lower-/upper-bout modes, respectively) improves frequency predictions within +/-20% over the octet.     

Acoustical properties of wood in string instruments soundboards and tuned idiophones: biological and cultural diversity

The acoustical properties of wood for instruments have mostly been studied on a few archetypal woods in Western musical instruments. The objective of this paper is to extend knowledge on the diversity in wood properties and uses in instruments from different geo-cultural areas. A wide set of data has been collected on vibrational properties of 452 species, through experiments and literature survey. Property distributions within broad categories confirm the known characteristics of softwoods, but also evidence specificities of tropical hardwoods compared to temperate-zone species. A relational database has been created to link wood properties and uses in musical instruments of the world. Two case studies on acoustically important functions in different geo-cultural areas show contrasted trends: (i) species used for xylophone bars and slit-drums in different continents all share a very low internal friction, (ii) on the contrary, the only characteristic common to soundboards' woods is a lower than average density, whereas their acoustical properties differ widely between them and with the "Western" standard in wood choice. All these materials being nevertheless adapted to their context, cultural specificities in the structure, playing mode and "sonority" preferences should also be taken into account.     

The elemental composition of Stradivari's musical instruments: new results through non‐invasive EDXRF analysis

During recent decades, many researchers have tried to understand the main influences on the extraordinary sound and beauty of the masterpieces made by the ancient violin makers. This is still a challenge for many others today. Mainly because of a lack of written historical documents, the rediscovery of some of the ancient violin‐making processes was made possible thanks to scientific analyses performed on their materials by means of diagnostic techniques. However, understanding which substances were adopted is a very hard task, because the analyses are influenced by many factors: for example, alterations, wear, retouches, and the heterogeneity of materials. This paper presents some new EDXRF results collected on eight‐stringed musical instruments made by Antonio Stradivari between 1669 and 1734 (“Clisbee” 1669, “Hellier” 1679, “Ford‐Rougemont” 1703, “Joachim‐Ma” 1714, “Russian Federation” viola 1715, “Cremonese” 1715, “Vesuvius” 1727, and “Scotland” 1734) and now preserved at the Museo del Violino in Cremona. A brief comparison with a modern violin made by Simone Ferdinando Sacconi (“Hellier copy” 1941), one of the most eminent violin makers of the 20th century and one of the greatest experts on Stradivari's work, is also provided. This represents the first comparative analysis of a wide number of ancient musical instruments made by the same violin maker over an extended period. A non‐destructive and non‐invasive approach was followed to (a) understand the elemental composition differences between the best conserved and most worn‐out surfaces; (b) check if there are elemental similarities among the finishing materials of violins made in different years by the same violin maker; (c) give new suggestions about the materials used. To distinguish the best conserved areas from the worn‐out ones, a preliminary investigation by UV‐induced fluorescence photography was performed. In addition, stereomicroscopic observations and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses were performed on selected areas to validate the hypotheses. The results, in some cases comparable with previous research on Stradivari instruments, have increased the pool of information about materials and treatments adopted in the Stradivari workshop.     

Vibrational behavior of a soundbox in an atmosphere with a variable speed of sound

This paper describes a semi-quantitative method, suitable for a student laboratory exercise that shows that the acoustic properties of the soundbox of a musical instrument depend on the sound speed of the atmosphere surrounding and filling the instrument. A gas tent was constructed and used to enclose instruments in helium, carbon dioxide and mixtures thereof, allowing the sound speed to be varied from 250 to 1000 m/s. Soundboard admittance data were taken using a guitar and a violin as examples. The data, expressed as contour plots, show clearly the qualitative relationship between air and wood modes, and the guitar data are compared with a simple mechanical model. Experimental details of the construction and operation of gas tent are given, with attention paid to safety issues.     

On operating deflection shapes of the violin body including in-plane motions

Earlier investigations have assumed only "out-of-plane" vibrations of the plates of the violin. The violin body can, however, be described as a thin-walled, double-arched shell structure and as such it may very well elongate in one direction as it contracts in another. Therefore, at least two orthogonal vibration components have to be included to describe the vibrations. The operating deflection shapes (ODSs) of a good, professionally made and carefully selected violin were therefore measured in several directions by TV holography to determine both "in-plane" and out-of-plane vibration components of the ODSs. The observations were limited to the frequency range 400-600 Hz, as this interval includes two most-prominent resonance peaks of bridge mobility and sound radiation as well as a third poorly radiating resonance. These three peaks clearly showed orthogonal vibration components in the ODSs. The vibration behavior of the violin body, sectioned in the bridge plane, was interpreted as the vibrations of an "elliptical tube" with nodal diameters. The number of nodal diameters increases from two to three in the selected frequency range. The TV holography measurements were supported by electrodynamical point measurements of bridge mobility, of air volume resonances, and by reciprocity, of radiation properties. Furthermore, a fourth mode, the air mode, A1, is involved indirectly in the sound radiation via influence on the body vibrations.     

Perceptual thresholds for detecting modifications applied to the acoustical properties of a violin

This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different "virtual violins," so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then played through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted of shifts in frequency or increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Thresholds were significantly lower for musically trained than for nontrained subjects but were not significantly affected by the violin used as a baseline. Thresholds for the musicians typically ranged from 3 to 6 dB for amplitude changes and 1.5%-20% for frequency changes. Interpretation of the results using excitation patterns showed that thresholds for the best subjects were quite well predicted by a multichannel model based on optimal processing.     

Acoustical classification of woods for string instruments

Two basic types of wood are used to make stringed musical instruments: woods for soundboards (top plates) and those for frame boards (back and side plates). A new way to classify the acoustical properties of woods and clearly separate these two groups is proposed in this paper. The transmission parameter (product of propagation speed and Q value of the longitudinal wave along the wood grain) and the antivibration parameter (wood density divided by the propagation speed along the wood grain) are introduced in the proposed classification scheme. Two regression lines, drawn for traditional woods, show the distinctly different functions required by soundboards and frame boards. These regression lines can serve as a reference to select the best substitute woods when traditional woods are not available. Moreover, some peculiarities of Japanese string instruments, which are made clear by comparing woods used for them with woods used for Western and Chinese instruments, are briefly discussed.     

Speech transmission performance and the effect of acoustical remedies in a dome

For the purpose of improving speech transmission performance in a dome space, the acoustical properties in a dome having a diameter of 20 m were examined. The acoustical properties measured evenly on the floor of the dome were evaluated both objectively and subjectively and the interrelationship of the objective measures and subjective measures were also examined. Then, on the basis of the results of the study, simplified acoustical remedies were applied to the dome to improve speech intelligibility and the effect of the remedies was also examined. The following findings were obtained from this investigation.(1) The speech transmission performance in the dome space without treatment by absorptive materials varies greatly with the locations of sound sources and observation points: a range of 0.17-0.59 for RASTI value and a range of 30-97% for speech intelligibility test results. (2) There are peculiar observation points at which speech transmission quality is very high due to a considerable sum of the energy arriving in the first 0.06 s after the arrival of the direct sound. (3) Of all the measured acoustical parameters, RASTI, EDT in 1 kHz band, early-to-late arriving sound energy ratio, and Ts corresponded well to the speech intelligibility test scores. (4) Rubber tiles, cotton canvas 12 m in length, and glass wool board, are effective in improving speech intelligibility remarkably due to increased sound absorption and the diffusion effect.     

Violin f-hole contribution to far-field radiation via patch near-field acoustical holography

The violin radiates either from dual ports (f-holes) or via surface motion of the corpus (top+ribs+back), with no clear delineation between these sources. Combining "patch" near-field acoustical holography over just the f-hole region of a violin with far-field radiativity measurements over a sphere, it was possible to separate f-hole from surface motion contributions to the total radiation of the corpus below 2.6 kHz. A0, the Helmholtz-like lowest cavity resonance, radiated essentially entirely through the f-holes as expected while A1, the first longitudinal cavity mode with a node at the f-holes, had no significant f-hole radiation. The observed A1 radiation comes from an indirect radiation mechanism, induced corpus motion approximately mirroring the cavity pressure profile seen for violinlike bowed string instruments across a wide range of sizes. The first estimates of the fraction of radiation from the f-holes F(f) indicate that some low frequency corpus modes thought to radiate only via surface motion (notably the first corpus bending modes) had significant radiation through the f-holes, in agreement with net volume changes estimated from experimental modal analysis. F(f) generally trended lower with increasing frequency, following corpus mobility decreases. The f-hole directivity (top/back radiativity ratio) was generally higher than whole-violin directivity.     

Sound absorption properties of a sunflower composite made from crushed stem particles and from chitosan bio-binder

A recent study investigated the mechanical, thermal and acoustical properties of a bio-based composite made from crushed particles of sunflower stalks binded together by chitosan, a bio-based binder. The acoustical performance in absorption was found to be poor as the material was highly compacted and with low porosity. The present study focuses on the acoustical properties of a higher porosity composite, with lower density while the mechanical rigidity remains fairly high. A higher absorption coefficient is obtained. The experimental results on the absorption coefficient are compared to the prediction of a model involving 5 physical parameters (porosity, tortuosity, airflow resistivity, thermal and viscous characteristic lengths). The characterization methods to determine these parameters are described. The comparison between experimental and theoretical results shows that this material exhibits peculiar microstructural features. It is found that the sound absorption properties can involve dead-end pores or clusters and multiple porosity scales in the material.     

Mechanical resonance properties of porous graphene membrane; simulation study and proof of concept experiment

Mechanical resonance properties of porous graphene resonators were investigated by simulation studies. The finite element method was utilized to design the porous graphene membrane pattern and to calculate the mechanical resonance frequency and quality factor. The changes in the resonance frequency and quality factor were systematically studied by changing the size, number, and relative location of pores on the graphene membrane. Mass loss and carbon-carbon bond break were found to be the main competing parameters for determining its mechanical resonance properties. The correlation between the geometry and the damping effect on the mechanical resonance of graphene was considered by suggesting a model on the damping factor and by calculating the membrane deflections according to the pore location. Based on the simulation results, an optimal porosity and porous geometry were found that gives the maximum resonance frequency and quality factor. Suspended graphene with various number pore structures was experimentally realized, and their mechanical resonance behaviors were measured. The trend of changes in resonance frequency and quality factor according to the number of pores in the experiment was qualitatively agreed with simulation results.     

Application of the Raman heterodyne technique for the detection of EPR and ENDOR

Raman heterodyne detection is a coherent optical-RF double resonance technique where the optical and RF fields induce coherence within a three level system and a resultant Raman field is measured using heterodyne detection. This approach has been used previously to detect NMR and more recently EPR. In this paper the parameters that affect the amplitude and signal to noise ratio of the Raman heterodyne signals are considered. The power levels in relation to the oscillator strength and dephasing times, the amplitude and spectrum of the laser frequency jitter in relation to the optical homogeneous linewidths and holeburning rates, and the sample properties such as absorption strength and optical quality, are all factors that affect the Raman signal. The presentation is focused on the Raman heterodyne detected EPR of the nitrogen-vacancy pair centre in diamond making comparisons with Raman heterodyne detected NMR signals obtained for rare earth ion systems. RF-RF double resonance studies, RF holeburning and ENDOR, which give information about the hyperfine levels are also reported for the nitrogen-vacancy centre. The resonance frequencies are in agreement with those predicted from the spin Hamiltonian. The factors affecting the lineshapes and relative intensities of the double resonance signals are discussed.     

椰胡声功率级的半消声室测试

椰胡是具有地方特色的拉弦乐器之一,多用于演奏广东音乐和广东戏曲、曲艺的伴奏。但对其发声强度一直未进行过科学的测试。本文介绍在华南理工大学半消声室内参照ISO(GB)标准对椰胡声功率级的测量工作。由两位资深乐师分别用两把椰胡在pp,mp,f和ff力度下演奏单音、音阶和乐曲,对每一把椰胡的每一测试内容,由十通道测试设备同步测试中心频率为100～10000 Hz的1/3倍频带声压级谱,通过计算获得每把椰胡在演奏每项内容时的声功率级和动态范围。通过对两把椰胡的测试结果进行平均,获得该乐器在演奏上述内容时的典型声功率级数值及频谱。文中并将半消声室内的测试结果与混响室内的测试结果相对比,探讨测试环境对测试结果的影响。民族乐器发声强度及其频谱特性的获得是开展民族音乐厅堂音质研究的基础。     

Subjective and objective assessment of acoustical and overall environmental quality in secondary school classrooms

A subjective survey on perceived environmental quality has been carried out on 51 secondary-school classrooms, some of which have been acoustically renovated, and acoustical measurements were carried out in eight of the 51 classrooms, these eight being representative of the different types of classrooms that are the subject of the survey. A questionnaire, which included items on overall quality and its single aspects such as acoustical, thermal, indoor air and visual quality, has been administered to 1006 students. The students perceived that acoustical and visual quality had the most influence on their school performance and, with the same dissatisfaction for acoustical, thermal and indoor air quality, they attributed more relevance, in the overall quality judgment, to the acoustical condition. Acoustical quality was correlated to speech comprehension, which was correlated to the speech transmission index, even though the index does not reflect all the aspects by which speech comprehension can be influenced. Acoustical satisfaction was lower in nonrenovated classrooms, and one of the most important consequences of poor acoustics was a decrease in concentration. The stronger correlation between average noise disturbance scores and L(A max) levels, more than L(Aeq) and L(A90), showed that students were more disturbed by intermittent than constant noise.     

A transfer-matrix approach for estimating the characteristic impedance and wave numbers of limp and rigid porous materials

A method for evaluating the acoustical properties of homogeneous and isotropic porous materials that may be modeled as fluids having complex properties is described here. To implement the procedure, a conventional, two-microphone standing wave tube was modified to include: a new sample holder; a section downstream of the sample holder that accommodated a second pair of microphone holders and an approximately anechoic termination. Sound-pressure measurements at two upstream and two downstream locations were then used to estimate the two-by-two transfer matrix of porous material samples. The experimental transfer matrix method has been most widely used in the past to measure the acoustical properties of silencer system components. That procedure was made more efficient here by taking advantage of the reciprocal nature of sound transmission through homogeneous and isotropic porous layers. The transfer matrix of a homogeneous and isotropic, rigid or limp porous layer can easily be used to identify the material's characteristic impedance and wave number, from which other acoustical quantities of interest can be calculated. The procedure has been used to estimate the acoustical properties of a glass fiber material: good agreement was found between the estimated acoustical properties and those predicted by using the formulas of Delany and Bazley.     

Objective and subjective evaluations of twenty-three opera houses in Europe, Japan, and the Americas

The room acoustical parameters, reverberation time RT, early decay time EDT, clarity factor C80, bass ratio BR, strength G, interaural cross-correlation coefficient IACC, and initial-time-delay gap ITDG [definitions in Hidaka et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 107, 340-354 (2000) and Beranek, Concert and Opera Halls: How They Sound (Acoustical Society of America, New York, 1996)], were measured in 23 major opera houses under unoccupied conditions in 11 countries: Argentina, Austria, Czech, France, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, and the USA. Questionnaires containing rating scales on the acoustical quality of 24 opera houses were mailed to 67 conductors, 22 of whom responded. The objective measurements were analyzed for reliability and orthogonality, and were related to the subjective responses. Presented are (a) the rankings of 21 opera houses each rated by at least 6 conductors for acoustical quality as heard by them both in the audience areas and in the pit; (b) relations between objective room acoustical parameters and subjective ratings; (c) findings of the most important of the parameters for determining acoustical quality: RT (or EDT), G(M), ITDG, [1 - IACC(E3)], texture (appearance of reflectrograms in the first 80-100 ms after arrival of the direct sound), a lower limiting value for BR, and major concern for diffusion and avoidance of destructive characteristics (noise, vibration, echoes, focusing, etc.); (d) the differences between average audience levels with and without enclosed stage sets; and (e) the differences between average levels in audience areas for sounds from the stage and from the pit.     

Fiber-optic acoustic sensor for nondestructive evaluation

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the applicability of fiber-optic acoustic sensors to detect internal flaws in polymeric materials. A polarimetric fiber-optic sensor embedded in a plexiglass model received the acoustic signals generated by an ultrasonic transducer. It is shown that proper control of the polarization and phase of the optical beam is required to obtain meaningful results from the amplitude of the fiber-optic sensor signal. The sensor has shown promising results in determining acoustical properties of plexiglass and locating internal defects. The attractive feature of this sensing scheme is that the optical fibers are not modified prior to embedding. Therefore, they preserve their mechanical properties which makes the embedding process much easier.     

Violin frequency response - bridge mobility and bridge feet distance

Good violins have a broad hill in the 2-3 kHz range of their frequency response. This hill has previously been attributed to the first in-plane resonance of the violin bridge. Experiments prove, however, that the hill is the result of two forces acting in opposite directions at the bridge feet. The experiments reported here show that the hill can be “tuned” by altering the distance between the bridge feet. It can be tuned both in terms of frequency and level but the properties of the violin cannot be neglected.     

电子小提琴与常规小提琴的无线载波传输演示

小提琴可分解成拉弦系统和共振箱系统．在拉弦系统中,弦的振动被变为电声信号,以电磁波的形式发射到空中．在共振箱系统中,由调频接收器接收信号,经电声转换后驱动共鸣箱发声．改装后的电子小提琴可用于物理实验演示教学及小提琴弦振动和共鸣箱的频谱分析．     

Optical properties of mixed phase boundary layer clouds observed from a tethered balloon platform in the Arctic

A tethered balloon system was used to collect data on radiometric and cloud microphysical properties for mixed phase boundary layer clouds, consisting of ice crystals and liquid water droplets during a May–June 2008 experimental campaign in Ny-Ålesund, Norway, located high in the Arctic at 78.9°N, 11.9°E. The balloon instrumentation was controlled and powered from the ground making it possible to fly for long durations and to profile clouds vertically in a systematic manner. We use a radiative transfer model to analyze the radiometric measurements and estimate the optical properties of mixed-phase clouds. The results demonstrate the ability of instruments deployed on a tethered balloon to provide information about optical properties of mixed-phase clouds in the Arctic. Our radiative transfer simulations show that cloud layering has little impact on the total downward irradiance measured at the ground as long as the total optical depth remains unchanged. In contrast, the mean intensity measured by an instrument deployed on a balloon depends on the vertical cloud structure and is thus sensitive to the altitude of the balloon. We use the total downward irradiance measured by a ground-based radiometer to estimate the total optical depth and the mean intensity measured at the balloon to estimate the vertical structure of the cloud optical depth.