Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Glasgow, 1998. / Thesis submitted to the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow, in fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Print version also available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1986. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves [324]-337.

Diss.--Schiller-Universität Jena, 1991. / Bibliogr. p. 222-246. Index.

Th. doct. 3e cycle--U. E. R. de musique et de musicologie--Université de Paris IV, 1975. / Les termes techniques ont été translittérés avec en regard la forme en chinois.

This thesis investigates the transient measurement and analysis of brass musical instruments. The experimental apparatus of Deane (1986) has been substantially revised and developed to allow accurate determination of the input impulse response of instruments up to 8kHz. The inverse problem of calculating the bore of an instrument from its impulse response has been studied with good success. The bores of trumpets have been accurately determined to within 0.1mm up to the bell section where the flare is too great for the algorithm to be valid. Further developments have been made to the application of transient measurements to the manufacturing environment. The apparatus has been shown to detect valve misalignments as small as 0.25mm. A modified apparatus has been developed to allow determination of the input impedance of instruments from transient measurements. The shape of the calculated impedance curves show good agreement with measurements made in the frequency domain although absolute calibration shows errors related to truncation of the transient responses. The internal field of a French Horn bell is studied with the results presented in a series of space-time and space-frequency diagrams. This technique allows detailed examination of the shape of an impulse travelling through the horn. Finally, the relationships between impedance, impulse response and bore have been analysed to form the foundations of a Computer Aided Design technique for brass instruments.

No description available.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the qualification of Masters Diploma in Technology: Electronics at Technikon Natal, 1990. / This dissertation is primarily concerned with the design in development and performance of a hand-held radio direction finder / M

In this thesis I present an overview of my approach to free improvisation with particular reference to the clarinet's instrumentality (its intended function) and its materiality (its accidental characteristics). Acknowledging an influence from the clarinet, I set out to discover its role in defining the music I make. After outlining debates surrounding improvisation in terms of its compositional capacity, I then consider free improvisation in terms of relational aesthetics. The remainder of the thesis is divided into three main parts. The first part explores philosophical and practical issues related to tool-use. In chapter one I discuss observations about objects, leading to conceptions of instrumental design. Discussing the special case of artistic tools I suggest an intrinsic link between intent and possibility, considering this relationship in terms of working with an instrument's design and materials. In chapter two I elaborate on ways in which instruments can lead towards musical material while addressing issues of culture, uncertainty and relationships. I describe a veneration of instruments as guides in free improvisation and suggest subverting traditional gestures as a strategy to advance an instrument's capacity. I address issues of uncertainty and posit failure as a viable aesthetic stance, welcoming rethought into performance. Part two sees greater emphasis placed on my own praxis. In chapter three I outline uses of the clarinet with particular focus on its materiality. In chapter four I discuss recent recordings in light of the issues raised in the thesis. This part is accompanied by a DVD (also available online1) containing examples for chapter three and recordings for chapter four. After a conclusion, which provides a summary of findings alongside a discussion of my current praxis, I present part three, a recording of a final performance made on 13/01/16 with Benedict Taylor (viola) and Daniel Thompson (guitar).

The object of the present work has been to trace the evolution of stringed keyboard instruments from the monochord to the present day piano forte. So many inventions have occurred that a chronology of these would be both tedious and of little added value to the existing literature. In the present work the emphasis has been on those innovations which achieved some measure of popularity and can be regarded as essential steps in arriving at the products and methods of modern piano manufacturers. In order to bring this work up to date, visits have been paid to John Broadwood & Sons and the British Piano Museum in London; to the Essex Institute and Pingree House in Salem, Massachusetts; the Smithsonian Institute (Division of Musical Instruments) in Washington; the various Yamaha Factories in Hamamatsu, Japan; and the Piano Manufacturing Company in Wellington, South Africa. Special attention has also been paid to the development and popularity trends of mechanical, pneumatic and electric pianos. In the last Chapter of this study, the information gained is applied to the identification and dating of stringed keyboard instruments found in South Africa or referred to in newspapers or Africana.

Elias AlIen (c.1588-1653) was known as the best mathematical instrument maker of his day. He lived and worked in London, creating a thriving business - he was the first English instrument maker to support himself solely through the production of instruments - and teaching his skills to many apprentices who became the core of the trade during the latter part of the century. My thesis provides a full biography of Allen, set within the framework of the community of people who were in some way connected to mathematics. The second part of the dissertation is devoted to the most important of Allen's instruments: the Gunter quadrant aqd Gilnter sector, and various of William Oughtred's designs - the circles of proportion; the horizontal instrument and double horizontal dial, and the universal equinoctial ring dial. These are described, their uses explained, and used as the base for discussions of the ways in which instruments influenced and were influenced by the development of mathematics. This section concludes with a catalogue of all the Allen instruments in British museums. As well as a comprehensive literature survey of the mathematical texts printed in England during Allen's lifetime, I have given considerable time to a 'reading' of the instruments themselves - through study of the originals, through production of my own versions, through reconstructions of the methods,of use, and, in the case of the sector, through computer analysis of the accuracy in use. The conclusion of my thesis is that the mathematical culture of seventeenth century England was far broader than that which is normally portrayed in histories of mathematics, involving a wide range of people with very different backgrounds and very different approaches to and understandings of mathematics. Above all, it is shown to be rooted strongly in a geometrical interpretation of mathematics and one which is inherently practical. In such a culture the role of instruments is fundamental and thus instrument makers like Elias Alien have a place at the heart of the mathematical community.