The acoustic impedance is a valuable parameter in musical acoustics. Information contained within this frequency-domain parameter can be used to determine the acoustical behaviour of a musical wind instrument: the notes at which the instrument will play; the ease with which a particular note can be played; and the timbre of the instrument. The time-domain version of acoustic impedance - the input impulse response - gives us information on how sound waves propagate within an instrument under playing conditions and how sound is radiated from the open end or from other holes in the bore. Acoustic impedance data can also be used to calculate an accurate profile of the internal structure of the instrument - referred to as a bore reconstruction. This is very useful as the main bore is usually coiled and difficult to measure mechanically. An accurate reconstruction, however, is only possible if the impedance is measured over a large range of frequencies, typically of the order of tens of hertz up to many kilohertz. The bulk of this work follows on from research where the impedance of a short, closed, cylindrically-symmetric tube has been measured experimentally at high frequencies - 1 kHz up to 20 kHz - and compared with theory. The technique used is known as the Two-Microphone-Four-Calibration system, or TMFC system: two microphones are used to monitor the air pressure in the system, and measurement of four closed tubes of different length are required for calibration. The TMFC system has been modified so that impedance data far below 1 kHz (down to 10 Hz) can be attained for a full instrument as well as instrument components - for example trombone mouthpieces or French horn crooks. Suitable algorithms have been developed for processing the impedance data. Obtaining large bandwidth impedance data has allowed the possibility of accurate reconstructions of an instrument's internal profile. The results are compared with plane-wave theoretical models, which are derived in detail, and other well-documented methods of bore and impedance analysis: the acoustic pulse reflectometer (APR), and the brass instrument analysis system (BIAS). An in-depth discussion and analysis of the TMFC results for test objects and instruments of various lengths are presented. Simulations, whereby bore profiles are artificially altered, and a post-processing method utilising transmission matrix theory (TMT), are explored. A variety of orchestral French horn crooks dating from as early as the 18th-Century have been measured using APR and TMFC. A comparison is made between the capabilities of the two systems. Conclusions - of interest from a historical and manufacturing perspective - are drawn. The BIAS has been used to investigate how changes to the bore profile affect the behaviour of trumpets. The impedance of the trumpet is measured using a variety of leadpipes and mouthpieces.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1991. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Harold F. Abeles. Dissertation Committee: Robert Pace. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-119).

Thesis (ED.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1965. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Ernest E. Harris. Dissertation Committee: Charles W. Walton. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 244-254).

Inaug.-Diss.--Berlin. / Vita. "Die vollständige arbeit ist als II. band der Schriften zur praktischen psychologie ... veröffentlicht." "Literaturverzeichnis": p. 6-9.

No description available.

The precise nature of the motion of the lips of the musician is critically important to the sound of the brass wind instrument. The player must match the oscillation of the lips to the acoustical properties of the instrument and it can take many years of practice to master the techniques involved. Visualisation techniques for capturing the motion of the lips during performance are described and the behaviour of the lips quantitatively analysed using digital image analysis. The concept of an artificial mouth for the sounding of brass wind instruments is discussed and the motion of the artificial lips is compared to that of human musicians. When a brass instrument is played loudly the energy of the higher harmonics increases, creating a distinctive ‘brassy’ timbre. It has been suggested that saturation or constraint of the lips of the musician during extremely loud playing is responsible for this change in sound. Measurements of the motion of the lips of a number of different musicians on different instruments suggest that the lips are not significantly constrained at any playing dynamic, and that it is the phenomena of nonlinear propagation and shockwave generation that is responsible for the increase in energy of the higher harmonics. It is widely accepted that the starting transient of a musical instrument is of great importance to both listener and musician. Previous studies of brass instruments have focused on the steady-state behaviour of the lip-instrument interaction. Measurements of the motion of the lips have been synchronised with the pressure in the mouthpiece of the instrument and the sound radiated from the bell in order to investigate the transient behaviour of the system during both the starting transient and slurs between notes. Thiswork has been extended to include measurements of the pressure in the mouth of the player during the starting transient, and this information used to recreate realistic transients using an artificial mouth. The transient behaviour of the system is clearly affected by the time delay between the start of the note and the acoustical feedback from the instrument beginning. The information obtained can be used to aid in the creation of accurate computational and physical models of brass wind instruments.

Ouverture fur Harmoniemusik, op. 24 / Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy -- Concertino for flute, op. 107 / Cecile Chaminade -- Octet, op. 103 / Ludwig van Beethoven -- Ragtime for eleven instruments / Igor Stravinsky. / text

No description available.

Thesis--Indiana University, 2007. / Computer printout. Advisor: Charles P. Schmidt. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 217-232), abstract, and vita.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-97). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.