RUI: Undergraduate Research in Musical Acoustics

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This award supports two related projects within the context of musical acoustics. The two projects represent complex problems involving energy transfer in metal structures. The specific goals are to understand the stick-slip excitation mechanism of idiophones and to determine how structural vibrations affect the sound of brass wind instruments. Studies of the stick-slip excitation of idiophones will be performed using electronic speckle pattern interferometery, laser Doppler vibrometry and recordings of the acoustic field resulting from the vibrations. The results of the experimental research will be compared to a computer model that includes the dynamic effects, as well as the effects attributable to the size of the region of interaction between the instrument and the driver. Studies of structural vibrations of brass wind instruments will involve both optical and acoustic measurements. Previous work has shown that the vibration of the walls of the instrument contribute substantially to the sound produced by the instrument, and that this contribution is not due to direct radiation of the vibrating metal into the surrounding air. This research will lead to an understanding of the mechanism through which the vibrating metal contributes to the sound field.This work involves undergraduate students, particularly women, in original research. While the systems under study involve musical instruments, the research centers on studying basic physical phenomena which are not unique to musical acoustics. The work will contribute to the understanding of physical systems while providing undergraduate students the opportunity to be involved in original scientific research through a subject they find fascinating.