Digital modeling of the piano soundboard

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Applied Acoustics Systems (AAS) is a Montreal company specializing in the development of soundsynthesizers using a physics-based modeling approach. Over the years, AAS has developed models of stringinstruments such as the violin and the guitar. More recently, AAS has been working on piano modeling, whichhas significant commercial potential due to the large user base. An important aspect of a piano's sound isdetermined by its soundboard, which radiates the vibrations of the strings into the surrounding air. However,the data currently available in the research literature about piano soundboard characteristics is limited, coveringa frequency range only up to about 1-2 kHz and sometimes contradicting predictions of theoretical models.Research in the Computational Acoustics Modeling Laboratory at McGill University has recently resulted inhighly effective techniques for the measurement and modeling of violin and guitar bodies. Although the pianopresents its own challenges, these techniques have great potential for use in AAS's sound synthesis efforts.Significant progress has been made in measuring the characteristics of the piano soundboard during the courseof the previously awarded Engage grant. This Engage Plus proposal is focused on using the measured data tobuild efficient digital models for implementation in AAS's piano synthesis system.This project will represent an important application of our expertise in music instrument measurements,modeling and sound synthesis to an instrument we have not previously studied. In turn, this research will helpAAS to develop and sell convincing sound synthesis models of the piano, as well as contribute to the design ofa modeling approach that can be expanded to other string instruments.