Paul A. Wheeler

Acoustic matching of the bars and resonators of the Indonesian gender

The gender is a 14‐bar metallophone with bamboo resonators used in the Indonesian gamelan. The 14 bronze bars (with stiffening ridges on top of the bars) are carefully tuned to one of three pentatonic scales. The bars are strung together and spaced above 14 bamboo resonator tubes housed in a wooden frame. The bamboo tubes are roughly the same length and diameter, however the knot in the bamboo pipe is in different locations, creating closed pipes of different lengths. Fine tuning of the tubes is achieved by placing rocks or sand in the bottom of the tubes. This paper describes an acoustic study of the gender barung. Tuning of the bars across the octaves was within 15 cents (with one exception), showing great care in the construction and tuning of the bars. Tuning of the resonator tubes, however, was much more divergent, showing less consideration for the actual frequencies of the resonators. Tuning of the resonators to match the bars is left for the player by adding materials to the resonator tube.

Color image digitization for real-time video processing

A description is given of a full-rate color image digitization system that was developed to provide capabilities not available on commercial imaging products. The system provides a continuous full-rate data transfer bus, YIQ digitization formats, logarithmic companding, and real-time data flow synchronization for displaying images that have been transferred over asynchronous communications links.<<ETX>>

Traditional polyphony: Multipart singing in world cultures

Vocal polyphony has been part of the western musical culture since the 11th century. There are other cultures in the world, however, that use multipart singing in their traditional music that is not based upon the European classical style with parallel thirds and triad chords. This paper will discuss the use of vocal polyphony in several well-established traditions in the world, such as the Aka Pygmies from Central Africa, Canto a tenore from Sardinia, and iso-polyphony of Albania. It will contrast polyphonic types like parallel, drone, canonic, ostinato, and heterophonic polyphony. It will also illustrate how sound quality differs from the European classical style. An understanding of polyphonic traditions can assist us in understanding people whose cultures differ from our own.

An Introduction to the Musical Acoustics Technical Committee

The technical committee on musical acoustics (TCMU) is focused on the discovery of novel advancements in the science and technology of music and musical instruments. Many of our members pursue topics related to the physics of musical sound production, music perception and cognition, and the analysis and synthesis of musical sounds and composition. The TCMU draws from many fields represented in the society. Our sessions have presentations made by scientists, engineers, musicians, instrument builders, psychologists, architects, and others interested in the study of the science of music. An overview of selected research topics and activities of the TCMU will be presented.

The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI): The digital organ for organists and non-organists

The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is a technical protocol (standardized in 1983) to connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments. Digital organs, due to increased sound quality and lower pricing, have become a popular alternative to pipe organs. They also provide an advantage of controllability through MIDI. Using MIDI, digital organs can be connected to a variety of sound modules, greatly increasing the number of stops available for organists. For the non-organist composer, organ music can be written in notation software (such as Finale) and played on an actual digital organ. The challenge in writing music for playback through MIDI is to incorporate organ techniques (such as shortening of repeated notes, legato playing by finger crossing or finger substitution, and finger glissandos) so that the result does not sound like a pianist (or a computer) playing the organ. A MIDI capable digital organ can be advantageous for organists and non-organists alike.

Traditional string instruments of the world.

The string instruments best known to musicians, educated in western music, are the orchestral strings (violin, viola, cello, and double bass) with the addition of the guitar and harp. This represents a very small sample of string instruments used throughout the world. This paper is intended to introduce the variety of string instruments used in traditional music of world cultures. The instruments include the following: (1) musical bows—the berimbau of Brazil; (2) African and European lyres—the krar of Ethiopia and crwth of Wales; (3) harps—the ennanga of Uganda, saung gauk of Burma, and the Paraguyan harp; (4) plucked lutes—the charango of the Andes of Arabia, the balalaika of Russia, sitar of India, and the pipa of China; (5) fiddles (bowed lutes)—the hurdy‐gurdy and nyckelharpa of Europe, the imzad of North Africa, the sarangi of India, and the morin khuur of Mongolia; (6) plucked zithers ‐ the valiha of Madagascar, kantele of Finland, dan bau of Vietnam, and the zheng of China; and (7) dulcimers (hamme...

Traditional brass instruments of the world.

The brass family of musical instruments are lip‐reed aerophones. In the western musical tradition, they are usually made of brass or other metals; however, in non‐western musical traditions they may be made of shell, wood, bone, bark, bamboo, animal horn, or metal. In spite of the material used for construction, all lip‐reed aerophones are commonly referred to as brass instruments. This paper introduces various brass instruments used in traditional music around the world. These include the erke of Bolivia, the alphorn of Switzerland, the amankondere of Uganda, the shofar of Israel, the sringa of India, the dung‐chen of Tibet, the nabal of Korea, the didjeridu of Australia, and the conch of Oceania. The paper includes the cultural setting and sound clips of the various instruments.

A world beyond the banjo.

The American banjo, a long‐necked plucked lute developed by slaves from Africa and an important instrument in Bluegrass music, derives its characteristic timbre from the membrane belly of the instrument. Even though the banjo is the best known membrane‐style lute in music of the western hemisphere, there are many musical traditions across the eastern hemisphere which have used their own version of the banjo long before the development of the American banjo. This paper will introduce some of these instruments and the musical cultures using them. These include the ngoni of western Africa (possibly the source of the American banjo), the cumbus and tar from the Middle East, the rawap of central Asia, the sarod of India, and the shamisen and sanxian of Japan and China. As diverse as these cultures may be, the characteristic timbre of the banjo is an important element in their music.

An introduction to bagpipes of the world.

When one hears the term “bagpipe,” the Great Highland bagpipe from Scotland comes to mind. There are actually several types of bagpipes played across Europe and the Middle East, each with its unique characteristics. This paper classifies bagpipes from around the world based on their construction and acoustic properties. These include: method of filling the bag (bellows versus mouth pipe), bag properties and materials, reeds (single or double), pipes used for chanters and drones (cylindrical or conical), and general characteristics of the instrument. The objective of this overview paper is to provide the background for more detailed papers in the session on bagpipes.

The adoption of the accordion and other bellow‐blown free‐reed instruments in world cultures.

Free‐reed mouth organs, such as the Laotian khaen or the Chinese sheng, have been known for centuries in Asia. Several free‐reed instruments (such as the accordion, concertina, and harmonium) using bellows rather than the mouth as a wind supply were developed in Europe during the 19th century. As European influence spread throughout the world, so did the adoption of the accordion‐like instruments that penetrate local musical cultures around the world. This paper presents an overview of the usage of bellows‐blown free‐reed instruments in musical cultures of the world. It includes the zydeco accordion of New Orleans, the bandoneon (concertina) of the Argentine tango, and the harmonium of Hindustani music in India.