Stéphane Vaiedelich

Bow musical instrument made of composite material

A bow musical instrument in which at least the front (1) is constituted by a thin wall of composite material comprising at least two superposed sheets (A, B, C, D, . . . ) of crossed and directed long fibers, the wall being covered on at least one of its faces with a lining material (Y, Z) of considerably lower density than the fibers, wherein the deposition of the sheets of fibers is such that the ratio of the longitudinal modulus of elasticity divided by the transverse modulus of elasticity of the wall is higher in a wall zone close to the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the instrument than it is for a zone close to the sides of the instrument.

Acoustic dissipation in wooden pipes of different species used in wind instrument making: An experimental study

In this study, the acoustic dissipation is investigated experimentally in wooden pipes of different species commonly used in woodwind instrument making: maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), pear wood (Pyrus communis L.), boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), and African Blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon). The pipes are parallel to the grain, except one which forms an angle of 60° with the fiber direction. An experimental method, involving input impedance measurements with several lengths of air column, is introduced to estimate the characteristic impedance and the attenuation factor in the pipes. Their comparison reveals significant differences of acoustic dissipation among the species considered. The attenuation factors are ranked in the following order from largest to smallest: maple, boxwood, pear wood, and African Blackwood. This order is the same before and after polishing the bore, which is an essential step in the making process of wind instrument. For maple, changing the pipe direction of 60° considerably increases the attenuation factor, compared to those of the other pipes, parallel to the grain. Further, polishing tends to reduce the acoustic dissipation in the wooden pipes, especially for the most porous species. As a result, the influence of polishing in the making procedure depends on the selected wood species.

Acoustical measurement of Indian musical instruments (vina‐s): Towards greater understanding for better conservation

Among the Musee de la musique collection of non‐Western musical instruments are some rare and delicate ones from India, which have been the subject of acoustical investigation for a greater understanding, and hence a better conservation. In the case of the vina‐s, the vibration of the string (exciter) plucked by the musician is transmitted to the resonators made from gourd through a flat bridge thus giving the instrument a remarkably singular timber. Acoustical and vibrational measurements were applied in order to determine the acoustic properties of resonators. These techniques are based on gauging the radiated acoustical field triggered by a light impact or a frequency sweep. This analysis confirms the importance given by instrument makers to the painstaking choice of gourd resonators. Thanks to the estimation of resonant frequency ‐ and from the vibrating length ‐ it is possible to hypothesise on the type of strings used (the material, diameter and strain). In short, these analyses make it possible the...