Flute acoustics: measurement, modelling and design - School of ...

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Acknowledgements
This thesis would not be possible without the collaboration and assistance of many people.
Firstly, many thanks to my supervisor Joe Wolfe, for well-timed encouragement, motivation
and understanding throughout my candidature, especially regarding the varied demands
of having a young family. Joe’s commitment to integrity in research is a powerful example, supported
by his willing comradeship through many laborious late-nights experiments. Joe (with
Andrew Botros) also conducted the flute tuning measurements of Chapter 7 in my absence.
Thanks to my co-supervisor John Smith for his many helpful insights and for sharing his ideas
as the project progressed. Joe and John collaborated with me on the writing of papers that published
the material reported in Chapters 3 and 5. Their comments on early drafts of the thesis
are much appreciated.
Thanks to John Tann for invaluable and varied technical assistance, for a positive, ‘can-do’
approach to the many problems I brought to him, and for the many illuminating discussions
resulting from my sometimes erratic and ill-formed questions.
Much of the software code for the flute model is derived from the excellent work of Andrew
Botros. Andrew gave up his own time to help with issues of software design and his generosity
in this is appreciated.
Thanks to Terry McGee and Mark O’Conner for graciously imparting their practical knowledge
in the art and science of flute making, to Terry for taking me on as apprentice for a day
and for being a guinea-pig in the development of the flute design software. Terry’s insights
about classical flute tuning form part of the discussion in Chapter 9. Thanks to the Powerhouse
Museum, Sydney and the museum’s curator of musical instruments, Michael Lee, for access
to their collection of instruments as well as financial support of the project. The collaboration
with Terry and Michael was made possible through an Australian Postgraduate Award (Industry)
granted by the Australian Research Council.
Flutists Jane Cavanagh, Cécile van der Burgh, Caoimhe McMillan and clarinettist Catherine
Young added a much-needed human dimension to woodwind modelling. I am grateful for the
way in which each one cheerfully cooperated with uncomfortable and repetitive experiments.
My thanks to fellow students in the Acoustics lab, particularly Claudia Fritz and Ra Inta, for
helping to keep my spirits up and for many fascinating discussions (some of which were about
acoustics).
Ken Jackson and Pritipal Baweja in the Physics workshop turned my hasty sketches into
beautiful creations in brass and aluminium—their ingenuity and craftsmanship is appreciated.
I am supported by a diverse community of people with whom I am linked by our common
Christian faith. I particularly wish to thank Ian, Gina and Amanda for their hopeful, frequent
and sincere encouragement in this endeavour, and for helping provide perspective when the
trees got in the way of the forest.