Flute acoustics: measurement, modelling and design - School of ...
Flute acoustics: measurement, modelling and design - School of ...
Flute acoustics: measurement, modelling and design - School of ...
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CHAPTER 5. IMPEDANCE SPECTRA OF THE FLUTE AND CLARINET 74<br />
the player’s embouchure. The embouchure hole is usually slightly elliptical or oval in crosssection<br />
<strong>and</strong> is tapered so that it is larger in cross-sectional area closer to the bore. The modern<br />
flute measured in this chapter has a headjoint with a bore 168.0 mm long. The tuning slide<br />
section <strong>of</strong> the headjoint is cylindrical, 37.0 mm long with a bore diameter <strong>of</strong> 19.0 mm. The bore<br />
tapers smoothly towards the cork, where the diameter is 16.8 mm. The McGee classical flute<br />
headjoint has a cylindrical bore, 158.5 mm long with a bore diameter <strong>of</strong> 19.0 mm.<br />
Acoustically, the headjoint thus comprises the embouchure hole, an upstream bore section<br />
stopped by the cork <strong>and</strong> a downstream bore section which attaches to the body <strong>of</strong> the flute.<br />
Despite such geometrical simplicity, the headjoint is arguably the most complex section <strong>of</strong> the<br />
flute to model, <strong>and</strong> may require the use <strong>of</strong> empirical parameters for a good fit.<br />
The waveguide model was first tested on a simple T-junction, shown schematically in Figure<br />
5.6 (for details <strong>of</strong> the model implementation, see Chapter 8). The input arm to the junction<br />
was <strong>of</strong> diameter 7.8 mm, equal to the diameter <strong>of</strong> the small bore impedance head. The<br />
T-junction was attached to the impedance head <strong>and</strong> the impedance was measured both with<br />
the output arm open <strong>and</strong> closed. The microphones are thus positioned sufficiently distant from<br />
the junction to measure only plane waves, <strong>and</strong> there is no diameter discontinuity at the reference<br />
plane <strong>of</strong> the impedance head. In a real headjoint there are two diameter discontinuities—<br />
one where the embouchure hole attaches to the impedance head <strong>and</strong> another at the junction<br />
between the embouchure hole chimney <strong>and</strong> the bore <strong>of</strong> the instrument—<strong>and</strong> these discontinuities<br />
are close enough that the evanescent modes at each can interact. This simple T-junction<br />
should be a little easier to model than a real headjoint. The measured impedance spectra along<br />
with the predictions <strong>of</strong> the model are shown in Figures 5.7 <strong>and</strong> 5.8. The prediction <strong>of</strong> the model<br />
is quite good for this simple T-junction, although the attenuation factor at high frequencies<br />
appears to be a little higher than in the model.<br />
The input impedance spectra <strong>of</strong> the modern <strong>and</strong> classical flute headjoints were measured<br />
in order to test <strong>and</strong> refine the model. The headjoints were measured both open to the air <strong>and</strong><br />
closed by a brass stop. The measured spectra for the open headjoints are shown in Figures 5.9<br />
<strong>and</strong> 5.10, along with the predictions <strong>of</strong> the model, using published tone hole length corrections<br />
at the junction with the bore ((2.34), (2.35) <strong>and</strong> (2.39) in Chapter 2). The prediction <strong>of</strong> the model<br />
is quite good at impedance maxima but not at impedance minima (which occur at a higher<br />
frequency <strong>and</strong> are lower in impedance than measured). The model deviates similarly from<br />
experiment for closed headjoints (Figures 5.11 <strong>and</strong> 5.12).<br />
Clearly, the discontinuity created at the input to the instrument by the measuring system<br />
changes the measured input impedance <strong>of</strong> the headjoint. This could in principle be accounted<br />
for using multi-modal theory, although this approach is complicated by the consideration that<br />
higher modes at the inside <strong>and</strong> outside <strong>of</strong> the embouchure hole interact. A simpler approach<br />
was found to be sufficient.<br />
The model deviates from experiment most severely at impedance minima, when flow into<br />
the embouchure hole is greatest. However, the flow does not follow closely the walls <strong>of</strong> the<br />
embouchure hole because <strong>of</strong> the input discontinuity. If the embouchure hole is modelled as<br />
a cone with entry diameter equal to the diameter <strong>of</strong> the impedance head <strong>and</strong> exit diameter as