Speaker
Description
Tone holes are one of the primary mechanisms for pitch control in many wind instruments, yet their acoustics are not yet fully understood. This study investigates air flow in a bass recorder with an open tone hole using time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV). To enable the measurements, the instrument was constructed by attaching a commercial bass recorder mouthpiece to a flue pipe with a square cross-section and transparent walls. The total length of the instrument is designed to match the lowest tone a standard bass recorder produces (note F3). Standing wave behaviour was evaluated for two tone hole positions and for five diameters, tone holes opened individually. The positions and some of the diameters were selected to produce musically relevant tones that are by design referencing fingerings used in an actual baroque bass recorder. A detailed look at the flow within these configurations allows to analyse the tone hole behaviour and establish a foundation for future research.