Conveners
A11.06 Material choice and musical instruments: S079
- Henri Boutin (Laboratoire STMS)
- Alex Hofmann (Department of Music Acoustics – mdw)
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Nathan Zwahlen (LAUM)09/09/2026, 14:20A11 Musical Acoustics
The soundboard is a key element in an acoustic guitar. It both makes the instrument radiate as a result of the strings’ motion, and withstands the static stress induced by their tension. Made out of a thin wooden plate with wooden stiffening bars glued on its back (the bracing), it plays a dominant role in the instrument’s sound profile. This way, a large variety of bracing patterns have been...
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Alexander Mayer (mdw – University of Music and Perform)09/09/2026, 14:40A11 Musical Acoustics
The differences between 8 3D-printed bridges, which were fabricated using various 3D-printing technologies, materials and internal structures, were explored and compared to the original wooden cello bridge. Input admittance measurements were used to investigate how the different bridges affect the resonance characteristics of the bridge–body system. These measurements were obtained using an...
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Clémence Le Meur (ÖAI)09/09/2026, 15:00A11 Musical Acoustics
Copper-based drums, emblematic of Southeast Asia and southern China, can be admired in several French museums. Appearing during the protohistoric period (c. 5th century BC), their production has continued to the present day. Varying in geometry and size – with a tympanum diameter from a few centimetres up to 65 cm – drums have intrigued researchers since the early 20th century. Scholars...
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benoit fabre (Sorbonne University)09/09/2026, 15:20A11 Musical Acoustics
Musical instruments of the wind family present bore geometries that are usually approximated by acousticians as analytical functions such as cylinders, cones, exponential or Bessel horns. However, a closer look at actual instruments shows that the makers use adjustments of the bore profile to control the intonation of the instruments with a rather fine precision, typically of the order of...
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