External Tonehole Interactions in Woodwind Instruments

Antoine Lefebvre (1) , Gary P. Scavone (1) , Jean Kergomard (2)

1 IDMIL - Input Devices and Music Interaction Laboratory
2 LMA - Laboratoire de Mécanique et d'Acoustique [Marseille]

The transfer matrix method is often used to calculate the input impedance of woodwind instruments but it ignores the possible influence of the radiated sound from toneholes on other open holes. In this paper, a method is proposed to account for external tonehole interactions. It is found that the external tonehole interactions increase the amount of radiated energy, reduce slightly the lower resonance frequencies, and modify significantly the response near and above the tonehole lattice cutoff frequency. The results of simulations with the Finite Element Method, as well as experimental measurements, are presented and compared to the calculation with the method presented in this paper, confirming that the external tonehole interactions play a significant role in woodwind instrument.

Domaines: Physique Générale [physics.gen-ph]; Acoustique [physics.class-ph]; Acoustique [physics.class-ph]

Antoine Lefebvre, Gary P. Scavone, Jean Kergomard. External Tonehole Interactions in Woodwind Instruments. 2012. ⟨hal-00720132v1⟩