Mechanical and acoustical properties of wood for musical instruments: material variability and diversity of uses
Résumé
Woods are the constitutive materials of many musical instruments. As such, their material properties play a prominent role in the behaviour of the completed instruments. Depending on the different families and parts of instruments, the most important wood properties may be either acoustical, mechanical, physical, aesthetical, or, most often, a combination of these. In this presentation, firstly, the basic material parameters involved in “archetypal” wood species for musical instruments will be briefly reviewed. Then, some of the causes leading to the important variability of acoustical properties will be introduced. To conclude, selected examples will show how the diversity of woods finds an adequation with the diversity of uses in musical instruments, in relation with either cultural or environmental issues.