Acoustics of the banjo: measurements and sound synthesis
Abstract
Measurements of vibrational response of an American 5-string banjo and of the sounds of played notes on the instrument are presented, and contrasted with corresponding results for a steel-string guitar. A synthesis model, fine-tuned using information from the measurements, has been used to investigate what acoustical features are necessary to produce recognisable banjo-like sound, and to explore the perceptual salience of a wide range of design modifications. Recognisable banjo sound seems to depend on the pattern of decay rates of "string modes", the loudness magnitude and profile, and a transient contribution to each played note from the "body modes". A formant-like feature, peaking around 500–800 Hz on the banjo tested, is found to play a key role. At higher frequencies the dynamic behaviour of the bridge produces additional formant-like features, reminiscent of the "bridge hill" of the violin, and these also produce clear perceptual effects.
Additional Information
© J. Woodhouse et al., Published by EDP Sciences, 2021. Received: 17 July 2020 Accepted: 17 February 2021. Many people have contributed to this study: the authors thank Julien Legault, Vincent Cotoni, Robin Langley, Evan Davis, Brian Moore, Thomas Moore, Martin Woodhouse, Alan Heaver, and the Deering Banjo Company. We also thank three reviewers for comments leading to significant improvements.Attached Files
Published - aacus200055.pdf
Files
Name | Size | Download all |
---|---|---|
md5:034e709e459f48b48043a7376eb3e4fa
|
2.1 MB | Preview Download |
Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 108611
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20210402-103834989
- Created
-
2021-04-02Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field