Acoustics of the banjo: theoretical and numerical modelling
Abstract
A previous paper [Woodhouse et al., Acta Acustica 5, 15 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/aacus/2021009] showed acoustical measurements of an American 5-string banjo alongside similar measurements on a guitar, revealing a strong contrast in bridge admittance. Theoretical and numerical modelling is now presented to probe the physics behind this contrast. Without the bridge and strings, the banjo membrane has a rising trend of admittance associated with its modal density, and it has a distinctive pattern of sound radiation because an ideal membrane has no critical frequency. When the bridge and strings are added to the banjo, three formants shape the amplitude envelope of the admittance. One is associated with local effects of mass and stiffness near the bridge, and is sensitive to bridge mass and the break angle of the strings over the bridge. The other two formants are associated with dynamical behaviour of the bridge, analogous to the "bridge hill" in the violin.
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, Martin Woodhouse, Alan Heaver, and the Deering Banjo Company. We also thank three reviewers for comments leading to significant improvements.Attached Files
Published - aacus200052.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 108612
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20210402-133552532
- Created
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2021-04-02Created from EPrint's datestamp field
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2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field