CaltechAUTHORS
  A Caltech Library Service

Acoustics of the banjo: theoretical and numerical modelling

Woodhouse, Jim and Politzer, H. David and Mansour, Hossein (2021) Acoustics of the banjo: theoretical and numerical modelling. Acta Acustica, 5 . Art. No. 16. ISSN 2681-4617. doi:10.1051/aacus/2021008. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210402-133552532

[img] PDF - Published Version
Creative Commons Attribution.

1MB

Use this Persistent URL to link to this item: https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210402-133552532

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.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
https://doi.org/10.1051/aacus/2021008DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1051/aacus/2021008
ORCID:
AuthorORCID
Woodhouse, Jim0000-0002-6645-1635
Politzer, H. David0000-0002-4983-6621
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.
DOI:10.1051/aacus/2021008
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20210402-133552532
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210402-133552532
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:108612
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Joy Painter
Deposited On:02 Apr 2021 20:40
Last Modified:16 Nov 2021 19:12

Repository Staff Only: item control page