Musical Acoustic Resonance Spectroscopy of Stringed Instruments

Contrary to the generally accepted view (see, for example.Benade ll 1. Page 510) , it is relatively straightforward to make high resolution measurements of the response of a stretched string when excited near resonance.From such measurements, it is easy to derive quantitative infomation about the effective terminating impedances at the supported ends of the string.For strings mounted on musical instruments, such as the violin, guitar or piano, the impedance at the supporting bridge reflects the characteristic vibrational response of the instrument as a whole, which ultimatelydetermines the intensity and quality of sound produced.In this paper.we show how measurements of string resonances can be used to determine the position.width.and strength of coupling to the string of acoustically important resonances of stringed instruments.