Experimental measurements of the directivity of string instruments played using pizzicato

The directivity of musical instruments plays an important role in the sound that is produced when a musician plays an instrument. Previous studies have measured the directivity of string instruments when they are bowed. However, there has not been a thorough investigation of the directivity of these instruments when they are plucked. High-resolution directivity data for pizzicato (plucked) notes of the violin, viola, cello, and double bass were collected using a multi-capture directivity measurement system (DMS). The measured data were then processed to create balloon plots of the directivity of the fundamental frequency and strongest harmonics of each of the open strings. During this presentation, the pizzicato directivity data will be presented and compared between instruments (such as between violin and viola) to illustrate important similarities and differences in the directivities of the instruments when they are played using pizzicato. The data collected for pizzicato notes will also be compared to equivalent data from a previous study that looked at the directivity of the same instruments when they are bowed.