Experimental study of the Helmholtz resonance of a violin

The violin supports a Helmholtz resonance, acting like a driven, damped harmonic oscillator. The amount of damping can be measured from the width of the response curve, and also from the decay of an undriven oscillator. The phase shift between driver and resonator is also consistent with theory. Shifts in resonant frequency due to changing the aspect ratio of the f hole are measured and found to be in qualitative agreement with a convenient formula for the resonant frequency associated with a long thin aperture.