Description
In a woodwind the sound is generated by the resonating air column within the instrument, the material of construction being of secondary importance. To a first approximation the flute can be considered as a cylindrical tube open at both ends, the clarinet as a cylindrical tube closed at one end and the saxophone, oboe and bassoon as conical tubes closed at one end. All these instruments generate a complete harmonic series and overblow the octave, except for the clarinet which generates predominantly odd harmonics in the low register and overblows the twelfth.
In singing, air pressure from the lungs is used to set the vocal folds into periodic oscillation producing a pitched sound source at the base of the vocal tract. By changing the positions of the jaw, lips and tongue the resonances of the air in the vocal tract, called vocal formants, can be...
Published 02/14/10
The important acoustical characteristic common to members of the musical brass instrument family is not the material of construction, but the way in which the note is sounded by vibrating the lips against the rim of a mouthpiece. The lips act as a valve, open and closing periodically to modulate...
Published 02/12/10
Almost all brass instruments have air column resonances which are close to forming a harmonic series; this gives rise to the familiar pattern of “bugle call†natural notes. In the upper register the harmonics are close enough together to allow a diatonic scale to be played without modifying...
Published 02/12/10