The physical science of sound production, behavior, and mechanics.
28
votes
3answers
2k views
Why are violin bows longer than viola bows, than cello bows, than double-bass bows ?
What is the logic behind this ?
As the larger instruments have larger gaps between the strings, I would have expected a larger bow to accomodate more easily continuous bowing while changing strings.
11
votes
4answers
79 views
What kind of ear protection offers the best compromise between protection and sound fidelity?
Useful when your drummer is loud. (that china still banging in your head after a session)
9
votes
4answers
391 views
How can I reduce the echo/reverb in a large room if I can't add physical damping?
I was at an event this evening in a restored ballroom - absolutely beautiful, but parquet flooring, high ceilings, solid walls etc all made for terrible acoustics, and in fact I could hardly make out ...
9
votes
1answer
269 views
brass: bending notes upwards
It is fairly easy - although it requires a bit of strength - to bend notes downwards on a trumpet. For example playing a F#, a F, or even lower notes with all valves open.
It does not sound nice, but ...
8
votes
1answer
935 views
Flat-wound vs round-wound strings
What difference can you expect when playing with flat-wound vs round-wound strings on an electric bass/guitar?
I know that they feel different - I am asking explicitly in terms of sound.
7
votes
4answers
995 views
Music Theory: Frequencies related to playing a note on guitar
I am studying the physics related to playing guitar. I need to understand the relationship between the fundamental frequency of a guitar string and its harmonics.
For e.g., the top string has the ...
7
votes
2answers
212 views
What factors affect the loudness of a drum?
Is it the size of the drum?
The width?
The length?
Particular body materials?
Particular head materials?
Given that there are a hundred different kinds of drums in the world with very different ...
7
votes
4answers
278 views
Do cold/hot drinks have any effect on woodwinds and brass performers?
Hey, I saw this question and I immediately remembered one or two teachers that kept saying that drinking cold/hot drinks before and/or during playing any woodwind or brass instrument was a bad thing, ...
7
votes
1answer
223 views
Why is (stiffness/speed of sound-travel of the wood) important for a bow?
High-end violin bows have been made for centuries out of permanbouc (a now rare and endangered brasilian wood) or equivalent woods and now synthetic material. Permambouc wood is praised for is ...
6
votes
2answers
129 views
How can I get a less directional sound from an amp
Normally I play on stage with my PODX3 DI'ed straight in and use the monitor for all my sound but some venues don't work like this and have, for example, a Marshall stack behind me. Now, I like the ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
What is meant by “Top-End” and “Bottom-End”?
When guitarists describe the sound of their guitars, a lot of terms are used.
What does a guitarist mean when they talk about top and bottom end?
5
votes
2answers
514 views
Does environmental (or food/drink) temperature have an effect on the voice?
Does ambient temperature (i.e. winter vs summer) or food/drink temperature (i.e. cold vs hot) have an effect on voice:
Texture
Pitch/range
Strength
4
votes
4answers
78 views
Acoustic considerations for positioning an upright piano against the wall?
I know that upright pianos are usually positioned against the wall for aesthetic reasons, but I was wondering whether there are any sound quality considerations.
Searching the web it seemed like some ...
3
votes
1answer
122 views
Is there an amp power formula?
I'm looking to buy a new amp for my keyboards, and I was wondering if there's a formula I can use to help me calculate some of the objective specs I should look for. Something along the lines of: I ...
1
vote
2answers
103 views
Trouble understanding loudness diagram
When looking at the Wikipedia article about "loudness", I'm presented with the following picture:
From my understanding, this represents the threshold for how loud a certain sound has to be to be ...
0
votes
2answers
59 views
Can the “music of the spheres” be applied (or projected) to instrumental music?
I've read lots of books on Pythagoras and the philosophy of the Music of the Spheres, but it all seems to stop at labeling planets with scale degrees. And then what? If they're all there, filling up ...
-1
votes
2answers
74 views
How To Derive Note Frequencies From The Harmonic Series? [closed]
The harmonic series give us the (natural or just) frequencies of the notes in an octave. To achieve that we need to transpose the higher-order harmonics to the same octave as the fundamental tone. But ...
