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This book, the first English-language translation of Acoustique des instruments de musique, Second Edition, presents the necessary foundations for understanding the complex physical phenomena involved in musical instruments. What is the function of the labium in a flute? Which features of an instrument allow us to make a clear audible distinction between a clarinet and a trumpet? With the help of numerous examples, these questions are addressed in detail. The authors focus in particular on the significant results obtained in the field during the last fifteen years. Their goal is to show that elementary physical models can be used with benefit for various applications in sound synthesis, instrument making, and sound recording. The book is primarily addressed to graduate students and researchers; however it could also be of interest for engineers, musicians, craftsmen, and music lovers who wish to learn about the basics of musical acoustics. 

Acoustics of Musical Instruments

Part I - Basic Equations and Oscillators.- 1. Continuous models. 1.1 Strings, membranes, bars, plates and shells. 1.2 3D acoustic waves. 1.3 Energy, intensity, power.- 2. Single-degree-of-freedom oscillator. 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Solution with and without a source. Green's function. 2.3 Examples of free and forced oscillations.- Part II - Waves and modes.- 3. Modes. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Time scale. Transition from wave to mode. 3.3 Definitions and basic properties of the eigenmodes.- 4. Waves. 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Solutions without source, first reflection. 4.3 Successive reflections of waves produced by a pulse source.- 5. Dissipation and damping. 5.1 Introduction: dissipative phenomena in musical acoustics. 5.2 Generalizing the concept of mode. 5.3 Damping mechanisms in solid materials.- 6. Coupled systems. 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Structure-cavity interaction. 6.3 Coupling of piano strings.- 7. Wind Instruments: variable cross section and toneholes. 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Pipes with variable cross section: general equations. 7.3 Pipes with cross section discontinuities: first approximation.- Part III - Nonlinearities and self-oscillations.- 8. Nonlinearities. 8.1 An example of asymmetry: the interrupted pendulum. 8.2 Duffing equation. 8.3 Nonlinear vibration of strings.- 9. Reed instruments. 9.1 Background on self-sustained oscillations. 9.2 Reed-instruments models. 9.3 Behavior of the two-equation model (regimes, existence and stability, transients) without reed dynamics.- 10. Flute-like instruments. 10.1 An introduction and general description. 10.2 A global model for the instrument. 10.3 A modeling for the jet oscillation.- 11. Bowed string instruments. 11.1 Introduction. 11.2 Bow-string interaction. 11.3 Bow models.- Part IV - Radiation and sound-structure interaction. - 12. Elementary sources and multipoles. 12.1 Introduction: acoustical radiation of musical instruments. 12.2 Elementary sources. 12.3 Pulsating sphere.- 13. Radiation of vibrating structures. 13.1 Introduction. 13.2 Basic concepts in structural acoustics. 13.3 Radiation of an infinite thin plate.- 14. Radiation of complex systems. 14.1 Example of the vibraphone. 14.2 Example of the kettledrum. 14.3 Example of the guitar.- Glossary.- Index.