Recollections of studies in the laboratory of A. H. Benade: 1975–1978
Stephen C. Thompson · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1988
From 1975 to 1978 the author had the honor of studying acoustics as a graduate student in the laboratory of Professor A. H. Benade. By this time, much of the fundamental work in understanding the physics of wind instrument air columns, tone holes, and the nonlinear interaction between the air column and its excitation mechanism had been developed. Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics had just been sent to the publisher. Questions concerning some of the more subtle aspects of wind instrument behavior were beginning to be asked: reed resonance effects, spectral transformations from the instrument to the room, mutual interaction of the radiation from adjacent tone holes, and the modification of air column resonances by the player's airway impedance. And all of the new physical understanding was routinely being converted to the musical instrument craftsman's intuitive methods for improving the playing behavior of instruments. For Art, the theoretical understanding of physical phenomena and the practical application of these new ideas in the “real world” of the musician held equal status. This constant interplay of theory, experiment, and practical application created a chain reaction of ideas which is still underway. This paper will recount the author's recollections of the atmosphere and developments of that time period.