Numerical calculations of woodwind impedances without adequate experimental data: Personal experiences
William J. Strong · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1999
Some numerical calculations of impedances of an oboe showed relatively good qualitative agreement with experimental data [G. R. Plitnik and W. J. Strong, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 65, 816–825 (1979)]. With the apparent success of the numerical method, input impedances were calculated for a number of ‘‘woodwind-like’’ structures. On the basis of these calculations a paper was prepared and submitted for publication. Some six months after its submission it was returned with numerous comments regarding errors in its content. A recurring comment from the reviewer was ‘‘the digital computer where used alone has contributed directly to most of the difficulties of this paper.’’ Previous to receiving the reviewer’s comments the author was using the same numerical method to calculate resonance frequencies of a flute. Difficulty was being experienced in getting reasonable agreement with experimental results. However, after incorporating empirical data into the representation of toneholes rather good results were obtained with the numerical method [W. J. Strong, N. H. Fletcher, and R. K. Silk]. A brief history of these experiences will be presented along with pertinent details from the papers and the reviewer’s comments.