Recent developments in the acoustic spectroscopy of violins
Gabriel Weinreich, Eric B. Arnold · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1980
Between the oscillation of the bowed violin string and its final acoustic output stands the intricate dynamical system of the violin body and air cavity. The behavior of this (linear) system is under all circumstances completely characterized by its normal modes, or “resonances,” provided they are analyzed not only as to frequency but also as to complex eigenfunctions. By assembling such information we are in a position to compute the coupling of each mode to the driving points at the bridge and to all acoustic-field variables. The approach will be illustrated by data on several violins and by the way the corresponding transfer functions change with change in parameters such as soundpost placement. [Work supported by NSF.]