Characterization of Woodwinds by Tone-Hole Cutoff Frequency
A. H. Benade · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1973
Chotteau (Thesis, Case Western Reserve, 1971) remarked that a clarinet's measured tone-hole cutoff frequency fc is quite constant over the first two registers. A similar remark is found to apply to all successful woodwinds. The cutoff frequency can characterize a woodwind, since the major acoustical properties of the tone-hole system may be written as simple functions of (f/fc). In an irregular lattice fc varies from cell to cell. At log frequencies the first cell fc dominates. For f near cutoff the average fc of the first two cells dominates, thus regularizing the behavior. Cutoff frequencies were measured for oboe-family instruments of leading players and makers from the Baroque, classical, romantic, and modern periods (including Triébert and Uebel Boehm instruments). Analogous studies have been made on bassoons of Baroque, Marzoli Boehm, modern French, and German type. Similarly chosen clarinets of the major pitches and “systems” from 1830 to the present have been analyzed. Good instruments show great acoustical regularity (even bassoons). Baroque instruments have lower fc than their modern counterparts. Regardless of pitch (e.g., C, B♭, and A clarinets), overall “darker” tone is associated with lower fc. Too high fc causes harshness (e.g., Boehm bassoons and oboes).