Player-to-player variability of the dependence of brass-instrument timbre on bell alloy.
Robert W. Pyle · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2010
Previous measurements showed a substantial difference between two trombone players, call them player A and player B, in the degree to which the radiated spectrum changed with changes of bell alloy. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125, 2597 (2009).] Player A maintained a much more consistent timbre across changes of bell alloy than did player B. It is hypothesized that player A altered his embouchure to offset the effects of changes in the instrument to a much greater extent than did player B. This will be tested by simultaneous measurement of sound pressure internally within the mouthpiece and externally on the bell axis. If the hypothesis is true, changing the bell alloy should be reflected by a greater change in the signal within the mouthpiece cup for player A than for player B. Additional tests are planned with instrument-to-player feedback disturbed by shielding the player’s ears and introducing masking noise.