Computed Timbre Analysis and Synthesis of Pipa
Yi-Huei Chen, Chih-Fang Huang · 2010
This paper proposes a sound synthesis model for the Chinese plucked string instrument called pipa, one of the oldest Chinese musical instruments with over 2000 years of history [1]. It owns four strings with 30 frets and individual halved pear-shaped body so that can offer a wide chromatic scale (3.5 octaves) and many kinds of beautiful tones. The acoustical properties of this instrument are analyzed based on the recorded sound samples. Most vital playing techniques are synthesized by using both physical (digital waveguide) and spectral based model with algorithmic techniques. Synthetic results compared with the recorded ones are also discussed.