Vibroacoustic characterization and sound synthesis of the viola caipira
Guilherme Orelli Paiva · 2017
The viola caipira is a type of Brazilian guitar widely used in popular music. It consists of ten metallic strings arranged in five pairs, tuned in unison or octave. The thesis work focuses on the analysis of the specificities of musical sounds produced by this instrument, which has been little studied in the literature.The analysis of the motions of plucked strings using a high speed camera shows the existance of sympathetic vibrations, which results in a sound halo, constituting an important perceptive feature. These measurements also reveal the existence of shocks between strings, which lead to very clearly audible consequences. Bridges mobilities are also measured using the wire-breaking method, which is simple to use and inexpensive since it does not require the use of a force sensor. Combined with a high-resolution modal analysis (ESPRIT method), these measurements enable to determine the modal shapes at the string/body coupling points and thus to characterize the instrument.A physical modelling, based on a modal approach, is carried out for sound synthesis purposes. It takes into account the strings motions according to 2 polarizations, the couplings with the body and the collisions between strings. This model is called a hybrid model because it combines an analytical approach to describe the vibrations of strings and experimental data describing the body. Simulations in the time domain reveal the main characteristics of the viola caipira.