Summary of A platform for performance: Making the case for an improved cello podium
David J. Tagg · Proceedings of meetings on acoustics · 2017
Stringed instruments such as the cello have been evaluated extensively from structural and acoustical perspectives, but the riser on which a cello sits has been long overlooked. Being that the podium is traditionally some variation of a hollow box, this resonating “podium” effectively becomes part of the instrument and thus plays a role in its acoustic projection. While a cellist’s performance is understood to be visually enhanced by the podium, no one has completed a significant study examining how the physics, dimensions, or capabilities of a cello podium might be optimized. This study investigates the mechanical interaction between the musician, instrument, and supporting surface, measuring the energy transmitted through the legs of the chair, the musician’s feet, and most importantly the endpin of the instrument. Results indicate significant energy and useful audible spectrum is transmitted through the endpin of the instrument which could be harnessed to better acoustically amplify the instrument. It was also found that the attenuation and spectrum of structurally-transmitted vibration through the musician’s body and supporting chair increasingly attenuated with rising frequency, thereby causing undesirable coloration to the sound of the instrument as would be transmitted by the continuous surface of the podium.