Antoine Lefebvre: "The Design of Composite Material Wind Instruments using Physical Modelling"

Antoine Lefebvre is a Doctoral student in the Music Technology Area of the Schulich School of Music, McGill University.

Wind instruments have traditionally been developed slowly through trial and error, requiring the innovation of generations of craftsmen to attain their modern shapes. Today, most of these instruments are mass-produced at relatively low cost by large manufacturers, few of which invest in the development of new, innovative acoustic instruments. The complexity and high cost associated with the development of new instruments, combined with the possibility of not selling them, contribute to the lack of variety. Some of this complexity and cost can be mitigated by developing new design methods.

We are working on the development of simulation tools adapted to the design of wind instruments and on new fabrication techniques using composite materials. In this talk, we present an historical overview of wind instrument development and, as a case study, the traditional fabrication process of saxophones. We will then present our design software, composite material fabrication techniques, and prototypes.