Abstract
As an acoustics educator, I have found that carefully constructed computer animations of acoustical and vibrational phenomena and interactive graphics (plots with sliders to change variables) can be powerful tools for communicating how sound waves behave and how musical instruments produce sounds. This talk will showcase a number of animations that I have developed while teaching several graduate level courses in acoustics and vibration, including a graduate course in the acoustics of musical instruments. We will begin with some simple animations that illustrate the nature of sound waves and oscillation. More advanced animations will address the vibration of structures and the radiation of sound from vibrating bodies. Several of the more complicated animations and interactive graphics will specifically apply to the acoustics of musical instruments, including the detailed behavior of plucked, struck, and bowed strings; the vibrational behavior of a guitar; the input impedance for a pipe with tone holes; and the influence of the mouthpiece for a brass instrument. Along the way we will also compare these computer animations with actual measured data from some musical instruments and perhaps some other less musical objects (like baseball bats and tennis rackets).
Biography
VIDEO ARCHIVE - DANIEL RUSSELL