Sound Synthesis Of Stringed Instruments Using Statistical Modeling Of The Input Admittance

Abstract

For stringed instruments such as guitar, cello or violin, the term "input admittance" (IA) refers to the driving point mobility. This quantity is obtained by simultaneous measurements of force and velocity (or weleration) at a carefully selected point, near the bridge [l]. Such measurements have been used for many years for characterizing the quality of the instruments. However, the question whether the measured data are significant from an audible point of view remains still today a subject of controversy. Therefore it is of great interest to include the IA in a synthesis p r o p m based on physical modeling, so as to validate its perceptual relevance. The main features of a typical accelerance (acceleration/driving force vs. frequency) modulus cunie can be clearly Seen in Fig. 1. This curve exhibits well separated peaks in the low-frequency range, whereas the high-frequency range is more continuous. In this later region the bandwidths of the different resonance:; overlap, and one must use modal density and statistical parameters rather than individual modal quantities in ordeir to describe the vibration properties of the body.