Welcome to the acoustics pages at awbmusic.com. These pages are dedicated to research in the field of musical acoustics with the focus on stringed instruments and especially the double bass.
News
I was employed until August 2004 at the Institut fuer Wiener Klangstil, the musical instrument research institue of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. My duties there included research activities, translation of German texts into English, and teaching a seminar "Acoustics of Stringed Instruments" to students at the Music University. You can find out more about IWK here...
I completed my Ph.D. in Musical Acoustics in October 2004. My dissertation topic dealt with the acoustics of flatbacked and roundbacked stringed instruments, specifically basses. Click on the link to read why flatbacks have a less even response curve and radiation pattern, and why these characteristics appeal to many players. Tell me what you think at the above e-mail address.
I am currently analyzing a large number (40) of double bass impulse response measurements made on the basses of the Philadelphia Orchestra and of the Vienna Philharmonic and State Opera Orchestras (Thanks to D. Rosengard, A. Robertson, W. Ramseier-Gorbach!!!). The results will be published in a book on the acoustics of the classical Viennese double bass and printed by the IWK in Vienna. I am constrained in my time, however, on account of my heavy teaching schedule at the German School in Potomac, MD, so the publication date has yet to be established. Here are two photos of the session at the Musikverein: at left, a Steve Reiley copy of a Guiseppe Ceruti is being tapped, at right, a typical resulting resonance curve.
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The analysis even makes it possible to predict sound qualities based on the resulting admittance curves and vice versa. The preliminary results of the impulse response measurements have shown great promise of establishing quality parameters by measuring top-quality basses. So, please check back for results in the near future!
I am also developing a "secret weapon" of the bass world to help New York jazzers catch cabs. More on this project soon...
Links
Below is my list of current acoustics links:
1) Click here for a list of my publications at IWK from 1999-2004.
2) See my Dissertation work on bass acoustics, "An Acoustical Comparison of Flatback and Roundback Double Basses" (< 5 MB).
3) See my masters thesis The acoustics of double bass bridge height adjusters (1999).
4) Check a great list of Musical Acoustics Links, collected by Dr Matthias Bertsch of IWK.
5) A recent paper written by Matthias Bertsch and me for the 1st Conferce on Interdisciplinary Musicology, Graz, April, 2004.
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© 2005 Andrew Brown