Analytical Determination of the Attack Transient in a Clarinet With Time-Varying Blowing Pressure

This article uses a basic model of a reed instrument , known as the lossless Raman model, to determine analytically the envelope of the sound produced by the clarinet when the mouth pressure is increased gradually to start a note from silence. Using results from dynamic bifur-cation theory, a prediction of the amplitude of the sound as a function of time is given based on a few parameters quantifying the time evolution of mouth pressure. As in previous uses of this model, the predictions are expected to be qualitatively consistent with simulations using the Raman model, and observations of real instruments. Model simulations for slowly variable parameters require very high precisions of computation. Similarly, any real system, even if close to the model would be affected by noise. In order to describe the influence of noise, a modified model is developed that includes a stochastic variation of the parameters. Both ideal and stochastic models are shown to attain a minimal amplitude at the static oscillation threshold. Beyond this point, the amplitude of the oscillations increases exponentially, although some time is required before the oscillations can be observed at the '' dynamic oscillation threshold ''. The effect of a sudden interruption of the growth of the mouth pressure is also studied, showing that it usually triggers a faster growth of the oscillations

Effect of Changing the Vocal Tract Shape on the Sound Production of the Recorder: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

Changing the vocal tract shape is one of the techniques which can be used by the players of wind instruments to modify the quality of the sound. It has been intensely studied in the case of reed instruments but has received only little attention in the case of air-jet instruments. This paper presents a first study focused on changes in the vocal tract shape in recorder playing techniques. Measurements carried out with recorder players allow to identify techniques involving changes of the mouth shape as well as consequences on the sound. A second experiment performed in laboratory mimics the coupling with the vocal tract on an artificial mouth. The phase of the transfer function between the instrument and the mouth of the player is identified to be the relevant parameter of the coupling. It is shown to have consequences on the spectral content in terms of energy distribution among the even and odd harmonics, as well as on the stability of the first two oscillating regimes. The results gathered from the two experiments allow to develop a simplified model of sound production including the effect of changing the vocal tract shape. It is based on the modification of the jet instabilities due to the pulsating emerging jet. Two kinds of instabilities, symmetric and anti-symmetric, with respect to the stream axis, are controlled by the coupling with the vocal tract and the acoustic oscillation within the pipe, respectively. The symmetry properties of the flow are mapped on the temporal formulation of the source term, predicting a change in the even / odd harmonics energy distribution. The predictions are in qualitative agreement with the experimental observations

Attack transients in clarinet models with different complexity - a comparative view

International audienceRecent works on simplified clarinet models using results from dynamic bifurcation theory have allowed to predict the evolution of the amplitude of sound (the amplitude envelope) for a gradual increase of the blowing pressure. The unrealistic model that predicted the amplitudes to attain very small values, far below the precision of a computer, was later corrected by the addition of stochastic noise to the model. The two models are useful in explaining and understanding why the oscillations appear with a delay relative to the threshold of oscillation that is predicted by purely steady-state models. Both the model of the instrument and that of the noise are extremely simplistic, raising the question of its applicability to real instruments. These models can however be made gradually more complex by introducing more realistic details in the reed or in the resonator, and applying parameter profiles with more complex shapes or noise amplitudes. This presentation shows the differences encountered in the time-evolution of the acoustic wave simulated using two models of different complexity, one with an instantaneous reflection function, another with dispersion. The article explores to which extent can the dynamic predictive model be used to describe the time evolution of more realistic models, and hopefully that of the real instrument

A Minimal Model of a Single-Reed Instrument Producing Quasi-Periodic Sounds

International audienceSingle-reed instruments can produce multiphonic sounds when they generate quasi-periodic oscillations. The aim of this article is to identify a minimal model of a single reed-instrument producing quasi-periodic oscillations. To better understand the influence of model parameters on the production of quasi-periodic regimes, the mapping between parameters and quasi-periodic regimes is explicitly identified using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. SVMs enable the construction of boundaries between quasi-periodic and periodic regimes that are explicitly defined in terms of the parameters. Results and conclusions obtained from the numerical model are compared to published experiments related to the the production of quasi-periodic oscillations with an alto saxophone. This qualitative comparison highlights the influence of key parameters on the production of multiphonic sounds

Modal decomposition synthesis for localized nonlinear losses at termination of a woodwind model: influence on sound characteristics

A sound synthesis model for woodwind instruments is developed using modal decomposition of the input impedance, accounting for viscothermal losses as well as localized nonlinear losses at the end of the resonator. To extend the definition of the input impedance to the nonlinear domain, the method incorporates a dependence on the RMS acoustic velocity at a geometric discontinuity. The poles and residues resulting from the modal decomposition are then fitted with respect to this velocity. Thus, the pressure-flow relation defined by the resonator is completed by new equations which account for the dependence with the RMS velocity at the end of the tube. The ability of the model to reproduce the bifurcation diagram of a reed instrument was confirmed in a previous article from the authors [1]. The present work focuses on the influence of localized nonlinear losses on the acoustic pressure signal. Results are discussed with the observations of [2]

Physics of wind instruments an overview of studies carried out at LMA

International audienceA poster is presented with the aim of doing an overview of the research activities carried out on the physics of wind instruments at the Laboratory of Mechanics and Acoustic

Interaction of reed and acoustic resonator in clarinetlike systems

Sound emergence in clarinetlike instruments is investigated in terms of instability of the static regime. Various models of reed-bore coupling are considered, from the pioneering work of Wilson and Beavers ["Operating modes of the clarinet", J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 56, 653--658 (1974)] to more recent modeling including viscothermal bore losses and vena contracta at the reed inlet. The pressure threshold above which these models may oscillate as well as the frequency of oscillation at threshold are calculated. In addition to Wilson and Beavers' previous conclusions concerning the role of the reed damping in the selection of the register the instrument will play on, the influence of the reed motion induced flow is also emphasized, particularly its effect on playing frequencies, contributing to reduce discrepancies between Wilson and Beavers' experimental results and theory, despite discrepancies still remain concerning the pressure threshold. Finally, analytical approximations of the oscillating solution based on Fourier series expansion are obtained in the vicinity of the threshold of oscillation. This allows to emphasize the conditions which determine the nature of the bifurcation (direct or inverse) through which the note may emerge, with therefore important consequences on the musical playing performances

A robust and rapid xenograft model to assess efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents for human acute myeloid leukemia

International audienceRelevant preclinical mouse models are crucial to screen new therapeutic agents for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Current in vivo models based on the use of patient samples are not easy to establish and manipulate in the laboratory. Our objective was to develop robust xenograft models of human AML using well-characterized cell lines as a more accessible and faster alternative to those incorporating the use of patient-derived AML cells. Five widely used AML cell lines representing various AML subtypes were transplanted and expanded into highly immunodeficient non-obese diabetic/LtSz-severe combined immunodeficiency IL2R gamma(null)(c) mice (for example, cell line-derived xenografts). We show here that bone marrow sublethal conditioning with busulfan or irradiation has equal efficiency for the xenotransplantation of AML cell lines. Although higher number of injected AML cells did not change tumor engraftment in bone marrow and spleen, it significantly reduced the overall survival in mice for all tested AML cell lines. On the basis of AML cell characteristics, these models also exhibited a broad range of overall mouse survival, engraftment, tissue infiltration and aggressiveness. Thus, we have established a robust, rapid and straightforward in vivo model based on engraftment behavior of AML cell lines, all vital prerequisites for testing new therapeutic agents in preclinical studies