How do clarinet players adjust the resonances of their vocal tracts for different playing effects

In a simple model, the reed of the clarinet is mechanically loaded by the series combination of the acoustical impedances of the instrument itself and of the player's vocal tract. Here we measure the complex impedance spectrum of players' tracts using an impedance head adapted to fit inside a clarinet mouthpiece. A direct current shunt with high acoustical resistance allows players to blow normally, so the players can simulate the tract condition under playing conditions. The reproducibility of the results suggest that the players' "muscle memory" is reliable for this task. Most players use a single, highly stable vocal tract configuration over most of the playing range, except for the altissimo register. However, this 'normal' configuration varies substantially among musicians. All musicians change the configuration, often drastically for "special effects'' such as glissandi and slurs: the tongue is lowered and the impedance magnitude reduced when the player intends to lower the pitch or to slur downwards, and vice versa

Dance-O-Mania

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THE ACOUSTICS OF THE TROMBONE : HOW DO PLAYERS LIP UP AND DOWN?

International audienceFour advanced trombonists and three beginners played the note B ♭2 (the lowest normal note played with the slide retracted), then 'lipped up and down'. The normal playing frequency lies above that of the bore impedance peak, so the bore is a compliant load. However, the range reached while lipping is approximately centered on this peak. To investigate how the lip oscillation is regenerated with inertive or compliant acoustic loads, acoustic pressure and flow waveforms were determined both up-and downstream from the lips, while playing. The lip opening area and the flow component due to the lips' sweeping motion were also estimated using a transparent mouthpiece and high-speed video. The lips move forward before separating, then backward before closing. Consequently, the acoustic flow into the mouthpiece becomes positive before the lips open. Further, the volume V of air swept by the lips in the direction of the flow is positive around one cycle. A model in which the lips execute out-of-phase simple harmonic motions in the forwards and vertical directions is consistent with the results. The pressure difference Δ across the lips does nett positive Δ work on the lips, providing sufficient energy for regeneration of the oscillation. As the note is lipped down to inertive load, the phase of the mouthpiece pressure moves ahead of that of the flow, and Δ moves further ahead of the volume of air swept in the horizontal direction. The latter effect decreases Δ work, so, for very inertive loads, the oscillation stops. Lipping upwards is limited partly because negative mouthpiece pressure must always overlap largely with the lips being closed, and the limited magnitude of sweeping flow limits the extent to which flow can lead the lip aperture. Consequently, further increases in lip stiffness produce jumps to the next impedance peak

From idea to acoustics and back again: the creation and analysis of information in music

The information in musical signals – including recordings, written music, mechanical or electronic storage files and the signal in the auditory nerve – are compared as we trace the information chain that links the minds of composer, performer and listener. The (uncompressed) information content of music increases during stages such as theme, development, orchestration and performance. The analysis of performed music by the ear and brain of a listener may reverse the process: several stages of processing simplify or analyse the content in steps that resemble, in reverse, those used to produce the music. Musical signals have a low algorithmic entropy, and are thus readily compressed. For instance, pitch implies periodicity, which implies redundancy. Physiological analyses of these signals use these and other structures to produce relatively compact codings. At another level, the algorithms whereby themes are developed, harmonised and orchestrated by composers resemble, in reverse, the means whereby complete scores may be coded more compactly and thus understood and remembered. Features used to convey information in music (transients, spectra, pitch and timing) are also used to convey information in speech, which is unsurprising, given the shared hard- and soft-ware used in production and analysis. The coding, however, is different, which may give insight into the way music is understood and appreciated

Relations entre pression, débit, mouvement ds lèvres, et impédances amont et aval pour le trombone

International audienceThis experimental study investigates ten subjects playing the trombone in the lower and mid-high range of the instrument, B[2 to F4. Several techniques are combined to show the pressures and the impedance spectra upstream and downstream of the lips, the acoustic and total flows into the instrument , the component of the acoustic flow due to the sweeping motion of the lips, and high speed video images of the lip motion and aperture. The waveforms confirm that the inertance of the air in the channel between the lips is usually negligible. For lower notes, the flow caused by the sweeping motion of the lips contributes substantially to the total flow into the mouthpiece. The phase relations among the waveforms are qualitatively similar across the range studied, with no discontinuous behavior. The players normally played at frequencies about 1.1% above that of the impedance peak of the bore, but could play below as well as above this frequency and bend from above to below without discontinuity. The observed lip motion is consistent with two-degree-of-freedom models having varying effective lengths. These provide insight into why lips can auto-oscillate with an inertive or compliant load, or without a downstream resonator

Diverse resonance tuning strategies for women singers

International audienceOver the range 200 to 2000 Hz, the fundamental frequency f0 of women's singing voices covers the range of the first two resonances (R1 and R2) of the vocal tract. This allows diverse techniques of resonance tuning. Resonances were measured using broadband excitation at their lips. A commonly noted strategy, used by sopranos, and some altos, is to tune R1 close to the fundamental frequency f0 (R1:f0 tuning) once f0 approached the value of R1 of that vowel in speech. At extremely high pitch, sopranos could no longer increase R1 sufficiently and switched from R1:f0 to R2:f0 tuning. At lower pitch many singers of various singing styles found it advantageous to use R1:2f0 tuning Additionally, many sopranos employed R2:2f0 tuning over some of their range, often simultaneously with R1:f0 tuning

Agility Measures Related to Game Performance of NCAA Baseball Pitchers

Like most kinetic chains in athletic performance, the baseball pitching motion begins with the muscles of the legs and continues progressively through the torso, shoulders, and arms. Similarities are noted between the baseball pitching motion and the kinetic chain employed in agility tests that involve acceleration, deceleration, and change of direction measures of agility. Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to determine pre-season agility in NCAA pitchers and to relate these measures to regular season pitching performance. Methods: NCAA Division II pitchers (n=10, age 20.2 ± 1.9 yrs., weight 83.8 ± 10.3 kg, height 1.85 ± 0.48 m) volunteered as study subjects. A previously described laser-timed 60-yd shuttle run (“JJ Shuttle”) provided average speeds for four contiguous agility segments (S1, S2, S3, and S4 of 10, 10, 20, and 20 yds., respectively), as well as Total Shuttle Run (TSR). Statistical measures obtained from regular season games (n=48), including Runs (R), Hits (H), Earned Runs (ER), Base-on-Balls (BB), and Strikeouts (SO), each normalized for innings pitched, provided evidence of game pitching performance. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient determined the relationship of average agility speeds to pitching performance. Results: Analysis identified significant correlations (p\u3c.05) between S1, S2, and TSR and normalized SO (r=0.77, r=0.73, and r=0.87, respectively); S3 and S4 were insignificant (r=0.42 and r=0.59, respectively). Additionally, a significant correlation (p\u3c.05) was identified between S3 and BB (r=0.67). Conclusion: Results of this study suggest that better agility may lead to selected improvements in game performance in NCAA Division II baseball pitchers

Diverse resonance tuning strategies for women singers

International audienceOver the range 200 to 2000 Hz, the fundamental frequency f0 of women's singing voices covers the range of the first two resonances (R1 and R2) of the vocal tract. This allows diverse techniques of resonance tuning. Resonances were measured using broadband excitation at their lips. A commonly noted strategy, used by sopranos, and some altos, is to tune R1 close to the fundamental frequency f0 (R1:f0 tuning) once f0 approached the value of R1 of that vowel in speech. At extremely high pitch, sopranos could no longer increase R1 sufficiently and switched from R1:f0 to R2:f0 tuning. At lower pitch many singers of various singing styles found it advantageous to use R1:2f0 tuning Additionally, many sopranos employed R2:2f0 tuning over some of their range, often simultaneously with R1:f0 tuning

The mechanism producing initial transients on the clarinet

In self-sustained instruments, starting transients are important timbral characteristics that help identify the instrument and the playing style. Often, the oscillation starts as a growing exponential. This study investigates the starting amplitude of this exponential for the clarinet. After a rapid tongue release, the reed quickly returns to its equilibrium position. The sudden change in aperture produces an abrupt change in both the airflow into the mouthpiece and the mouthpiece pressure. This perturbation travels along the bore and reflects at the open end. Returning to the mouthpiece with slight attenuation, the perturbation can be amplified by the reed acting as an active element - effectively a negative resistance. When the reed release time exceeds the time for sound to travel twice the bore length, the airflow and pressure wave into the bore via the aperture are superposed over their own returning reflection. Measurements of reed motion and mouthpiece pressures during reed release yield values that are used in a model to calculate waveforms showing similarities to those observed experimentally. The initial amplitude decreases with increasing reed release time, though not always monotonically. It can become very small in special cases due to synchronisation between the initial pulse and its reflection