〈 Previous Article ¦ List of all Papers ¦ List of all Authors ¦ Next Article 〉

Influence of the truncation length of the oboe cone on the reed closing time

Carral, Sandra and Chatziioannou, Vasileios 

Proponents of the Pulse Forming Theory (for instance Fricke and Voigt) claim that the reed closing time of wind instruments remains approximately constant over their playing range. The theory presented in \cite{Ollivier02} might provide an explanation for this phenomenon in terms of the geometry of the resonator. This paper aims to test the hypothesis that, for a conical instrument, the closing time of the reed is proportional to the truncation length of the cone. This is done by simulating (through physical modelling) and recording an oboe with a normal staple and with a short staple, assuming that the staple at the top of the instrument is part of the resonator. While the simulations confirm the hypothesis, the recordings show interesting results that invite us to postulate other possibilities.