The harpsichord’s plucking action is much less studied than the piano’s hammer striking action. A theoretical model was first proposed [D. H. Griffel, J. Sound Vib. 175, 289–297 (1994)] treating the plectrum as a rigid body or two rigid bodies connected with a torsional spring. This was later investigated experimentally [N. Giordano and J. P. Winans II, J. Sound Vib. 224, 455–473 (1999)] using a capacitive sensor, resulting in a more refined model based on simple one‐dimensional beam dynamics. In our work, we employ various string position sensors, and a more detailed plucked string trajectory is captured and analyzed. Also aided by high‐speed camera images, studies on the detailed plectrum’s shape of deflection are done. By a more rigorous treatment of elastic beam theory and looking into interactions of the plectrum and string after the initial release, we present a revised model on the plucking mechanism of the harpsichord string that contributes to its characteristic tone quality.
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March 23 2010
Toward the modeling of harpsichord plucking.
Chao‐Yu J. Perng;
Chao‐Yu J. Perng
Dept. of Phys., Stanford Univ., 382 Via Pueblo Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, perng@stanford.edu
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Thomas D. Rossing;
Thomas D. Rossing
Stanford Univ., CA 94305
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Marshall J. Brown;
Marshall J. Brown
Univ. of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148
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Juliette W. Ioup
Juliette W. Ioup
Univ. of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148
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J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 127, 1733 (2010)
Citation
Chao‐Yu J. Perng, Thomas D. Rossing, Marshall J. Brown, Juliette W. Ioup; Toward the modeling of harpsichord plucking.. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 March 2010; 127 (3_Supplement): 1733. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3383459
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