The Physics of Musical Instruments

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. Vibrating Systems

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Free and Forced Vibrations of Simple Systems

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 3-33

   3. Continuous Systems in One Dimension: Strings and Bars

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 34-69

   4. Two-Dimensional Systems: Membranes, Plates, and Shells

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 70-101

   5. Coupled Vibrating Systems

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 102-132

   6. Nonlinear Systems

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 133-151

3. Sound Waves

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 153-153

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   2. Sound Waves in Air

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 155-170

   3. Sound Radiation

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 171-189

   4. Pipes, Horns and Cavities

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 190-235

4. String Instruments

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 237-237

      PDF

   2. Guitars and Lutes

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 239-271

   3. Bowed String Instruments

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 272-330

   4. Harps, Harpsichords, Clavichords, and Dulcimers

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 331-351

   5. The Piano

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 352-398

5. Wind Instruments

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 399-399

      PDF

   2. Sound Generation by Reed and Lip Vibrations

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 401-428

   3. Lip-Driven Brass Instruments

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 429-460

   4. Woodwind Reed Instruments

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

      Pages 461-502

When we wrote the first edition of this book, we directed our presenta­ tion to the reader with a compelling interest in musical instruments who has "a reasonable grasp of physics and who is not frightened by a little mathematics." We are delighted to find how many such people there are. The opportunity afforded by the preparation of this second edition has allowed us to bring our discussion up to date by including those new insights that have arisen from the work of many dedicated researchers over the past decade. We have also taken the opportunity to revise our presentation of some aspects of the subject to make it more general and, we hope, more immediately accessible. We have, of course, corrected any errors that have come to our attention, and we express our thanks to those friends who pointed out such defects in the early printings of the first edition. We hope that this book will continue to serve as a guide, both to those undertaking research in the field and to those who simply have a deep interest in the subject. June 1991 N.H.F and T.D.R.

• Dulcimer
• Gong
• Harp
• Horn
• Pi
• Piano
• Tar
• Vibration
• Wave

"Essentially everything you have ever wanted to know about the physics of musical instruments" PHYSICS TODAY
"a rigor, graphical detail, and verbal description." AUDIO

• Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

  Neville H. Fletcher

• Department of Physics, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA

  Thomas D. Rossing

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