Title: Input Impedance Curves for Reed Instruments
Abstract: Equipment previously described [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 50, 128(A) (1971)] for determining resonance frequencies in musical instruments is used to give quantitative curves of the input impedance of the instrument as a function of frequency. The equipment also plots along with the impedance curve the frequencies of the harmonics of a chosen fundamental frequency. For the reed instruments, such as the clarinet, bassoon, and oboe, the resonance frequencies (at which the instrument can sound) are those for which the impedance is a maximum. A series of typical input impedance curves for selected notes on the above instruments has been prepared and will be discussed. The input impedance of the clarinet for the resonance used ranges from 500 to 1000 cgs acoustic ohms; that of the bassoon, from 400 to 1200 ohms; and that of the oboe, from 800 to 1700 ohms. For high notes the oboe plays as much as 300 cents flat as compared to the frequency of the resonance on which it operates. [This work was supported by the National Science Foundation.]