157

Percussion M
Andrew C. Morrison, Thomas D. Rossing
9. Percussion Musical Instruments

9.2.4 Vibes ................................................. 161

Percussion instruments are an important part of
9.2.5 Glockenspiel....................................... 162
every musical culture. Although they are probably
9.2.6 Chimes............................................... 163
our oldest musical instruments (with the exception 9.2.7 Lithophones ....................................... 163
of the human voice), there has been less research
on the acoustics of percussion instruments, as 9.3 Cymbals, Gongs, and Plates ................ 164
compared to wind or string instruments. Quite 9.3.1 Cymbals ............................................. 164
a number of scientists, however, continue to study 9.3.2 Gongs ................................................ 164
these instruments. 9.3.3 Chinese Gongs .................................... 164
Over the years we have written several review 9.3.4 The Caribbean Steelpan ....................... 165
articles on the acoustics of percussion instru- 9.3.5 The Hang ........................................... 166
ments [9.1, 2] as well as a book [9.3]. They are also 9.3.6 Bells .................................................. 167
the subject of chapters in most books on musical 9.3.7 Handbells .......................................... 167
acoustics and on musical instruments [9.4–8]. 9.4 Methods for Studying the Acoustics
of Percussion Instruments .................. 168
9.1 Drums ............................................... 157 9.4.1 Finite Element and Boundary Element
9.1.1 Timpani ............................................. 158 Methods ............................................ 168
9.1.2 Snare Drums....................................... 158 9.4.2 Experimental Studies of Modes
9.1.3 Bass Drums ........................................ 159 of Vibration ........................................ 168
9.1.4 Tom-Toms .......................................... 159 9.4.3 Scanning with a Microphone
9.1.5 Indian Drums ..................................... 159 or an Accelerometer ............................ 169
9.1.6 Japanese Drums ................................. 159 9.4.4 Holographic Interferometry.................. 169
9.4.5 Experimental Modal Testing ................. 169
9.2 Mallet Percussion Instruments ............ 160 9.4.6 Radiated Sound Field .......................... 169
9.2.1 Vibrating Bars ..................................... 160 9.4.7 Physical Modeling ............................... 169
9.2.2 Marimbas........................................... 161
9.2.3 Xylophones ........................................ 161 References................................................... 170

9.1 Drums
Drums generally have membranes of animal skin or of pitch at all. Some drums have a single membrane
synthetic material stretched over some type of air en- (drumhead), while others include two membranes cou-
closure. Nowadays synthetic materials, such as Mylar pled together by vibrations of the drum shell and the
(polyethylene terephthalate), are more common, al- enclosed air. The first 12 modes of vibration of a circu-
though some percussionists still prefer animal skin lar membrane are shown in Fig. 9.1. Above each sketch
(leather). Some type of tensioning device is nearly al- are given the values of m (the number of nodal diam-
ways included. The speed of waves on the membrane eters) and n (the number of nodal circles), and below
(and thus the frequency of the various modes) depends it the frequency of vibration for that mode divided by
Part A | 9.1

upon the tension, the thickness, and the density of the the frequency of the lowest (01) mode. Mathematically,
membrane. Some drums (e.g., timpani, tabla, boobams) the mode frequencies of an ideal membrane are propor-
sound a definite pitch; others convey almost no sense tional to those of the mn Bessel function.

© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2018

R. Bader (Ed.), Springer Handbook of Systematic Musicology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-55004-5_9
 158 Part A Musical Acoustics and Signal Processing

01 11 21 02 31 12
Fig. 9.1 Modes of vibration of
a circular membrane

(1) (1.59) (2.14) (2.3) (2.65) (2.92)

41 22 03 51 32 61

(3.16) (3.5) (3.6) (3.65) (4.06) (4.15)

9.1.1 Timpani tal, the others are nearly in the ratios 1 W 1:5 W 2 W 2:5,
a harmonic series built on an octave below the princi-
The timpani or kettledrums are the most important pal note. Measurements on timpani of other sizes give
drums in the orchestra, with one member of the percus- similar results [9.11].
sion section usually devoting attention exclusively to
them. Most modern timpani have a pedal-operated ten- 9.1.2 Snare Drums
sioning mechanism in addition to six or eight tensioning
screws around the rim of the kettle. Although the modes The snare drum is a two-headed instrument about
of vibration of an ideal membrane are not harmonic, 3338 cm in diameter and 1320 cm deep. The shell
a carefully tuned kettledrum will sound a strong princi- is made from wood, metal, or Mylar. Strands of wire or
pal note plus two or more nearly harmonic overtones. gut are stretched across the lower (snare) head. When
Rayleigh [9.9] recognized the principal note as com- the upper (batter) head is struck, the snare head vibrates
ing from the (11) mode and identified overtones about against the snares. The coupling between the snares and
a perfect fifth (f W f1 D 3 W 2), a major seventh (15 W 8), the snare head depends upon the mass and the tension
and an octave (2 W 1) above the principal tone. The in- of the snares. At a sufficiently large amplitude of the
harmonic modes of an ideal membrane are shifted into snare head, properly adjusted snares will leave the head
a nearly harmonic series mainly by the effect of air at some point during the vibration cycle and then return
loading [9.10]. Mode frequencies of a kettledrum, with to strike it, thus giving the snare drum its characteristic
and without the kettle, are given in Table 9.1. sound. The greater the tension on the snares, the larger
Normal striking technique produces prominent par- the amplitude needed for this to take place [9.12]. Vi-
tials with frequencies in the ratios 0:85 W 1 W 1:5 W 1:99 W brational modes of a snare drum shell, with and without
2:44 W 2:89. If we ignore the heavily damped fundamen- the drumheads, are shown in [9.12].

Table 9.1 Mode frequencies and ratios of kettledrum membranes with and without the kettle
Mode Kettledrum Drumhead alone Ideal membrane
f (Hz) f =f11 f (Hz) f =f11 f =f11
01 127 0.85 82 0.53 0.63
11 150 1.00 155 1.00 1.00
21 227 1.51 229 1.48 1.34
02 252 1.68 241 1.55 1.44
31 298 1.99 297 1.92 1.66
12 314 2.09 323 2.08 1.83
41 366 2.44 366 2.36 1.98
22 401 2.67 402 2.59 2.20
03 418 2.79 407 2.63 2.26
Part A | 9.1

51 434 2.89 431 2.78 2.29

32 448 2.99 479 3.09 2.55
61 462 3.08 484 3.12 2.61
13 478 3.19 497 3.21 2.66
42 515 3.32 2.89
 Percussion Musical Instruments 9.1 Drums 159

9.1.3 Bass Drums into one. The smaller head, like that of the tabla, is
loaded with a patch of dried paste, while the larger
The bass drum is capable of radiating up to 20 W of head is normally loaded with a paste of wheat and wa-
peak acoustical power, probably the most of any in- ter shortly before playing. A tabla and a mrdanga are
strument in the orchestra. A concert bass drum usually shown in Fig. 9.2.
has a diameter of 80100 cm, although smaller drums The acoustical properties of these drums have been
(5075 cm) are popular in marching bands. Most bass studied by a succession of Indian scientists, including
drums have two heads, set at different tensions, al- Nobel laureate C.V. Raman. Raman and his colleagues
though single-headed gong drums are used when a more recognized that the first four overtones of the tabla
defined pitch is desired. Mylar heads with a thick- are harmonics of the fundamental, and they identi-
ness of 0:25 mm are widely used, although calfskin fied these five harmonics as coming from nine normal
heads are preferred by some drummers for large con- modes [9.14]. For example, Fig. 9.3 shows how combi-
cert bass drums. Generally the batter or beating head is nations of the (0,2) and (2,1) modes produce the third
tuned to a greater tension than the carry or resonating harmonic partial.
head.
9.1.6 Japanese Drums
9.1.4 Tom-Toms
Drums have been used for centuries in Japanese tem-
Tom-toms range from 20 to 45 cm in diameter, and ples. In Buddhist temples, it has been said that the
they may have either one or two heads. Although often sound of the drum is the voice of Buddha. In Shinto
characterized as untuned drums, tom-toms do convey temples it is said that drums have a spirit (kumi) and
an identifiable pitch, especially the single-headed type. that with a drum one can talk to the spirits of ani-
When a tom-tom is struck a hard blow, the deflection mals, water, and fire. Drums were often used to motivate
of the drumhead may be great enough to cause a signif- warriors into battle and to entertain in town festi-
icant change in the tension, which momentarily raises vals and weddings [9.15]. The Japanese taiko (drum)
the frequencies of all modes of vibration and thus the has broken out of its traditional setting, and today’s
apparent pitch. The fundamental frequency in a 33 cm taiko bands have given new life to this old tradi-
tom-tom, for example, was found to rise about eight tion. Japan’s famous taiko band, the Kodo drummers,
percent (slightly more than a semitone) during the first have performed in many countries of the world. Taiko
0:2 s after the strike [9.13], resulting in a perceptible bands exist in many Western countries. The o-daiko is
pitch glide. The pitch glide can be enhanced by load- a large drum consisting of two cowhide membranes
ing the outer portion of the drumhead with a Mylar stretched tightly across the ends of a wooden cylin-
ring. der 50100 cm in diameter and about 1 m in length.
The drum, which hangs in a wooden frame, is struck
9.1.5 Indian Drums with large felt-padded beaters. It is often used in reli-
gious functions at shrines, where its deep sound adds
Foremost among the drums of India are the tabla (north solemnity to the occasion. Obata and Tesima [9.15]
India) and mrdanga (south India). The overtones of found modes of vibration in the o-daiko to be some-
both these drums are tuned harmonically by loading what similar to those in the bass drum. The tsudzumi
the drumhead with a paste of starch, gum, iron oxide,
charcoal, or other materials. The tabla has a rather thick
a) b)
head made from three layers of animal skin (calf, sheep,
goat, or buffalo skins are apparently used in different
regions). The innermost and outermost layers are an-
nular, and the layers are braided together at their outer
edge and fastened to a leather hoop. Tension is ap-
plied to the head by means of a long leather thong
that weaves back and forth between the top and bottom
Part A | 9.1

of the drum. The tabla is usually played together with

a larger drum, called the banya or left-handed tabla. The
head of the larger drum is also loaded, but slightly off
center. The mrdanga is a two-headed drum that func-
tions, in many respects, as a tabla and banya combined Fig. 9.2a,b The tabla (a) and mrdanga (b)
 160 Part A Musical Acoustics and Signal Processing

Fig. 9.3a–f Modes of vibration of

a)
a) b) c)
b)
the tabla (after [9.14]). (a) The (0,2)
normal mode. (b–e) Combination of
(0,2) and (2,1) normal modes. (f) The
(2,1) normal mode

d) e) f)

(or tsuzumi) is a braced drum whose body has cup- 1 cm2 at the center of the bottom head, which tunes
shaped ends and leather heads on both ends. A few the modes of this head into a nearly harmonic relation-
sheets of paper wet with saliva cover an area of about ship [9.16].

9.2 Mallet Percussion Instruments

9.2.1 Vibrating Bars leads to a fourth-order differential equation whose so-
lution can be found in [9.4, Sect. 2.15]. The solution
Bars or rods can vibrate either longitudinally or trans- leads to different modal frequencies, depending upon
versely. The most important vibrations in percussion whether the ends of the bar or rod are free, clamped, or
instruments are the transverse bending vibrations in simply supported (hinged). The most commonly used
which internal elastic forces supply the necessary bars in percussion instruments are bars that are free at
restoring force. When a bar is bent, the outer part is both ends, whose relative frequencies are given by
stretched and the inner part is compressed. Somewhere
s
in between is a neutral axis whose length remains un-
 K E 
changed, as shown in Fig. 9.4. fn D 2 3:0112 ; 52 ; 72 ; :::; .2n C 1/2 :
A filament located at a distance z below the neu- 8L 
tral axis is compressed by an amount zd. The strain
is zd=dx, and the amount of force required to produce The frequencies and nodal positions for the first four
the strain is EdSzd=dx, where dS is the cross-sectional bending vibrational modes in a thin bar with free ends
area of the filament and E is Young’s modulus. This are given in Table 9.2.

a) dx b)

dφ F (x + dx)
Neutral axis M (x)
dF z
Part A | 9.2

x
–M
dF (x +
x+ d x)
F (x) dx

Fig. 9.4 (a) Bending strains in a bar. (b) Bending moments and shear forces in a bar
 Percussion Musical Instruments 9.2 Mallet Percussion Instruments 161

Table 9.2 Properties of transverse vibrations in a bar free at both ends

Frequency Wavelength Nodal positions
(Hz) (m) (m from end of 1  m bar)
q
f1 D 3:5607 KL E

1:330 L 0.224, 0.776
2:756 f1 0:800 L 0.132, 0.500, 0.868
5:404 f1 0:572 L 0.094, 0.356, 0.644, 0.906
8:933 f1 0:445 L 0.073, 0.277, 0.500, 0.723, 0.927

9.2.2 Marimbas contribute to the timbre. Applying finite element meth-

ods to marimba and xylophone bars showed that a small
In most of the world, the term marimba denotes a deep- curvature in the bars has very little effect on the rela-
toned instrument with tuned bars and resonator tubes tive frequencies of the vibrational modes. Henrique and
that evolved from the early Latin American instrument. Antunes have used finite element methods both to op-
The marimba typically includes three to four-and-a-half timize the shape of marimba and xylophone bars and
octaves of tuned bars of rosewood or synthetic material to model the sound. They employ a physical model-
with a deep arch cut to tune the overtones. The first over- ing approach that addresses the spatial aspects of the
tone, which is radiated by the second bending mode, problem and is suitable for both dispersive and nondis-
is normally tuned to the fourth harmonic of the funda- persive systems [9.20]. The sound field radiated by
mental in the first two to three-and-a-half octaves, af- a simulated marimba bar has been calculated by as-
ter which the interval decreases [9.17]. Details of bar suming the vibrating bar to be equivalent to a linear
shapes for harmonic tuning are given by Bork [9.18]. array of oscillating spheres. This sound pressure excites
Below each marimba bar is a cylindrical resonator pipe a monodimensional lossy tube of finite length termi-
tuned to the fundamental mode of the bar. A pipe with nated by a radiation impedance at its open end, which
one closed end and one open end resonates when its represents the tubular resonator. The amount of fre-
acoustical length is one-fourth of a wavelength of the quency decrease as the resonator is moved closer to the
sound. The tubular resonators emphasize the fundamen- bar is then calculated [9.21].
tal and also increase the loudness, which is done at the
expense of shortening the decay time of the sound. The 9.2.3 Xylophones
statement is sometimes made that the resonator prolongs
the sound but that is incorrect. That impression may be Xylophones also use bars of wood or synthetic mate-
conveyed when it is played with other instruments in an rial, but the arch is not cut as deep as that of a marimba.
ensemble since the sound decay curve begins higher and The first overtone is tuned to the third rather than the
may cross the background sound at a slightly later time. fourth harmonic of the fundamental. The closed-tube
Some companies now make large five-octave concert resonators placed below the bars reinforce the third
marimbas that cover the range C2 to C7. In such instru- harmonic as well as the fundamental, thus producing
ments, generally the second bending mode is accurately a brighter sound than the marimba. This is further en-
tuned to the fourth harmonic in the first three-and-a-half hanced by using hard mallets.
octaves. The third bending mode is tuned to the tenth
harmonic in the first two octaves, after which the inter- 9.2.4 Vibes
val decreases. The fourth mode varies from the 20th har-
monic in the lowest bars to about the sixth harmonic in Vibraphones or vibraharps, as they are called by differ-
the highest bars [9.19]. Relative frequencies of the first ent manufacturers, have aluminum bars deeply arched
four bending modes in a Malletech marimba are shown (as in marimbas) so that the first overtone has a fre-
in Fig. 9.5a, while those of several torsional modes in quency four times that of the fundamental. The alu-
the same marimba are shown in Fig. 9.5b. The first tor- minum bars in vibes have much longer decay times
sional mode frequency ranges from about 1.9 times the than the wood or synthetic bars of the marimba, and so
nominal frequency (largest bars) to about 1.2 times the vibes are equipped with pedal-operated dampers. The
Part A | 9.2

nominal frequency (smallest bars). most distinctive feature of vibes, however, is the vibrato
In normal playing, the bars are struck near their cen- introduced by motor-driven discs at the top of the res-
ters, where the torsional (twisting) modes have nodes, onators, which alternately open and close the tubes. The
and thus they will not be excited to any great extent. vibrato produced by these rotating discs of pulsators
On the other hand, if the bars are struck away from produces a vibrato (hence the name). The speed of ro-
the center, deliberately or not, the torsional modes may tation of the discs may be adjusted to produce a slow
 162 Part A Musical Acoustics and Signal Processing

a) Ratio to note frequency Fig. 9.5a,b Torsional modes (a) and

40 bending modes (b) in a Malletech
five-octave marimba
35

30

25

20

15

10

0
C2 D2 E2 F2 G2 A2 B2 C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5 E5 F5 G5 A5 B5 C6 D6 E6 F6 G6 A6 B6 C7

Note
b) Ratio to note frequency
25

20

15

10

0
C2 D2 E2 F2 G2 A2 B2 C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5 E5 F5 G5 A5 B5 C6 D6 E6 F6 G6 A6 B6 C7

Note

Fig. 9.6 Holographic interferogram

showing vibrational modes of a jade
chime stone

vibe or a fast vibe. Sometimes vibes are played without is customarily from G5 to C8, although it is scored two
vibrato by switching off the motor. Vibes are generally octaves lower than it sounds. The glockenspiel is usu-
Part A | 9.2

played with soft mallets that produce a mellow tone. ally played with brass or hard plastic mallets. The bell
lyra is a portable version, popular in marching bands,
9.2.5 Glockenspiel that uses aluminum bars. Because the high overtones
die out quickly, no effort is made to tune the over-
The glockenspiel, or orchestra bells, uses rectangular tones harmonically, as in the marimba, xylophone, and
steel bars 2:53:2 cm wide and 89 cm thick. Its range vibes.
 Percussion Musical Instruments 9.2 Mallet Percussion Instruments 163

Fig. 9.8 Interferograms showing vibrational modes of

a Korean pyeon-gyoung stone
Fig. 9.7 Set of 16 pyeon-gyoung (stone chimes) from the
Chosun Dynasty in Korea hears. Modes four, five and six, which are near the ra-
tios 2 W 3 W 4 in a beam or tube, appear to determine the
9.2.6 Chimes strike tone, which is heard one octave below the fourth
mode [9.1].
Chimes or tubular bells are generally fabricated from
lengths of brass tubing 3238 mm in diameter. The up- 9.2.7 Lithophones
per end of each tube is partially or completely closed
by a brass plug with a protruding rim. The rim forms Lithophones are stones that vibrate and produce sound.
a convenient and durable striking point. The modes The ancient Chinese were fond of stone chimes, many
of transverse vibration in a pipe are essentially those of which have been found in ancient Chinese tombs.
of a thin bar. One of the most interesting character- A typical stone chime was shaped to have arms
istics of chimes is that there is no mode of vibration of different lengths joined at an obtuse angle. The
with a frequency at the pitch of the strike tone one stones were generally struck on their longer arm with

Ratio to note frequency

14

12

10

4
Part A | 9.2

0 pg1 pg2 pg3 pg4 pg5 pg6 pg7 pg8 pg9 pg10 pg11 pg12 pg13 pg14 pg15 pg16
Fig. 9.9 Relative frequencies of the
Notes pyeon-gyoung stone
 164 Part A Musical Acoustics and Signal Processing

a wooden mallet. Sometimes the stones were richly chimes, these stones all have the same size but differ
ornamented. A lithophone of 32 stone chimes found from each other only in thickness. The fundamental
in the tomb of the Marquis Yi (which also contained frequency is essentially proportional to the thickness,
a magnificent set of 65 bells) was scaled in size, al- just as in a rectangular bar such as a marimba bar.
though the dimensions of the chimes do not appear to The second mode in each stone is approximately 1.5
follow a strict scaling law [9.22]. In later times, the times the fundamental, while the third mode is about
Chinese made stone chimes of jade. Holographic inter- 2.3 times the nominal frequency. The fourth mode is
ferograms showing some of the modes of vibration of about three times the nominal frequency up to the 12th
a small jade chime are shown in Fig. 9.6. Korean chime stone, after which the ratio drops to about 2.7 [9.23].
stones, called pyeon-gyoung, were originally brought Holographic interferograms of several modes of vibra-
from China to Korea in the 12th century. tion in a pyeon-gyoung stone tuned to D]6 are shown
A set of 16 stone chimes from the Chosun Dy- in Fig. 9.8. Relative frequencies of the modes in the
nasty is shown in Fig. 9.7. Unlike the Chinese stone pyeon-gyoung are shown in Fig. 9.9.

9.3 Cymbals, Gongs, and Plates

The vibrations of plates have fascinated scientists, as cal analysis of cymbal vibrations using nonlinear signal
well as musicians, for many years. Nearly 200 years processing methods reveals that there are between three
ago, E.F.F. Chladni published a book describing his and seven active degrees of freedom, and that physical
well-known method of sprinkling sand on vibrating modeling will require a like number of equations [9.26].
plates to made the nodal lines visible [9.24]. Chladni’s One procedure is to calculate Lyapunov exponents from
lectures throughout Europe attracted any famous per- experimental time series, so that the complete spectrum
sons, including Napoleon. The nodal lines in the vi- of exponents can be obtained. The chaotic regime can
brational modes of a circular plate are not too different be quantified in terms of the largest Lyapunov expo-
from those in a circular membrane, shown in Fig. 9.1. nent [9.27].
The modal frequencies are very different, however, be-
cause the stiffness of the plate contributes a substantial 9.3.2 Gongs
amount of elastic restoring force. In fact, a plate will vi-
brate without externally applied tension. The modes of Gongs of many different sizes and shapes are popular
a circular plate are often given the labels m and n, like in both Eastern and Western music. They are usually
those of a membrane, to designate the numbers of nodal cast of bronze with a deep rim and a protruding dome.
diameters and nodal circles. Chladni observed that the Tamtams are similar to gongs and are often confused
frequencies of the various modes of a circular plate are with them. The main differences between the two are
nearly proportional to .m C 2n/2, a relationship that has that tamtams do not have the dome of the gong, their
been called Chladni’s law [9.25]. rim is not as deep, and the metal is thinner. Tamtams
generally sound a less definite pitch than do gongs. In
9.3.1 Cymbals fact, the sound of a tamtam may be described as some-
where between the sounds of a gong and a cymbal.
Cymbals are very old instruments and have had both The sound of a large tamtam develops slowly, chang-
religious and military use in a number of cultures. The ing from a sound of low pitch at strike to a collection
Turkish cymbals generally used in orchestras and bands of high-frequency vibrations, which are described as
are saucer-shaped with a small dome in the center, shimmer. These high-frequency modes fail to develop
in contrast to Chinese cymbals, which have a turned- if the tamtam is not hit hard enough, indicating that the
up edge. Orchestral cymbals are often designated as conversion of energy takes place through a nonlinear
French, Viennese, and Germanic in order of increasing process [9.28].
thickness. Jazz drummers use cymbals designated by
Part A | 9.3

such onomatopoeic terms as crash, ride, swish, splash, 9.3.3 Chinese Gongs
ping, and pang. Cymbals range from 20 to 75 cm in di-
ameter. The strong aftersound that gives cymbal sound Among the many gongs in Chinese music are a pair
its characteristic shimmer is known to involve nonlinear of gongs used in Chinese opera orchestras, shown in
processes [9.17]. There is considerable evidence that Fig. 9.10. These gongs show a pronounced nonlinear
the vibrations exhibit chaotic behavior. A mathemati- behavior. The pitch of the larger gong glides downward
 Percussion Musical Instruments 9.3 Cymbals, Gongs, and Plates 165

Fig. 9.10 Examples of gongs used in

160 mm Chinese opera
38 mm
332 mm
100 mm
29 mm
225 mm

as much as three semitones after striking, whereas that a bifurcation with the appearance of lower frequencies
of the smaller gong glides upward by about two semi- corresponding to other modes. Varying the excitation
tones [9.28]. Several vibrational modes of the larger frequency at constant force yielded subharmonics that
gong are shown in Fig. 9.11. were not observed at constant excitation frequency.
In some of the modes, vibrations are confined pretty This is quite similar to the nonlinear behavior of cym-
much to the flat inner portion of the gong, some bals [9.17] [9.26].
to the sloping shoulders, and some involve consid-
erable motion in both parts. When the gong is hit 9.3.4 The Caribbean Steelpan
near the center, the central modes (178, 362, 504,
546 Hz) dominate the sound. When the gong is hit The Caribbean steelpan is one of the most widely
lightly on the shoulder, the lowest mode at 118 Hz is used acoustical instruments developed in the last 70
heard. The vibrations of a large tamtam were stud- years. The instrument was developed on the islands of
ied by Chaigne et al. [9.29]. They found that the Trinidad and Tobago when local craftsman discovered
nonlinear phenomena have the character of quadratic methods of transforming surplus 50-gallon oil barrels
nonlinearity. Forced excitation at sufficiently large am- into tuned drums. The Caribbean steelpan is an ob-
plitude at a frequency close to one mode leads to ject of considerable acoustical study, both in its home
country of Trinidad and Tobago and in the United
States. Modern steel bands include a variety of in-
struments, such as tenor, double second, double tenor,
guitar, cello, quadraphonic, and bass. Our earlier re-
view paper [9.17] included holographic interferograms
of several instruments showing how individual notes vi-
brate, how the entire instrument vibrates, and how the
skirts of the instruments vibrate. Another piece of the
puzzle, so to speak, is to understand how the vibrating
components radiate sound. An effective aid to under-
standing sound radiation is to map the sound intensity
field around the instrument. Since sound intensity is
the product of sound pressure (a scalar quantity) and
the acoustic fluid velocity (a vector), a two-microphone
system is used. The acoustic fluid velocity can be read-
ily calculated from the difference in sound pressure
at the two accurately spaced microphones. Both the
active intensity and the reactive intensity can be ob-
tained at the desired points in the sound field. The
active intensity represents the outward flow of energy,
while the reactive intensity represents energy that is
stored in the sound field near the instrument. While the
active intensity is the most significant field in a con-
Part A | 9.3

cert hall, both active and reactive intensity fields have

to be considered in recording a steelpan. Figure 9.12
shows a map of active and reactive sound intensity
in a plane that bisects a double second steelpan when
Fig. 9.11 Holographic interferograms of the modes of vi- a single note (F]3) is excited at its fundamental fre-
bration of the larger gong shown in Fig. 9.10 quency [9.30].
 166 Part A Musical Acoustics and Signal Processing

a) AI (dB)

z
x z
y
y x
b) RI (dB)

Fig. 9.13 The Hang (image credit: Michael Paschko)

y z
x y

c) SPL (dB)

y z
x y

d) Color reference (color versus dB)

35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70

Fig. 9.12a–d Active intensity (AI) (a) and reactive inten-

sity (RI) (b) of a Caribbean steelpan. (c) Sound pressure
level (SPL), (d) color reference

9.3.5 The Hang

The Hang is a new steel percussion instrument, con-

sisting of two spherical shells of steel, suitable for Fig. 9.14 The first five modes of vibration of the G3 note
playing with the hands. Seven to nine notes are har- of the Hang
monically tuned around a central deep note, which is
formed by the Helmholtz (cavity) resonance of the and third harmonics of the fundamental mode respec-
instrument body. The Hang shown in Fig. 9.13 has tively [9.31].
eight notes that can be tuned in any tonal systems Figure 9.15 shows the active sound intensity in
between A3 and G5, including 30 tonal systems sug- a plane 8 cm above the E4 note. The arrowheads show
gested by the tuners. The central note is usually tuned the direction of the sound intensity at each point in the
Part A | 9.3

a fifth or fourth below the lowest note of the scale. Al- plane, while the gray scale shows the sound pressure
though it is a new instrument, many units have been level. Note the sound level is greatest at the fundamental
shipped all over the world by PanArt, its creators. Holo- frequency, and the sound intensity is strongly upward
graphic interferograms in Fig. 9.14 show the first five from the note, while at the frequency of the second
vibrational modes in the G3 note area of the Hang. and third modes, considerable sound is radiated later-
The second and third modes are tuned to the second ally.
 Percussion Musical Instruments 9.3 Cymbals, Gongs, and Plates 167

Fig. 9.15a–c Active intensity of the

a) b) c)
Hang when the E4 note is excited
in (a) its fundamental mode (b) its
second harmonic mode (c) its third
mode

9.3.6 Bells note that is dominated by the prominent partials of the

bell. Most observers identify the metallic strike note
Bells have been a part of nearly every culture in his- as having a pitch at or near the frequency of the sec-
tory. Bells existed in the Near East before 1000 BCE, ond partial. Finally, as the sound of the bell ebbs, the
and a number of Chinese bells from the time of the slowly decaying hum tone (an octave below the prime)
Shang dynasty (16001100 BCE) can be found in mu- lingers on. A new type of carillon bell, that has the
seums around the world. In 1978 set of tuned bells from dominating minor-third partial (Fig. 9.16) replaced by
the fifth century BCE was discovered in the Chinese a partial tuned a major-third above the prime, has been
province of Hubei [9.32]. Bells developed as Western developed at the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry in The
musical instruments in the seventeenth century when Netherlands [9.32]. The new bell design evolved partly
bell founders discovered how to tune their partials from the use of a technique for structural optimization
harmonically. The founders in the Low Countries, es- using finite element methods [9.33]. This technique al-
pecially the Hemony brothers (François and Pieter) and lows a designer to make changes in the profile of an
Jacob van Eyck, took the lead in tuning bells, and many existing structure, and then to compute the resulting
of their fine bells are found in carillons today. When changes in the vibrational modes. Based on the results
struck by its clapper, a bell vibrates in a complex way. of the structural optimization procedure, André Lehr
In principle, its vibrational motion can be described and his colleagues have designed two different bells,
in terms of a linear combination of the normal modes each having a major-third partial [9.34].
of vibration whose initial amplitudes are determined
by the distortion of the bell when struck. In practice, 9.3.7 Handbells
such a description becomes quite complex because of
the large number of normal modes of diverse charac- Although handbells date back to at least several mil-
ter that contribute to the motion. The first five modes lennia BCE, handbells developed as Western musical
of a church bell or carillon bell are shown in Fig. 9.16. instruments in the 18th century. One early use was to
Lines show the locations of the nodal lines. The num- provide tower bell-ringers with a convenient means to
bers at the top denote the numbers of complete nodal practice change ringing. In more recent years, handbell
meridians extending over the top of the bell and the choirs have become popular in schools and churches;
number of nodal circles respectively. Note that there are some 40 000 choirs are reported in the United States
two modes with m D 3 and n D 1, one with a circular alone. Handbells have modes of vibration somewhat
node at the waist and one with a node near the sound similar to those of church bells or carillon bells. Holo-
bow. Thus we denote the one as (3,1]) in Fig. 9.16. The gram interferograms of a number of modes in a C5
ratio of each modal frequency to that of the prime is handbell are shown in Fig. 9.17. Nodes show as bright
given at the bottom of each diagram. lines, and the bullseyes locate the antinodes. In a well-
When a large church bell or carillon bell is struck tuned handbell, the (3,0) mode with three nodal merid-
by its clapper, one first hears the sharp sound of metal ians is tuned to a frequency three times that of the
on metal. This sound quickly gives way to a strike fundamental (2,0) mode.

(2,0) (2,1#) (3,1) (3,1#) (4,1)

Part A | 9.3

Waist
Sound bow
Mouth
hum prime minor third fifth octave
0.5 1.0 1.2 1.5 2.0 Fig. 9.16 The first five modes of
a church or carillon bell
 168 Part A Musical Acoustics and Signal Processing

Fig. 9.17 Holographic interferograms

of the vibrational modes of a C5
handbell

9.4 Methods for Studying the Acoustics of Percussion Instruments

Recent studies of the acoustics of percussion instru- tic only of the structure itself, independent of the way
ments have included: it is excited or observed. In practice, however, it is dif-
ficult to avoid small distortions of the normal modes
1. Theoretical studies of modes of vibration due to interaction with the exciter, the sensor, and espe-
2. Experimental studies of modes of vibration cially the supports. Normal modes shapes are unique for
3. Sound radiation studies a structure, whereas the deflection of a structure at a par-
4. Physical modeling ticular frequency, called its operating deflection shape
5. Studies of nonlinear behavior. (ODS), may result from the excitation of more than one
normal mode [9.35].
9.4.1 Finite Element and Boundary Element Normal mode testing has traditionally been done
Methods using sinusoidal excitation, either mechanical or acous-
tical. Detection of motion may be accomplished by
For all but the simplest vibrator shapes, it is difficult attaching small accelerometers, although optical and
to calculate vibrational modes analytically. Fortunately, acoustical methods are less obtrusive. Modal testing
there are powerful numerical methods that can be car- with impact excitation, which became popular in the
ried out quite nicely by use of digital computers. These 1970s, offers a fast, convenient way to determine the
are generally described as finite element methods or normal modes of a structure. In this technique, an ac-
boundary element methods. celerometer is generally attached to one point on the
structure, and a hammer with a load cell is used to
9.4.2 Experimental Studies of Modes impact the structure at carefully determined positions.
of Vibration Estimates of modal parameters are obtained by apply-
ing some type of curve-fitting program. Experimentally,
When a percussion instrument is excited by striking all modal testing is done by measuring operating de-
(or bowing or plucking), it vibrates in a rather compli- flection shapes and then interpreting them in a specific
cated way. The motion can be conveniently described manner to define mode shapes [9.35]. Strictly speaking,
Part A | 9.4

in terms of normal modes of vibration. A normal mode some type of curve-fitting program should be used to
of vibration represents the motion of a linear system at determine the normal modes from the observed ODSs,
a normal frequency (eigenfrequency). It should be pos- even when an instrument is excited at a single fre-
sible to excite a normal mode of vibration at any point quency. In practice, however, if the mode overlap is
in a structure that is not a node and to observe motion small, the single-frequency ODSs provide a pretty good
at any other point that is not a node. It is a characteris- approximation to the normal modes.
 Percussion Musical Instruments 9.4 Methods for Studying the Acoustics of Percussion Instruments 169

9.4.3 Scanning with a Microphone information by modulating the phase of the reference
or an Accelerometer beam by moving PM mirror at the driving frequency.
This is a useful technique for observing motion of very
Probably the simplest method for determining ODSs small amplitude or resolving normal modes of vibration
(and hence normal modes) is to excite the structure at that are very close in frequency.
single frequency with either a sinusoidal force or a si-
nusoidal sound field, and to scan the structure with an 9.4.5 Experimental Modal Testing
accelerometer or else to scan the near-field sound with
a small microphone [9.36]. With practice, it is possi- Modal testing may be done with sinusoidal, random,
ble to determine mode shapes rather accurately by this pseudorandom, or impulsive excitation. In the case
method. of sinusoidal excitation, the force may be applied at
a single point or at several locations. The response
9.4.4 Holographic Interferometry may be measured mechanically (with accelerometers
or velocity sensors), optically, or indirectly by observ-
Holographic interferometry offers by far the best spa- ing the radiated sound field. In modal testing with
tial resolution of operating deflection shapes (and hence impact excitation, an accelerometer is typically at-
of normal modes). Whereas experimental modal test- tached to a force transducer (load cell). Each force
ing and various procedures for mechanical, acoustical, and acceleration waveform is Fourier transformed and
or optical scanning may look at the motion at hun- a transfer function Hij is calculated. Several different al-
dreds (or even thousands) of points, optical holography gorithms may be used to extract the mode shape and
looks at an almost unlimited number of points. Record- modal parameters from the measured transfer func-
ing holograms on photographic plates or film (as in the tions [9.35].
holographic interferograms shown in Fig. 9.17) tends to
be rather time consuming since each mode of vibration 9.4.6 Radiated Sound Field
must be recorded and viewed separately. TV hologra-
phy, on the other hand, is a fast, convenient way to The best way to describe sound radiation from complex
record ODSs and to determine the normal modes. An sources such as percussion instruments is by mapping
optical system for TV holography is shown in Fig. 9.18. the sound intensity field. Sound intensity is the rate at
A beam splitter (BS) divides the laser light to which sound energy flows outward from various points
produce a reference beam and an object beam. The ref- on the instrument. The sound intensity field represents
erence beam reaches the charge-coupled device (CCD) the direction and the magnitude of the sound intensity
camera via an optical fiber, while the object beam is at every point in the space around the source. A single
reflected by phase modulated (PM) mirror so that it il- microphone measures the sound pressure at a point, but
luminates the object to be studied. Reflected light from not the direction of the sound energy flow. In order to
the object reaches the CCD camera, where it interferes determine the sound intensity it is necessary to com-
with the reference beam to produce the holographic pare the signals from two identical microphones spaced
image. The speckle-averaging mechanism (SAM) al- a small distance apart. The resulting pressure gradient
ters the illumination angle in small steps in order to can be used to determine sound intensity. When this is
reduce laser speckle noise in the interferograms. Gen- done at a large number of locations, a map of the sound
erally holographic interferograms show only variations intensity field results [9.30, 37, 38].
in amplitude. It is possible, however, to recover phase
9.4.7 Physical Modeling
PS Optical Synthesizing sounds by physical modeling has attracted
fibre
Illumination a great deal of interest in recent years. The basic notion
BS
of physical modeling is to write equations that describe
PM
SAM
Video lens
how particular sets of physical objects vibrate and then
z to solve those equations in order to synthesize the
Part A | 9.4

Object beam resulting sound. Percussion instruments have proven

R
particularly difficult to model completely enough to be
Laser CCD
BS able to synthesize their sounds entirely based on a phys-
Reference
beam ical model. Physical modeling is complicated by their
nonlinear behavior and by the strong role that transients
Fig. 9.18 Optical layout for a TV holography system play in their sound.
 170 Part A Musical Acoustics and Signal Processing

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Part A | 9