Universal Information Architecture of Acoustic Music Instruments

The information architecture of acoustic music instruments is described. As contemporary acoustic research has not yet covered all the possible materials, shapes, designs, and other essential properties of possible acoustic instruments, the model proposed in this chapter serves as a high-level analysis with meta-level XML-based markup elements and attributes. The ultimate design goal of the proposed model is to be able to create a software synthesis application that could recreate the acoustic sounds of music instruments faithfully, as well as the ability to create novel acoustic sounds using virtual music instruments. It is proposed that algorithms be created, which might lead to more realistically sounding instruments, as well as creating totally new sounds based on the properties of acoustic instruments, even the virtual creation of new types of acoustic instruments that would be impossible to build with real materials. It is further proposed that the properties of different components serve as modifiers on a base soundwave. Modifiers include the materials used in the construction of instruments, energy sources, dimensions of 3D acoustic cavities, and relationships between instrument components are considered. The properties of a wide range of musical instruments have been considered, ranging from ancient acoustic instruments to modern ones, as well as including the instruments of many music cultures. Following on a logical analysis and synthesis of previous research rather than acoustic lab results, a high-level generic and universal model of the information architecture of acoustic music instruments is constructed.