Modeling and Measurement of Wind Instrument Bores

ABSTRACT One dimensional digital waveguides are widely used to model travelling pressure waves along wind instrument bores. These models must also account for frequency-dependent losses occurring along the bore walls, and at boundaries. This is accomplished by incorporating waveguide filter elements, which are based on the widely accepted theory describing these losses. A measurement technique is demonstrated that allows the effects of each waveguide element to be isolated and observed for simple cylindrical and conical tube structures, as well as their combination. This measurement system yields data that closely matches the theory and provides confidence that it may be extended to accurately measure musical instrument bores, where bore shapes are usually considerably less simple, and thus more difficult to account for theoretically. This work paves the way for further application to clarinet and trumpet bores.