Articles

• Acoustic Tradeoffs of the Boehm Clarinet

  How the physical construction of the Boehm clarinet produces note-specific tonal differences, and what acoustic mechanisms are responsible.

• Bore Profile and Tube Termination in Wind Instruments

  How two independent variables — bore shape and end condition — determine which harmonics a wind instrument can produce.

• Solutions to Intonation Issues That Arise from Valve Combinations

  How the Blaikley compensating system and the double French horn solve valve combination intonation through structural design.

• Exciters in Wind Instruments

  How the three types of wind instrument exciter — air reed, cane reed, and lip reed — determine volume limits and shape tone in combination with bore geometry.

• Harmonic Series Deviation from Equal Temperament

  How each partial in the harmonic series from 1 through 20 compares in pitch to its nearest equal temperament equivalent, and what determines the magnitude of each deviation.

• Harmonic Series With Wind Instruments

  How resonating air columns in wind instruments produce the harmonic series, and why the clarinet is different.

• Instrument Material, Bore Geometry, and Timbre

  Why the material a wind instrument is made from has no effect on tone quality, and what bore geometry actually does.

• Temperature and Intonation in Wind Instruments

  How temperature affects the speed of sound and therefore the pitch of wind instruments, and why brass instruments are more susceptible than woodwinds.

• Tuning Tendencies of Brass Instruments

  Why valve combinations on brass instruments go out of tune, and how players and instrument makers address it.