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The Physics of Musical Instruments

  • Textbook
  • © 1998
  • Latest edition

Overview

Authors:
  1. Neville H. Fletcher

    1. Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

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  2. Thomas D. Rossing

    1. Department of Physics, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA

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  • Updated and expanded second edition of a best-selling title
  • The essential reference on the topic
  • Presents the results of the latest acoustical investigations
  • A comprehensive reference for those undertaking research

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About this book

When we wrote the first edition of this book, we directed our presenta­ tion to the reader with a compelling interest in musical instruments who has "a reasonable grasp of physics and who is not frightened by a little mathematics." We are delighted to find how many such people there are. The opportunity afforded by the preparation of this second edition has allowed us to bring our discussion up to date by including those new insights that have arisen from the work of many dedicated researchers over the past decade. We have also taken the opportunity to revise our presentation of some aspects of the subject to make it more general and, we hope, more immediately accessible. We have, of course, corrected any errors that have come to our attention, and we express our thanks to those friends who pointed out such defects in the early printings of the first edition. We hope that this book will continue to serve as a guide, both to those undertaking research in the field and to those who simply have a deep interest in the subject. June 1991 N.H.F and T.D.R.

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Table of contents (22 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
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  2. Vibrating Systems

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Free and Forced Vibrations of Simple Systems

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 3-33

    3. Continuous Systems in One Dimension: Strings and Bars

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 34-69

    4. Two-Dimensional Systems: Membranes, Plates, and Shells

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 70-101

    5. Coupled Vibrating Systems

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 102-132

    6. Nonlinear Systems

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 133-151

  3. Sound Waves

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 153-153
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    2. Sound Waves in Air

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 155-170

    3. Sound Radiation

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 171-189

    4. Pipes, Horns and Cavities

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 190-235

  4. String Instruments

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 237-237
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    2. Guitars and Lutes

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 239-271

    3. Bowed String Instruments

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 272-330

    4. Harps, Harpsichords, Clavichords, and Dulcimers

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 331-351

    5. The Piano

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 352-398

  5. Wind Instruments

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 399-399
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    2. Sound Generation by Reed and Lip Vibrations

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 401-428

    3. Lip-Driven Brass Instruments

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 429-460

    4. Woodwind Reed Instruments

      • Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing
      Pages 461-502
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Reviews

"Essentially everything you have ever wanted to know about the physics of musical instruments" PHYSICS TODAY
"a rigor, graphical detail, and verbal description." AUDIO

Authors and Affiliations

  • Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Neville H. Fletcher

  • Department of Physics, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA

    Thomas D. Rossing

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Physics of Musical Instruments

  • Authors: Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-21603-4

  • Publisher: Springer New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag New York 1998

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-387-98374-5Published: 19 June 1998

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4419-3120-7Published: 01 December 2010

  • eBook ISBN: 978-0-387-21603-4Published: 09 November 2013

  • Edition Number: 2

  • Number of Pages: XX, 756

  • Topics: Acoustics, Music

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