Enthalpy

She did it! 😀 Here are more records of French (narrower) bassoons: MXHwvFqc3Tc (Buffet-Crampon), Marie Boichard j3DtZkUToxY (Yannick Ducasse), Louise Lapierre 20th century is too recent for some listeners, but the second movement of Jolivet's concert is easier, jump here: j3DtZkUToxY at 07:22

Hi everybody, Many woodwind instruments use a single or double reed made of cane (through plastic catches up). They cost some money, double reeds also take much effort, and with luck a reed lasts for two weeks. I've a strong intuition that the 107 cycles of strong bending weaken the cane. But some people claim that soaking for 2-3 minutes before playing lets double reeds lose some fluids over time and this alters the mechanical properties. Following that explanation, I propose to keep double reeds longer by soaking them in some mixture or solution that contains the fluids that would be lost. The concentration shall reduce, compensate or reverse the loss of the fluids. One could try to analyze used soaking water and seek an equilibrium concentration of the several fluids for the magic bath. Or more simply, soak a load of unprocessed cane (waste) for an hour in water, and concentrate the juice until reeds don't lose anything more. The best commercial form would be granules or concentrated drops that the musician puts in the water before soaking the reed. This might avoid bacterial growth. Perhaps some disinfectant like silver would help. The taste matters. The budget for double reeds is like 200€/year, and musicians would spare efforts and keep their best reeds longer. If some effect is observed on single reeds, more musicians are interested. A handful of small companies live from reed making. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

More records of French (narrower) versus German (wider) bassons French system Wnz1t7rYKhk (Buffet-Crampon), Marie Boichard (wow, wish more!) qWA_VZ0q-ug and more (Buffet-Crampon), Jean-Michel Alhaits German system Ziry7HpmbXw - ezV5uf_X3gI (luthier unknown), Bálint Mohai kbDcFWTPfjk - HOkOYSekLBE - OJtZ0aF71N8 (Moosman), KyuSun Pyo xhh5d1l-wYs - cH0dWWIyK1k at 0:18 - h4uB0Q3Z7lw (Heckel 1937), Judith LeClair WVQk5qDeEFM - XRXys1vQzvI at 0:38 (Püchner), Sophie Dervaux and Fábio Cury

The German federal government wants to help hydrogen aeroplanes and other uses of hydrogen n-tv.de which I feel absolutely reasonable, since hydrogen gives them the range that batteries presently don't. I hope they include helicopters! Kerosene doesn't suffice for them, batteries even less, hydrogen is the solution to flight duration and range. scienceforums Helicopters could adopt hydrogen before fixed-wing aircraft do. I believe my vacuum-insulated tanks for liquid hydrogen are lighter than other storage methods This thread on Apr 14, 2013 maybe safer too scienceforums

Still no oboe at hand, but Nederveen reports dimensions of two oboes (without chambers) on page 105 (pdf 113/118) of his PhD thesis Acoustical aspects of woodwind instruments so here's an update to the chambers of Jan 28, 2018. The tone holes are wider than I had imagined. When present, their chambers can usefully suppress the highest frequencies, say above 6kHz with banal dimensions. Suppressing down to 5kHz, or 4.5kHz, perhaps 4kHz, would better be done by additional Helmholtz resonators independent of the tone holes. Narrow inductors keep reasonable capacitor volumes. The highest suppressed frequencies can use quarter wave resonators if desired. The added resonators act also when the tone holes are open. There can be many resonators per octave of suppressed band. They can sit at the respective pressure antinodes. The resonators add lumped volumes to the air column, just like tone holes do. The known parry makes the bore a bit narrower and shorter in this region. The musician must access the narrow holes to dry and clean them. This applies to the oboe family, and easily to the bassoon family. Saxophones and tárogatók and candidates too, possibly with a special bocal or mouthpiece. ========== In the TutChamb archive here, the compiled cpp makes an exe which, fed with data from Make.txt, produces the renamed TutChamb.wav. From the artificial oboe's low B, "chambers" attenuate all components above a corner frequency, chosen here to attenuate two harmonics more per approximately 500Hz step. The programmed physical model isn't correct, but it attenuates. TutChamb_A.7z From the used initial spectrum, 20dB attenuation are useful but 40dB make no difference. In the 7 sounds, attenuation begins nowhere, then at 6kHz, 5kHz, 4.5kHz, 4kHz, 3.5kHz and 3kHz. 4.5kHz to 4kHz fits my taste. This is independent of the note height. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

As wall material for woodwinds, stiff E=18GPa wood like Dalbergia melanoxylon is preferred over more bendable species, while musicians disdain polymers with E=3GPa or 1GPa. Stretching stiffens polymers a lot, making wonder fibres of banal bulk materials. I already proposed it for bodies of LCP scienceforums and stretching would stiffen polyethylene, polypropylene and others too, without fibre reinforcement hence keeping the good machinability. Polypropylene makes already bassoon bodies at Fox-Renard, insensitive to moisture without any liner, but with a lacklustre sound that wall resonances may explain scienceforums - scienceforums - scienceforums and following Highly stretched polyethylene makes wonder ropes of Dyneema, Spectra and competitors: E~100GPa is expected in this category. Stretching *3 strengthens much a polyethylene stripe from a shopping bag, easy with a polymer. The process is accessible to luthiers. Companies that stretch metal (for piano wire) could also adapt to thicker polymer. Or polymer manufacturers themselves could harden the material, if enough mechanical engineers want it scienceforums Possibly the transverse properties drop, but thick walls have margins at woodwinds. If the azimuthal direction matters, the polymer manufacturers could harden it too. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

I described the quasi-automatic system F for the oboe and similar here on Feb 09, 2020 updated Feb 23, 2020 scienceforums - scienceforums in a messages that contain much information at once. Maybe it helps if now I display only the notes played by finger 3L using its main and lone holes. Other fingers do the same, shifted uniformly by semitones. Following Obukhov, an X notehead tells that this one note is a semitone higher. Blue notes indicate 2L's main hole, orange, violet, green and yellow indicate lone holes. Figures tell on which mode (overtone) a hole emits the black played note. The main holes emit notes on modes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and potentially 8, 12, so each finger creates notes spaced by fifths, fourths and octaves. The oboe's conventional range ends on mode 2:3:4 (or 4 in short), but some scores demand more. The air column would reach much higher, my system too, the reed maybe. A tenor oboe has naturally a wider range than a soprano, a low saxophone too, especially if narrow like the tubax. This system F is a strong candidate for the soprito too scienceforums and subsequents The fifteen lone holes are evenly spaced by semitones. Their keys have one to three buttons each to combine with varied main holes so the different intervals favour different modes. The lone keys are sketched on Feb 23, 2020 too. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

I described the quasi-automatic system B for the basson family here on Jan 18, 2020 scienceforums in a message that contains much information at once. Maybe it helps if now I display only the notes played by finger 2L using its main and lone holes. Other fingers do the same, shifted uniformly by semitones. Following Obukhov, an X notehead tells that this one note is a semitone higher. Blue notes indicate 2L's main hole, orange, violet, green and yellow indicate lone holes. Figures tell on which mode (overtone) a hole emits the black played note. The main holes emit notes on modes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and potentially 8, 12, so each finger creates notes spaced by fifths, fourths and octaves. The Rite of the Spring's introduction fits on mode 3:4:6 (or 6 in short) and lower. The fifteen lone holes are evenly spaced by semitones. Their keys have one to three buttons each to combine with varied main holes so the different intervals favour different modes. The lone keys are sketched here on Jan 19, 2020 scienceforums Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

The piano could play flageolet by adding limited hardware. It need a set of artificial "fingers" that touch the strings slightly at mid-length, or a 1/3 etc if this improves anything. Maybe of durable elastomer like PU or SI, or of hard material covered with felt. An additional pedal could move them simultaneously. Accuracy seems easier if each finger nears its strings spontaneously up to a stop and is lifted by a collective part. Addition to existing instruments looks feasible. I suppose the luthéal had the capability scienceforums The added expression is useful and of reasonable complexity, so we could generalize it. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

Voichita Bucur published her Handbook of Materials for Wind Musical Instruments apparently in September 2019 as a file and coming in July 2020 on paper. A chapter targets: Effect of Wall Material on Vibration Modes of Wind Instruments link.springer.com Some diagrams can be seen over Google Images by searching "Vibration modes of wind instruments" The transfer functions show some influence by the walls, depending on their damping, whose direction, magnitude and frequency range is compatible with the two first models I proposed: elliptical deformation and body bending.

I suggested here on Jun 02, 2019 that corks leave elasticity between body joints and let them vibrate. A compagny called Lefreque sells "sound bridges" that are applied across both joints to transmit the vibrations lefreque.com Usual question: does this change anything? Here's not a trial report but physicist's thoughts. A cork fitting is a good target, see my linked message. Is a pressure contact stiffer than a wide long thin cork? For accelerometers at audible frequencies, we prefer thin glue over screw pressure. A brass mouthpiece fitting in a metal cone is much stiffer than the "sound bridge". What would improve? Dampen side vibrations? Replacing cork with metal, especially silver, would bring hugely more than adding a "sound bridge". Done on Yamaha wooden flutes. See my linked message. The website promises the usual spiel. This doesn't imply all is wrong. A company won't explain a true invention. And the "sound bridge" may improve a clarinet but not a trombone. The "spectral analysis" shows notes at different frequencies, not partials better aligned. Hopefully the "sound bridge" does not shift the frequency by shown 1% as this would ruin the instrument.

It may still seem exotic because unusual, as I proposed it only on July 28, 2019 here but a self-tuning harp will be that profitable: Imagine the sensors, motors and electronics sell for 42€ per string, totalling 2000€. A professional harpist who doesn't waste 2*15mn tuning a day saves his orchestra 400€/year. 5 years ROI. Over 6 years with that instrument, a harp student who saves 15mn tuning in 3h training becomes a paid professional 0.5 year earlier. Gain is 10* the cost.

Fewer people catch Covid-19 on Mondays. You can observe it on statistics for Germany, there n-tv.de Diagram titled "Fallzahlen-Trend Deutschland", click on "Differenz absolut", you get the number of new badly sick people per day. Mondays were 9, 16, 23, 30 of March 2020, 6, 13, 20, 27 of April 2020. This failed on 16 March, and the dip was a day early on 22 March. Tuesday 14 April dropped lower than Monday as it followed Easter Monday. Does this imply that people get contaminated on weekdays, but not on Saturdays and Sundays when staying at home? Not necessarily. The number of deaths too drops on Thursdays and Fridays despite the delay from contamination to possible death varies. See the diagram titled "Todesfälle in Deutschland". There must rather be some weekly fluctuation in the reporting tasks. Since Monday 27 April, more companies and shops are allowed to open in Germany. Some neighbour countries keeping strong mandatory isolation alledge that the number of cases increased consequently in Germany, but this is only the weekly fluctuation. Comparing with the week before, you observe a steady decline, nothing special since 27 April.

The contraforte has a wider bore than the contrabassoon, wider tone holes, and somewhat different fingerings. Compare on the same piece by the same professional musician, there: voices.washingtonpost.com The baritone oboe has a rather narrow bore jwu8WS5MAvA&t=325 the lupophone too but has wide tone holes -6gVdShhltg while the heckelphone has a wider bore Gxj0OLftfFk&t=30 - Gxj0OLftfFk&t=149 - Gxj0OLftfFk&t=274 - Gxj0OLftfFk&t=324 I wish to hear Katrin Stühle on a baritone oboe. I disagree that a wider bore gives a mellower sound. The sound is just - wider.

To estimate the effect of walls on a wind instrument sound, I checked up to now the frequency response of the air column in the walls. This might implicitly let suppose that the sound spectrum results from a resonator filtering an independant generator. But this is not the case. The reed, blowhole or lips are fully coupled with the air column to make the oscillator. Here, the resonator uses to influence the sound more than if it only filtered the fixed spectrum of an independant generator. For reasoning, let's imagine that the negative conductance is linear. The oscillator sounds on every resonator mode whose conductance (loss) leaves a negative sum. Resonator modes whose conductance is too big are not excited at all. Though, the negative conductance can't behave linearly. Even if the resonator attenuates much a component, the reed, blowhole or lips can recreate some, so the situation is complicated. It's even inaccessible to algebra generally, so I won't go beyond the previous qualitative explanation.

I explained that the tone holes of a woodwind can excite the body's bending modes, here on Oct 28, 2018 and Oct 30, 2018 because pressure pushes everywhere, but the force at the finger or cover mainly accelerates it, and is little transmitted to the body, hence the net side force. A flute blowhole too results in a net side force that can excite the body's bending modes. Here the pressure accelerates air at the blowhole, and much like in a rocket engine, this force doesn't balance the push at the opposite wall, creating a net thrust. But how much? I take an already estimated 1411Hz bending mode of a soprano flute, well within its fundamental mode, and evaluate the force for 1Pa at the pressure antinode as previously. The speed at a pressure node is 2.4mm/s in the D=19mm tube At a rounded 13mm*10mm blowhole, air is faster: 5.5mm/s and 49m/s2 The blowhole is 6mm high, but end effects add 6mm to the inductance. 12mm air take 0.7Pa to accelerate, nearly 1Pa. Consistent: 12mm height of narrow blowhole are as inductive as 28mm cylinder length, and lambda/2pi=39mm. 0.7Pa push 13mm*10mm air by 86µN while 1Pa push D=13.5mm cover by 143µN. That's 0.6* as much as on one cover. This contribution is significant. More toneholes can contribute to shake the body, but if they spread over several flexural half-waves, their effects cancel out partly. Also, a flute fundamental exceeds 2100Hz, the harmonics more, and air inertia at the blowhole increases the pressure drop. This net push under the blowhole excites also the already described elliptical deformation at the headjoint. That would justify the head's material, beside the damping of the global flexural modes. It would also explain why Dalbergia melanoxylon outperforms silver at piccolo headjoints. A velocimeter would tell how important the effect is. At least against elliptic deformation, the parry is to add material, preferably damping one, around the tube in the blowhole region. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

If a wagnertuba receives a compensator retrofit, a Bowden cable is seducing wikipedia it adapts to varied sizes and approximate positioning, for instance if the new parts are clamped on existing tubes. The same retrofit kit might equip the tenor and bass wagnertuben, with varied displacement ratios, and even be installed by the musician. A Bowden cable can also be (un-) fitted quickly on the instrument, as the Contraforte's register keys by Wolf and Eppelsheim demonstrate guntramwolf.de (picture) that would be snappy enough to evacuate water by the slide. Amplifying the displacement would be easier before the cable if possible. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

It would be fantastic to retrofit existing Wagnertubas with such compensators. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

French horn players blow the wagnertuben in symphonic orchestras and often complaint about intonation. The flare isn't supposedly to blame, or it can improve, since narrower French horns and wider tubas are built with excellent intonation. The lack of compensation must contribute much. Valves add a portion of tube length when desired, and these extra lengths cumulate, while intonation would require to multiply the tube length. If 1, 2 and 3 semitone lengths were tuned for themselves, 1+2+3 semitones would be a semitone short. Widening the 1, 2 and 3 semitones makes a bad compromise. Solutions are known. Trumpet players move an extra slide to compensate manually the piston combinations. Saxhorns have often a fourth valve or more to replace the 2+3 semitones combination. More complicated valves and tubing can make a compensating system. And at French horns, the musician moves the right hand in the bell to change the height. All this is difficult at Wagnertuben. Even if made accessible, the bell must be too wide for a hand. Horn players don't use the other systems normally, which cost money and take time to train, possibly too much to serve every second year. Pictures of Wagnertuben, with a fourth valve: gebr-alexander.de I propose to add to wagnertuben a compensation slide moved by the full right hand, not by a finger of the (here left) valve hand. By the palm, or by four fingers, or both, in a movement that imitates the hand action in the bell of a French horn. Some transmission shall also imitate the pitch sensitivity of the French horn. This is cheap, and hopefully, horn players can use it immediately. I've seen musicians put their right hand at the lead pipe, possibly to apply the mouthpiece on the lips. The wide trigger could then sit there. The pictured wagnertuben have just after the valves a slide that may serve as a compensator. Or add one at the lead pipe or elsewhere. It needs about a semitone lengthening. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

Statistics strike again... The human ACE-1 enzyme is somehow linked with the evolution of Covid-19 and it has a known polymorphism, the D-allele. Researchers took data from 25 European countries and compared the cases of Covid-19 per million habitants in the country wih the frequency of the D-allele. The raw graph is reproduced there ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (supposedly copyrighted) If I had obtained such a graph, I'd have said "no relationship" and switched to other thoughts. Admire the random variation by nearly 100 at identical allele frequency while the best fit tries to justify a variation by 10. But the authors computed correlations (Spearman r=-0.510, p=0.01) to claim that the D-allele is a "co-factor". Papers of that kind give me mixed feelings about peer-review and research journals. ========== This is a typical case where an obscure statistical method helps get published. What could be done differently here? For instance, choose 100 polymorphisms whose frequency is known in this set of countries. Randomly, not even with a known relationship with Covid-19. Check how many among these 100 give a correlation as good (Spearman r=-0.510, p=0.01 if you like) as ACE-1. Not bad neither: keep both data sets, but swap randomly the D-allele frequencies of the countries. Some swaps will give a far better correlation than the real data. But how many swaps are better, how many are worse? As well, after an apparent correlation is found on one set of countries, check on a second set of countries if it holds. If possible, a second set not known to the researchers. I also wish, and this isn't even statistics, that the cases of Covid-19 per million inhabitants were measured at a uniform delay after the first 100 cases were observed. Before and after the increase settles, if possible. This would reduce a big noise source. ========== As we're seeking correlations, let's have a look at the distribution of Covid cases on the map of Germany, there n-tv.de seek "Inzidenz nach Kreisen" The distribution is extremely unequal, so what correlations could we find? The mainly Catholic regions are hugely more hit than the mainly Protestant ones. That correlation works extremely better than the ACE-1 polymorphism. We must urgently replace hosts with regular bread, and ban holy water, as these certainly spread the virus. Alas, double-checking on Catholic Belgium versus Protestant Netherlands ruins that explanation. But if aggregating the three countries, as Germany has more inhabitants, I'm confident that some statistical method would validate the religion correlation. Add Italy and Spain to the study, plus Norway and Denmark, if this helps. Next one: the hardly hit regions use dialects. The ones commonly speaking standard German are spared. This is even confirmed by Switzerland and Austria. So to combat Covid, police should not enforce the confinement, nor possibly the use of masks in the future, but the use of good German - provided that policemen themselves, err, well. No, dialects are politically too sensitive in Germany. But what about wineyards? The hardly hit region are the ones where wineyard grows. Again a perfect correlation. Don't look after Chinese markets for exotic animals: the pneumonia was obviously endemic to grapes (no more ludicruous than fish transmitting a pneumonia to humans). What, we can't forbid wine? OK then, the hard-hit German regions belonged to the Western Roman empire. Again a perfect correlation. And it holds elsewhere: Switzerland and Austria too are hit hard, Italy and Spain and France even worse, Denmark and Norway far less. So to combat Covid, we could just rename all cities and streets whose name derives from Latin. Easy! Or maybe the regions hit harder are richer, so more people could afford skiing in Tirol, and they brought the virus back. It explains the European West-East gradient too. But that one isn't fun. Why shouldn't you seek your own correlations? There must be zillions just as good. Have fun!

Nice soprano tarogato sound by Laszlo Kiss Gy, Samples: amazon.com nice folkloric music More folkloric music by Laszlo Kiss Gy too 6r5PhhtVV80 - UiPV6u21oq4 - Ep6UVGVCnaA - Z-Edp2gPtXM Less ancient music played by the same musician: sSEUQebDWF8 - _TOwfXpls4Q - M6KHos2VdG0 - aZDvtvIGsz4 - Is0wVfZUwcE - KyxZYeKGS5A - 5y2ogzsI9js - Hc0S-cryeTI - and here together with a harp: btJAfAI7Sg0 - KNNQvy2aBqk - CD0AkzhkhFQ - 2iK2uux8Rj0

Here's a different construction for the alto and tenor cornettos with my even fingerings A. The aspect suggests less a brass, but at least it looks baroque, and the usual skills of woodwind luthiers suffice. The tenor is longer and sleeker than sketched. A strap carries the instrument at the right hand joint. A hook for the left thumb lets press the instrument against the lips as many brass players do, that's why the instrument is straight up to the mouthpiece. The right hand could get a bassoon-styled hand rest, but I suppose it's not necessary. The trill holes are on the side, all other tone holes are at the top on the left hand joint and at the right side on the right hand joint. ========== I proposed to double the lower trill cover to improve the lower semitone and full tone trills. On an instrument with narrow tone holes, the cornetto and more the oboe, this may not suffice completely. The two covers for the lower trill could get independent buttons: For the semitone trill, use button 1 only For the full tone trill, use button 1+2 The second button opens the cover that doubles the tone hole that is closed for the lower note of the full tone trill. This way, all notes of the semitone and the full tone lower trills can have perfect height and timbre. The last button opens the third cover for the upper full tone trill, as previously The same finger can make all these trills, by pressing the buttons 1, 1+2 or 1+2+3. The higher trill opens both doubled holes, but as they are two semitones lower, even narrow holes have a small effect that can be compensated by the diameter and position of the third trill hole since it serves only in this combination. Or, organise the buttons to use 2+3 for the upper trill. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

Here's a possible shape for an alto cornetto with my even fingerings A, as inspired by the octavin. The trill keys are at the side, all other tone holes are on the top except for the thumb key at the bottom, but it's beyond the U-turn. The U-turn needs an easy water key. A U-turn of tube, as on Heckel-style bassoons, is acoustically best. Old French bassoon achieve the function without metal shaping. Maybe longer tone holes improve the dynamic range of low instruments. Wood available between both bores at the boot would permit that. Biassed tone holes could even spare many keys. The air column's profile must compensate the added volume, as on polyconical clarinets. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

Here are other locations where to assemble the cornetto sopranino and soprano with even system A. The indicated note heights must be adapted to historical music and instruments. If the cornetto needs no register hole, the upper part disassembles easily, above the trill holes. The trill buttons can be at 3L instead. They seem as convenient as at 1R, are visually less imposant, and fit the alto and tenor cornetto better. Then, joints can disassemble just above or under 4L, with key shapes differing slightly from the sketch. Optionally as displayed left, the trill key emitting D opens also a secondary C# for nicer C/D trill. Instead of below 4R, the cornetto can disassemble below 3R or 2R with adapted key lengths as displayed right. Displayed left, adapted key shapes let disassemble below 1R. Separating only the bell, below any key, can save raw material. Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

An existing cornetto fingering chart: gtmusicalinstruments.com also as pdf download The range exceeds two octaves, excellent for a sopranino with recorder-like fingerings. The instrument octaviates imperfectly, as expected from recorder-like fingerings. Since tweaked fingerings shall correct the intonation, it can't be perfect, and supposedly the musicians lips the height further. This gives me hope that my improved keyworks, together with a bore optimized by experiments plus the tutt software or equivalent la.trompette.free.fr can not only make an easier instrument with good intonation, but also achieve a big range, especially at tenor and bass variants. And of course, keep the nice original sound.