Acoustic radiation from the pipa and yueqin

Abstract

The pipa and yueqin are Chinese plucked string instruments. The examples studied here have soundboards made of wu-t'ung (Paulownia) wood and each has a small cm-sized tone hole. The acoustic radiation patterns of these instruments have been measured as a function of angle and frequency. The measurements were made in an anechoic chamber and were obtained using an automated impact hammer. The radiation data are compared with measured vibration modes of the soundboxes. The spectra obtained peak at higher frequencies than are typical for Western instruments (500 Hz for the yueqin and 700 Hz for the pipa, compared to 100 Hz for the guitar), whose construction tends to emphasize the fundamental frequencies of the strings. The Helmholtz resonances of the pipa and yueqin have also been observed, but the effect of the tone holes have not been detected in the radiation data and their function is not understood.