Acoustical studies on steel pans: the role of the skirt

Abstract

Previous studies [Rossing et al., Phys. Today 49(3), 24–29 (1996)] showed that skirt vibration amplitudes were about 20–40 dB less than amplitudes of the struck note area, and therefore the skirt contributes in a minor way to the total sound level. Nevertheless, the skirt has many resonances of its own and contributes to the timbre of the played instrument, as can be easily heard by damping the skirt. Using electronic TV holography, modes of vibration of steel pan skirts have been recorded when the note area is driven sinusoidally at various frequencies and amplitudes. The modes have varying numbers of nodal meridians and nodal circles, much like those observed in bells and especially in drum shells [Rossing et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92, 84–94 (1992)]. Effects of the skirt modes on the sound spectra of the steel pan are discussed. a)On leave from Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN.