Direct measurement of clarinet air column oscillations

Abstract

The internal oscillation of a clarinet air column has been directly measured through the implementation of hot-wire anemometry. By taking a series of measurements down the centerline of the bore, velocity and pressure modal shapes of individual harmonics are separated, measured, and plotted. Finally, composite averaged power spectra of the internal oscillation are presented and compared to acoustic measurements acquired outside the clarinet. In many cases, the even harmonics of the internal oscillation dominate over the power found in the odd harmonics. This contradicts the classic model of the clarinet as a cylindrical pipe closed at one end and open at the other (where only odd harmonics are produced). Further, the data from the direct velocity measurements also contradict the externally acquired acoustic data, where odd harmonics generally dominate for the lowest 5–9 harmonics. Thus the clarinet, in theory and practice, is generally considered incapable of generating strong even harmonics. In this research, however, it is seen that dominate even harmonics are generated, but the energy for these frequencies is largely trapped inside the clarinet, whereas the energy associated with the odd harmonics is released to the ambient. [This research was conducted with the support of Selmer Musical Instruments.]