Synthesis of harpsichord pluck tones using a physical plectrum and string models

Abstract

The harpsichord is a plucked string keyboard instrument with a distinct sound, and previous work has been done to synthesize it [V. Valimaki et al., EURASIP J. Appl. Signal. 7, 934–948 (2004)]. However, these excitation signals are extracted through recorded tones and are not physical models in the true sense. A physical model of the harpsichord plectrum and its interface with the digital waveguide string model has been proposed by us [Chao-Yu J. Perng et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 128, 2309(A) (2010)], and a revised model accounting for the plectrum tip was presented subsequently [Chao-Yu J. Perng et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 129, 2543(A), (2011)]. In this paper, we will demonstrate results of the synthesized tones using our physical plectrum-string interaction model. Changing certain physical parameters alters the synthesized tones, and they are discussed and explored. Lastly, a simple physical model of the harpsichord lute-stop is presented.