The influence of pipe scaling parameters on the sound of flue organ pipes

Abstract

When basic phenomena of the physics of flue organ pipes is studied, experiments on models are acceptable. But these models often differ considerably from real organ pipes. For this reason the fine details of pipe sounds should be investigated on real pipes. The sound quality of an organ pipe is mainly influenced by the attack transients. This onset is first dominated by the edge tone, while later the pipe resonator will play a more important role. To understand the physics of a flue organ pipe it is necessary to measure the acoustic properties of the pipe resonator to analyze the edge tone, the attack transient, and the stationary sound of the pipe. Several special pipes with the same pitch have been investigated: pipes with different diameters; a pipe of which the cut up and a pipe of which the length is adjustable. By the evaluation all physical effects contributing to the production of sound were taken into account. The results together with the results of subjective listening tests will be used for developing a scaling method for dimensioning labial organ pipes and a software for designing organ pipe dimensions of the most important ranks. [Work supported by the European Commission.]