Wave separation in the trumpet under playing conditions and comparison with time domain finite difference simulation

Abstract

Wave separation within a trumpet is presented using three high pressure microphones to measure pressure waves within the curved, constant cross-section tuning slide of the instrument while the instrument was being played by a virtuoso trumpet player. A closer inter-microphone spacing was possible in comparison to previous work through the use of time domain windowing on non-causal transfer functions and performing wave separation in the frequency domain. Time domain plots of the experimental wave separation were then compared to simulations using a physical model based on a time domain finite difference simulation of the trumpet bore coupled to a one mass, two degree of freedom lip model. The time domain and frequency spectra of the measured and synthesized sounds showed a similar profile, with the sound produced by the player showing broader spectral peaks in experimental data. Using a quality factor of 5 for the lip model was found to give greater agreement between the simulated and experimental starting transients in comparison to the values in the range 1-3 often assumed. Deviations in the spectral content and wave shape provide insights into the areas where future research may be directed in improving the accuracy of physical modeling synthesis.