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.