Masking Effects in Practical Instrumentation and Orchestration

Abe Pepinsky

Citation: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 12, 472 (1941); doi: 10.1121/1.1902221
View online: https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1902221
View Table of Contents: http://asa.scitation.org/toc/jas/12/3
Published by the Acoustical Society of America

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The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 12, 472 (1941); 10.1121/1.1902220
472 ACOUSTI CAL SOCIETY
and with the responseat low frequenciesaugmented, it
follows that one should know the properties of the ma-
terials which make up a violin in order to designone with
any degreeof accuracy. The following is a progressreport
of suchan investigation.Specimensof wood in the form of
rectangular bars 24"X•"X•" were tested for their
density, elasticity and internal resistance to motion. A
method for separating the internal damping resistance
from the air resistancewas developed. Some of the effects
producedon the propertiesof wood by coating them with
oils, varnishes, paints, etc., were observed.
10. On the Problem of Stringing Scales for Very Small
Pianoforte. WILLIAM BRAID WHITE, The Schoolof Piano-
forte Technology. (30 min.)--In designingwhat is called the
scale or string plan of a piano, four factors have to be
considered: frequency, length, unit weight and tension.
All these are interlocked with each other, so any changein
one involves correspondingchangesin one or all of the
others. The element of frequency is of course fixed. In
the case of the very small piano, the length, in the low
frequency part of the scale at least, is so circumscribed
that very little manipulation is possible.Hence any effort
to adjust the four elements so as to produce good tonal
effectsbecomesmainly the questionof how far unit weight
and tension can be readjusted to fit the requirements of
the case.The paper presentsthe author's conclusionson the
problem.
11. An Analysis of Tone Production Factors in Flute
Playing. ARNOLD SMALL AND WILLIAM V•rALDROP,State
University of Iowa. (20 min.)--This study represents an
attempt to (1) analyze those factors in tone production
which the flute affords and those which the player con-
trols, and to (2) quantify their effect upon the intensity and
pitch of the flute tone. The control of tone production was
accomplishedby the alternate use of two blowing mecha-
nisms, one constructed in the Iowa Laboratory and the
other loaned by Dr. Robert Young of the Conn Ltd.
Laboratory. The factors found to effect tone in either or
both of the respects studied were distance of lip opening
to edge of blow hole, air pressure,size of lip opening, and
angle of the air stream with edge of blow hole. Measure-
ments of the effects will be presented. These results indi-
cated that the most basic acoustical factor involved in
flute tone production was the velocity of the air stream at
the blow hole edge (and alsoprobably the percentageof the
stream entering the tube), the above mentioned factors
simply being means of varying this velocity. The control
of the air particle velocity by these means was therefore
studied by the use of a facing or impact tube as employed
in the Pitot tube, the results of which will also be reported.
12. Trends in Acceptable Tone-Quality as Evidenced
in Modern Musical Instruments. ABE PEeINSK¾,Depart-
ment of Music, University of Minnesota. (20 min.)--Taste
in tone-quality, like style in dressand foods, is subject to
fad and fancy. Past epochs evidence the influence of
unique instrumental tone-color on vocal timbre. Instru-
OF AMERI CA
ments, in turn, were designedto imitate desirable vocal
quality and that of other musical instruments. The last
decade has revealed a number of electronic machines
simulatingother instruments,and generallyusingthe pipe-
organ as a prototype. Most organists resent such innova-
tions because the "stops" representing various instru-
mental effectsdo not soundlike those of their pipe-organ.
Traditional organ-stops,however, offer themselvesonly a
first approximation of the instruments they represent.
Musicians and laymen have in general been greatly
intrigued by the possibilitiesof these new music-makers.
Psycho-physicaldata also indicate that these machines
produce a nice approximation of steady-state tones. The
trained ear, however, demands at least two refinements
(thus far elusive) for a satisfactory reproduction of the
characteristic effects of conventional instruments: (1)
Differentiation of various instrumental registers,and (2)
varied attack, typifying bowed, plucked or embouchure-
controlled instruments. The infinite array of tonal effects
produced by such modern musical instruments has further
stimulated the cornposer's creative urge, although a
predilection for well-defined regionsof overtone structure
is indicated.
13. Masking Effects in Practical Instrumentation and
Orchestration. ABE PEPINSK¾, Department of Music,
University of Minnesota. (20 min.)--The relationship of
one instrument to another within an ensemble and the
quality of the compositetone producedhave been empiri-
cally explored by the great composersof the past. Trial
and error have played an important role here, however,
and the reasons for the existence of intra- and inter-
instrumental relationships within an ensemble which
influencethe tonal sensationhave never been investigated.
The effectsof maskingin the tone quality of one instrument
in the presenceof others are herein considered.The strong
partials of one instrument influence other partials in the
composite tone of that instrument as well as the partials
comprisingthe combined tones of the other instruments.
For illustration, an ensembleconsistingof a cornet,French
horn, trombone, baritone and E[• tuba were selected to
present a simple chord in varying settings and degreesof
dynamics. The hypothesis is that masking in ensemble-
playing consistsof an accumulation of the masking effects
produced by the componentsof the complex tones. The
phono-photographicmeasurementsobtained by Seashore
and his associateswere used to plot the strength and
distribution of the partials within the tones produced by
the various instruments. Total average pressuresexerted
by these instruments were adapted from the data given
by Sivian, Dunn and White. The average reference
intensity level of 40 db was used to signify a medium or
mezzoforte tone level, and a sensation level of 20 db and
60 db were chosenfor piano and forte tone levels, respec-
tively, with resultant variation in the partial strength of
each instrument in the spectral analysis. These results
indicate that chordsdo not soundas they are written, and
substantiate our hypothesisin that conductorsalter the
intensity which the composer has assigned to various
 TWENTY-FOURTH MEETING 473

instruments in combination to produce desirable effects.
In many instancesthe notesof the chord must be reassigned
to different instruments in order to secure good balance.
Definite principles for the guidance of instrumental
compositioncan thus be set up.
14. The Acoustical Bases of Music Theory and Com-
position. LLOYDLOAR,NorthwesternUniversity. (20 min.) m
This paper describesa scientific approach to chord and
tone relationships that may explain their artistic use as
media for esthetic expression.

FroDAY EV•.NXNG, NOV•.MB•.R 15, AT 6:30 O'CLOC•C

Main Ball Room

Dinner

FroDAY EVENING, NOV•.MB•.a 15, AT 8:15 O'CnOC•:

15. Three Electrical Musical Instruments. A Demonstration Lecture by LAURENS HAMMOND.

Mr. Hammond described the technical features of the Novacord and Solovox and recent develop-
ments in the Electrical Organ. The three instruments were played as a trio using music especially
arranged for the demonstration.

SATURDAYMORNING, NOVEMBER 16, AT 9:30 O'CLOCK

Tropical Room

16. Generalized Plane Wave Horn Theory. V. SALMON,
Jensen Radio Manufacturing Co. (20 min.)--Horns are
primarily used with moving coil loudspeaker units to
obtain sound radiators possessingsatisfactory electro-
acoustic energy transfer characteristics. The contribution
of the horn to the over-all efficiency, as expressedby the
acoustic driving point admittance, will be obtained by a
generalized dimensionlesstreatment of Webster's equa-
tions. Numerical solution of the differential equation for
the pressure may be effected by the Hartree method
widely used in problems involving atomic wave functions,
enabling an estimate of the behavior of any horn of reason-
able flare. Some new types of horns suggestedby certain
solutions of the differential equation will be compared to
the well-known exponential horn.
17. Uniphase Uni-Directional Microphones. BENJAMIN
B. BAUER, Shure Brothers. (20 min.)--The uni-directional
microphone is treated as a generalized transducer and
network which are subjectedto sound waves at two points
in space. Network relationships are derived to produce
uni-directional operation. These relationships are ful-
filled in the "uniphase" structure which has a single
transducer and a phase-shifting network instead of the
two transducers normally used in uni-directional micro-
phones. Acoustical phase-shifting networks applied to a
diaphragm-type piezoelectricmicrophoneand to a moving
coil dynamic microphone producing a cardioid-type polar
pattern are described.
18. The Acoustic Wattmeter, an Instrument for Measur-
ing Sound Energy Flow. C. W. CLAPP A•D F. A. Fm•-
STONE,University of Michigan. (20 min.)--An instrument
called an "acoustic wattmeter" has been constructed to
measuresoundenergy flow. It consistsof a crystal pressure
microphone and miniature ribbon velocity microphone
mounted close together and connected through separate
amplifiers and phase equalizing networks to a thermo-
couple-type audiofrequency wattmeter. Provision is made
to measure sound pressure and velocity separately as well
as the energy flow represented by their product. The
normal acoustic impedance and absorption coefficient
of a surface may be computed from measurementsof sound
energy flow into the surface and energy density near the
surface. Measurements were made on two representative
absorbingmaterials at normal incidence with the material
mounted at the end of a tube, and at random incidence
with the material on the floor of a large sound chamber.
Referring all results to random incidence, the values of the
absorption coefficientsobtained by the two methods agree
well with each other and are in fair agreement with results
obtained by the reverberation room method.
19. The System Concept in Electroacoustical Systems.
HU6H S. KNOWLES,Jensen Radio Manufacturing Co.
(25 min.)--The analysis of the behavior of an electro-
acoustic device is often much simplified by assuming
idealized boundary conditions. The more rigorous con-
sideration of the device as part of a generalized dynamica