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The Physics of Brass Instruments, A Cabbage Lecture
Horn geek alert!
A fascinating video lecture presented by Brian Holmes at a Fermilab* Colloquium Series explains the physics of brass instruments and some of the basics of sound production. As a physicist and a French horn player, Mr. Holmes presents an intimate knowledge of the subject, all done in good humor.
People that subscribe to one of the horn discussion groups might otherwise know Mr. Holmes by his alter ego, “The Cabbage.”
With various instruments — including a length of F-pitched tubing, a trumpet, a keyed-bugle — and PowerPoint slides, he demonstrates many things including:
- The physics of the harmonic series
- Conical versus cylindrical tubing
- The function of the bell
- Nodes and anti-nodes
- That a vast majority of the sound generated by the lips is reflected back onto the player’s embouchure.
Some students I encounter, in a vague attempt to have a clearer sound, make the mistake of not putting the hand in far enough into the bell.
Mr. Holmes gives a very logical explanation as to why the hand in the bell is required in order to make high notes easier and low notes louder. The hand, he explains, functions as an anti-node which compensates for the natural physics of the instrument.
Real Player is required in order to see the video in sync with the PowerPoint slides. Devote a good 30-minutes or so in order to watch this.
It is worth it and is highly recommended.
* Fermilab is a division of the the U.S. Department of Energy that specializes in particle physics.
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