TOPIC:- Study of vibration and acoustics of a violin by varying the

position of violin soundpost.

ABSTRACT
It is proposed to perform 3-d Laser Doppler Vibrometer measurements on a violin in order to
determine the effect of changing the position of the sound post (4 positions viz. 3 asymmetric and
1 symmetric to the violin) on the mode shapes and the modal frequency for the 5 normal modes of
the violin. Also, the variation of the acoustic properties of the violin with change in position of the
sound post can be found out by taking suitable readings with a high quality microphone. Hence a
comparison between the vibrational and acoustic properties of a violin with varying sound post
position can be obtained i.e, those vibrational modes which correspond to sound in a violin can be
identified and their variation with varying soundpost position can be found out, which will give us
an idea about where to place the violin soundpost for better acoustic results.












Experimental Procedure
SUPPORT CONDITIONS
Free-free support- The violin is to be placed neck down, suspended on 2 elastic rubber strings
passing under the concave section of the lower bout of the c-bouts. The scroll of the violin is to be
supported on foam pad to maintain the violin in vertical position as well as reduce rigid body
motion after the hammer strike or shaker excitation.

EXCITATION
There are 3 ways of exciting the violin:
1) Shaker Excitation :- The stinger should be attached to the G-string side of the bridge. Pseudo
random excitation in the frequency range 0-5kHz.
Advantages:-
a) Better signal to noise ratio observed.
Disadvantages :-
a) The stinger attached to the bridge causes subsequent mass loading to the bridge.
b) The stinger restricts the rocking motion of the bridge, especially during CBR mode (380-
440Hz), thereby leading to erroneous results.
c) A longer sized stinger should be used, since the distance of the bridge from the edge of the
violin is considerably large.

2) Hammer Impact Excitation :- Automated force hammer of type P086C80 with force sensor
required to excite the bridge near the G string end. Hammer should be automated otherwise
it is not possible for the LDV measurements for the different scan points to be accurate.
Advantages:-
a)No mass loading to the bridge.
b)No restriction of the bridge motion.
Disadvantages:-
a)Poorer signal to noise ratio in the low frequency range.
b)Absence of suitable hammer in the laboratory.
3) Excitation by a rotating disc :- A rotating disc made of PMMA, driven by a motor. The rotating
disc(110mm dia and 6mm thick) is used to excite the open D string of the violin.
Advantages:-
1)More realistic approach.
2) The rotating disc can excite the violin strings continuously for a long time, thereby ensuring the
completion of the LDV scan over all specified scan points.
Disadvantages:-
1)Complex apparatus.
2)Loss of some scan points due to the obstruction by the arrangement.
3)Obtaining the FRF becomes a problem.


Adjusting the Sound post
The sound post is to be placed at four different locations in the violin by using a fork. The length of
the sound post used may vary to provide accurate fit inside the cavity. The four proposed positions
are:
a)Just behind the foot of the bridge opposite to the bass bar.
b)5mm behind and in front of the bridge foot along the same line.
c)Just at the centre of the violin so that the effect of asymmetry of the post with the normal modes
as well as the acoustics of the violin can be studied.
d)Violin with no sound post.








Microphone Settings
Microphones are required for the acoustic scans of their far-field radiation of the violin, so
that the various of acoustic properties of the violin with different positions of the sound post
can be measured.
The microphone used for taking measurements in our case was a highly sensitive condenser
microphone.
The microphone was placed about 5 inches in front of the violins bridge, and located
towards the centre of the violin.


NORMAL MODES OF A VIOLIN
A0 280 Hz
A1 470-490 Hz
CBR or C2 - 380-440 Hz
B1- - 450-480 Hz
B1+ - 530-570 Hz
The first 2 are air modes and rest 3 are plate modes





The Identified Modes
MODE NAME FRONT PLATE
(Hz)
BACK PLATE
(Hz)
A0 (Helmholtz Resonance) 278.8 270
CBR 376.3, 427.5 375,428.8
B1- 406.3 398.8
A1(air cavity) 480 477.5
B1+ 607.5 600
Damping and Q factor for the modes
MODES FRONT PLATE BACK PLATE
Damping Q factor Damping Q factor
A0 0.083 6.036 0.061 8.18
CBR 0.019,0.018 26.877,28.5 0.022,0.01 23.01,47.64
B1- 0.02 25.39 0.011 44.31
A1 0.022 21.82 0.016 31.83
B1+ 0.015 32.48 0.011 43.80










Soundpost Position 1

Position: Soundpost is placed just behind the E-string side foot of the bridge.
MODE LDV (Hz) Microphone(Hz)
A0 273.8(10.769) 281.3(0.0598)
CBR 372.5(10.803) 376.3(0.012)
B1- 423.8(12.179) 427.5(0.0083)
A1 478.8(7.766) 483.8(.0055)
B1+ 601.3(25.741) 593.8(0.0275)

MICROPHONE RECORDING



POINTS TO NOTE

The coupling between the A0 and B0 mode(300Hz) is observed.
The A0 mode contribution to sound is 50% of that in the previous case.
The acoustic contribution of all the other modes(except A1, which is first longitudinal air
cavity mode) also decreases to almost half of the previous values.
An extra mode is observed at around 569Hz, whose vibration component is less than the
adjoining B1+ peak(613Hz), but its acoustic contribution is larger than B1+ mode. In this
mode , the top plate vibrates almost identical to the CBR mode.The origin of this mode is
not known.





















Soundpost Position 2

Position: Soundpost is placed 5mm in behind the E-string side foot of the bridge.
MODE LDV (Hz) Microphone(Hz)
A0 281(10.2) 281.3(0.04761)
CBR 373.8(8.2) 382.5(0.0083)
B1- 422.5(13.8) 425(.008)
A1 482.5(6.25) 480(0.0288)
B1+ 565(13.87) 562.

MICROPHONE RECORDING




POINTS TO NOTE
In this case the mode shape corresponding to the B1+ mode takes place at 565Hz.But there is
another mode observed at 613.8Hz, whose mode shape is similar to that of CBR mode. This
is just opposite to what has been observed in the previous case.
The overall acoustic contributiom of the different modes is better than sp2 but slightly lesser
than that of sp1 position.


























NO SOUNDPOST
Position: Soundpost removed from the violin.
MODE LDV (Hz) Microphone(Hz)
A0 260(7.39) 256.3(.018)
CBR 371.3(20.935) 373.8(0.043)
B1- 438.8(5.41) 441.3(0.019)
A1 490(2.45) 493.8(0.0059)
B1+ 613(27.97) 615(0.017)

MICROPHONE RECORDING


POINTS TO NOTE
With no soundpost, the A0 mode is mostly affected. The frequency of the A0 mode shows
marked decrease. This is because, on removing the soundpost, addition stiffness imposed on
the plates is reduced, hence frequency is reduced.
The A0 mode, which is the most radiating for all the other cases, shows large decrease in its
acoustic contribution.
The CBR mode shows much change in mode shape. The 2 C bouts now move in phase instead
of opposite phase. The motion of the C bouts is increased greatly for this mode. Also, this
mode contributes maximum to sound.This result is expected because presence of
soundpost provided additional constrains for the top as well as back plates.
The B1- mode shows much decrease in vibratory response. Its frequency slows slight
increase. Its acoustic contribution increases though.
The A1 mode also shows very little vibratory response, but the acoustic contribution remains
more or less same for all the soundpost positions.



















Conclusion
From the results carried out for all the different soundpost positons, it is observed that
placing the soundpost just behind the bridge foot shows best acoustics as well as vibratory
response for this violin. Placing it forward reduces the sound to a greater extent as compared
to placing it backward.
With no soundpost, the acoustics of a violin is greatly affected as evident from our
microphone recordings.
This justifies the use of a soundpost and the proper positioning of it on the acoustics of a
violin.