The banded digital waveguide mesh

Stefania Serafin, Patty Huang, and Julius O. Smith III

CCRMA, Department of Music
Stanford University
Stanford, CA, 94309 USA
http://www-ccrma.stanford.edu
serafin, pph, jos@ccrma.stanford.edu

Abstract
In this paper we propose a new technique to model complex resonators, which uses a combination of digital
waveguides and waveguide meshes banded in frequency. An application for simulating a bowed cymbal is
discussed.

1 Introduction Efficient physical models of vibrating strings, wind

Digital waveguides ([8]) are a widely used synthesis tech-
nique for creating physical models of musical instru-
ments. While one-dimensional digital waveguides are
very efficient for modeling musical instruments whose
spectrum is quasi-harmonic, such as strings and tubes,
other synthesis techniques are more suitable to model vi-
brating systems like bars and plates, where the spectrum
is more complex.
In order to extend the classical one-dimensional
waveguide and use it as a tool to model also complex res-
onators, different solutions have been proposed.
In this paper we first describe some existing model-
ing techniques based on digital waveguides, and then we
propose a further extension motivated by the limitations
of previous results.
2 The one-dimensional waveguide
Figure 1 shows a one-dimensional digital waveguide. A
lossless digital waveguide is a bidirectional delay line at
some wave impedance, and each delay-line element con-
tains a sampled traveling-wave component.
−1 −1 −1 −1
z z z z
instruments and other quasi-harmonic systems have been
implememented using the digital waveguide principle.
For an overview on the current status of physical models
using digital waveguides, see [8].
2.1 Advantages and disadvantages of one-
dimensional waveguides
As stated before, the principle behind digital waveguides
makes them a very efficient synthesis tool for systems
with negligible or weak stiffness. In situations where
stiffness is noticeble but not high, such as piano strings,
allpass filters can be used to model the inharmonicity of
overtones ([6]). The role of allpass filters is to create a
frequency-dependent propagation velocity, which results
in partials stretched in frequency.
For very stiff systems such as rigid bars, however, a
combination of waveguides and allpass filters provides a
very inefficient structure not suitable for real-time sound
synthesis. In these cases, usually other synthesis tech-
niques, such as spectral modeling ([7]) or modal synthesis
([1]), have been used. To cope with this problem, i.e. to
be able to use waveguides to also model stiff resonators,
Essl and Cook ([2]) proposed a new data structure called
banded waveguides, as described in the following section.

3 Banded digital waveguides

−1 −1 −1 −1
z z z z
Figure 2 shows the block diagram structure of a com-
bination of banded waveguides as described in [2]. As
Figure 1: A digital waveguide formed of two delay lines the name suggests, in banded waveguides the spectrum
with opposite wave propagation directions. of a vibrating system is divided into frequency bands,
 −1 −1 −1 −1
each with one resonant mode, and for each band a digi- z z z z
tal waveguide is used to model that mode.

−1 −1 −1
BP DELAY
z z z
−1
J −1 J −1
z z z
BP DELAY
CONTROL −1 −1 −1 −1
EXCITATION z z z z
BP DELAY

−1 −1 −1
+ z z z
BP DELAY −1 J −1
J −1
z z z

−1 −1 −1 −1
z z z z
Figure 2: A banded waveguide structure as proposed in
[2]. Figure 3: A digital waveguide mesh.

The idea behind banded waveguides is to create a

hybrid of modal and waveguide synthesis in which each
waveguide models the propagation of waves around a
particular mode of the system. For this reason, banded
waveguides are useful to model systems like bars, where
few strongly inharmonic modes are present.
3.1 Advantages and disadvantages of banded
waveguides
An advantage of the banded waveguides is that the modes
can be individually modeled while maintaining a direct
control of the physics of the vibrating structure in both
time and space. A disadvantage is that more complex sys-
tems with many modes, such as the body of musical in-
struments or a room, require too high a number of banded
digital waveguides.
In these cases a data structure called digital waveg-
uide mesh ([9]) can be used, as described in the following
section.
4 The digital waveguide mesh
Figure 3 shows a two dimensional digital waveguide mesh
as originally proposed in [10].
The digital waveguide mesh is an extension to more
dimensions of the digital waveguide. It is a regular array
of digital 1-D waveguides arranged along each perpendic-
ular dimension, interconnected at their crossings by scat-
tering junctions.
4.1 Advantages and disadvantages of waveguide
meshes
Given the high number of modes in their spectrum, dig-
ital waveguide meshes are a useful tool to model com-
plex resonators. The computational cost of the waveguide
mesh, however, which corresponds to the cost of a finite
difference implementation, does not allow the mesh to be
used in real-time applications, especially in the case of
large meshes which are necessary to model resonators like
rooms. We propose a new data structure called the banded
waveguide mesh, as described in the following section.
5 Banded waveguide meshes
Figure 4 shows the structure of a banded waveguide mesh.
The banded waveguide mesh is an extension to multiple
dimensions of the banded waveguide in order to allow a
real-time implementation.
As in [2], we divide the spectrum of a vibrating sys-
tem into frequency bands. For frequency bands where
a single resonance is present, a one-dimensional digi-
tal waveguide is used. For bands where resonances are
more complex, we use either a two-dimensional or three-
dimensional digital waveguide mesh, whose dimensions
are chosen in order to match statistically and psychoa-
coustically the resonances of the modeled object. This
creates a connection of banded waveguides and waveg-
uide meshes.
As in the one-dimensional case, reflection filters can
be included in the structure in order to achieve desired
decay characteristics.
 ✂✁
Let be the cutoff frequency above which an ade- 6.1 Vibrations of cymbals
quately high concentration
☎✄✝✆ of modes appear in the spec-
trum, and let be the fundamental frequency of the As described in [4], the vibration of a cymbal is very sim-
mesh, i.e. the ✁✟
lowest
✞ ✄✝✆ mode generated by the mesh. In all ilar to the vibration of flat circular plates. While at low
applications , so the role
✁ of the waveguide mesh frequencies modes are clearly distinguishable, at high fre-
is to model resonances above , ✄✝✆ quencies they often mix with one another.
Note that the higher is the value of , the smaller
the dimensions of the waveguide mesh and the The nonlinear coupling between vibrational modes,
✁ more ef- moreover, is pretty strong, which makes many partials ap-
ficient the implementation. The choice of , therefore,
is an important decision for the resulting computational pear quickly in the spectrum. This is true no matter how
cost. the cymbal is excited.
In [3] an investigation of nonlinearities in cymbals is
BP WAVEGUIDE described. The results of exciting a cymbal with a sinu-
soidal shaker show that, while at low frequency the radi-
BP WAVEGUIDE ated sound is concentrated at the fundamental of the ex-
citing frequency, increasing the amplitude increases also
CONTROL the relative levels of all the harmonics. At a critical ex-
EXCITATION BP WAVEGUIDE
citation amplitude the spectrum develops a complete set
of subharmonics, and transitions to fully chaotic behavior
can appear.
+ The mathematical problem of analyzing cymbal be-
BP MESH
havior in detail is rather complex. The frequency response
of a bowed cymbal presents a large number of potentially
active modes.
Figure 5 shows the frequency response of an orches-
Figure 4: A banded waveguide mesh with an arbitrary tral cymbal of diameter 41 cm bowed with a violin bow.
number of one-dimensional digital waveguides and a dig- The recording was made in a quiet room and the micro-
ital waveguide mesh. phone placed about .3 meters from the cymbal. Some
prominent peaks comprise the more steadily sinusoidal vi-
bration of cymbal, and there is still much energy at high
frequencies, where modes are very dense.
6 Applications
In [5] we proposed a technique similar to the banded 1

waveguide mesh structure in order to model complex res- 0.5

onating bodies. The research was motivated by the fact
Amplitude

that the frequency response of the body of some musical 0

instruments shows a high number of modes which cannot −0.5

be modeled each using a resonant filter, since this would

−1
imply too high a computational cost. The solution adopted 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Time (samples) x 10
4

was to use a waveguide mesh as a tool to model high fre-

quency modes. The dimensions of the mesh were chosen 50

to match the dimensions of the body of a violin. The mesh 40

Magnitude (dB)

30
output was highpass filtered to obtain the high-frequency
20
simulated portion of a violin body response and summed
10
with the output of a bank of biquad filters, which modeled
0
the low-frequency modes.
−10
Using the banded waveguide mesh in this context 0 0.5 1
Frequency (Hz)
1.5 2
4
x 10
would not provide a useful improvement, since control in
time and space of the excitation of body resonances is not
Figure 5: An example of a bowed cymbal. Top: time do-
necessary.
main waveform (without the attack). Bottom: frequency
In the following section we show a different appli-
response.
cation of the banded waveguide mesh, i.e. a model of a
bowed cymbal.
6.2 Modeling a bowed cymbal
Bowed cymbals (and bowed plates) lend themselves well
to being modeled with a banded waveguide mesh struc-
ture. Low modes are excited by the bowing and energy
is transfered nonlinearly to high-frequency modes which
are chaotically coupled. The manner of excitation of these
strong lower modes rely on the detailed mechanical in-
teraction of the bow and the rim, and thus an interface
between the bowing and the resonating plate is needed
which preserves the spatiality of the bow/cymbal con-
tact. Banded waveguides allow individual modes to be
controlled in time, frequency and space. The shimmery,
noiselike high-frequency modes are not a direct conse-
quence of the bow excitation, so a banded waveguide
mesh can be used as an approximation of a dense modal
region.
Bowed cymbals can produce a wide range of sounds
with only small variations in bowing force, velocity and
position. In certain cases the cymbal produces a very
noisy growl and modes are very dense throughout the
spectrum. In this case, a waveguide mesh with sufficient
mode density at the lower frequency range would be too
large to be implemented in real-time.
7 Conclusions
[4] N. H. Fletcher and T. D. Rossing. The Physics of
Musical Instruments. Springer Verlag, New York,
1999.
[5] Patty Huang, Stefania Serafin, and Julius O. Smith.
A 3D waveguide mesh model of high-frequency vi-
olin body resonances. In Proc. 2000 Int.Computer
Music Conf. Berlin. Computer Music Association,
2000.
[6] Davide Rocchesso and Francesco Scalcon. Accurate
dispersion simulation for piano strings. In Nordic
Acoustical Meeting, Helsinki, June 1996.
[7] Xavier Serra. A computer model for bar percus-
sion instruments. In Proc. 1986 Int. Computer Mu-
sic Conf., The Hague. Computer Music Association,
1986.
[8] Julius O. Smith. Physical modeling using digital
waveguides. Computer Music Journal, 16(4):74–
91, Winter 1992. special issue: Physical Modeling
of Musical Instruments, Part I. Available online at
http://www-ccrma.stanford.edu/˜jos/pmudw/.
[9] S. A. Van Duyne and Julius O. Smith. Physical mod-
eling with the 2-D digital waveguide mesh. In Proc.
1993 Int. Computer Music Conf, Tokyo, pages 40–
47. Computer Music Association, 1993.

In this paper we proposed a data structure called the [10] Scott A. Van Duyne and Julius O. Smith. The 2-D
banded waveguide mesh, which allows the use of mul- digital waveguide mesh. In IEEE Workshop on Sig-
tidimensional digital waveguides to model complex res- nal Processing to Audio and Acoustics, New Paltz,
onators. In situations where the high concentration of NY, New York, Oct. 1993. IEEE Press.
modes appears at frequencies above about 1500 Hz (with
a sampling rate of 44100 Hz), the computational com-
plexity of the banded waveguide is low enough to allow
a real-time implementation. In other cases alternative so-
lutions must be investigated, such as, for example, a mul-
tirate banded waveguide mesh cascade.

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