Acoustic portrait of four clavichords : tangent velocities, loudness and decay times
Résumé
The aim of the present research is to measure a number of acoustical and mechanical features that are associated with the sound (dynamics, duration) and playability (dynamic range, key velocity) for four clavichords. Acoustic signals, string-tangent contact signals and tangent motion signals (acceleration, velocity, and displacement) are simultaneously recorded. Several dynamic nuances are recorded for all the notes of the four instruments. The resulting database contains about 2000 items (sets of four signals for each note). Each of the four instruments is portrayed in terms of acoustic analyses, including tangent peak velocity, Sound Pressure Level (SPL) and decay time. These portraits give a first approach to objective comparison among instruments, and objective evaluation of voicing.