All pitched musical instruments rely on resonances in some form for frequency selection and amplification. In most percussion instruments, string instruments and string keyboard instruments a membrane, the instrument body or a sound board is largely responsible for radiation from the instrument. The normal modes of these structures thus have a significant influence on the sound heard by an audience. Among the techniques used to study such normal modes are optical and electronic holographic interferometry, and computer animated modal analysis. These techniques will be discussed and illustrated with examples on Handbells, Guitars, and Caribbean Steel Pans.
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