Sound performance investigation of composite materials for the soundbox of a membrane musical instrument

Abstract

The materials used in the manufacture of musical instruments with wooden sound box is obtained from trees in general. This fact creates difficulties due to problems with limited environmental resources. In addition, such materials vary widely in quality as they are biomaterial, and so it is necessary for musical instrument makers to invest a great deal of effort in quality control and in the wood drying process. To resolve these issues, we have begun the development of synthetic structure using glass fiber and carbon fiber composites with polyester resin for Turkish folk violin (Kemane) traditionally made from gourd was used in the construction. Three instruments were manufactured exactly the same using the traditional measures; two kinds of composite materials and the gourd. Computer modeling was created for composite and sound analysis was performed according to sound recordings of instruments. The analyzes were compared with the traditional gourd Kemane.