Scan 62
The American history and encyclopedia of music, 1908
6 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1of the piano may be too hard at the point where they come in contact with the strings, in which case they create too many audible partials. A string that is long and fine is much more elastic, and will create more easily the correct number of primary and secondary vibrations to form a perfect tone. The higher partials are much more apparent in wire strings than in those of gut, for the material of the latter naturally smothers those which are very high. If the string is plucked with a hard substance the higher partials will be produced, as when a hard hammer is used. The gut strings of the harp and guitar are plucked with the fingers, and the fundamentals are accompanied by the lower partials, causing the tones to be rich and full. On the other hand, the wire strings of the zither and mandolin are plucked with a plectrum, calling forth the upper partials, and creating a more tinkling tone. Bowing creates more partial vibrations than any other method, and the higher the tension to which the hair of the violin bow is stretched, and the less sparingly the rosin has been applied, the more easily will the higher harmonics be sounded.
3The vibrations of the column of air in a pipe are much less easy to study, but many of the statements which have been made regarding strings are equally true of pipes. The pipe itself only serves to imprison the vibrating column of air, and has nothing to do with the production of sound except as to its length and the peculiarities of its bore. Longer pipes, like longer strings, produce lower fundamentals. The harmonics are produced by increasing the force of bowing.
5In open pipes a node always occurs in the middle, with a vibrating segment at each end, and the column of air can be divided into infinite vibrating segments in producing partials. A closed cylindrical pipe produces a tone an octave lower in pitch than that of an open one of the same dimensions, and the number of partials of any closed pipe is limited to those having odd numbers. When the vibrations reach the stopped end of the pipe, they cannot escape into
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