THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA VOLUME 31, NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY, 1959

On Woodwind Instrument Bores

A. H. BENADE
PhysicsDepartment,CaseInstitute of Technology,Clevdand6, Ohio
(ReceivedNovember 18, 1957)

The propertiesof horns that are suitablefor use in woodwindsare deducedfrom first principles.The
cylindricalpipe and completeconeare shownto be the only shapeswhichsatisfytheserequirementsexactly.
The behavior of nearly perfect cylindersand almost completeconesis described,the influenceof closed
fingerholeson the effectivebore of an instrumentis discussed,
and the effectof the mouthpiececavity is
analyzed. Damping of the normal modesby the walls of the bore is shownto play a dominant role in the
playing behavior and tone colorof woodwinds,and various consequencesare deduced.

i. INTRODUCTION
HEacoustic
behavior
ofawoodwind
instrument
is complex,and a completeanalysiswould be
hopelesslyinvolved, and perhapsimpossibleto set up
on the basis of present knowledge. It is however
fruitful to usegeneralphysicalprinciplestogetherwith
the empiricalknowledgeof theseinstrumentswhich is
shownin their constructionand use,to selectsignificant
aspectsof the problem for study, and as guides in
findingphysicallymeaningfulanalytic approximations
for their description.The problem divides itself into
three reasonably distinct parts; one concerningthe
nature of the bore, one having to do with the action of
the tone holes,and one dealingwith the reed systemas
an exciter. Once thesepartial problemsare clarified, it
is not too difficultto bring them togetherin a discussion
of the instrumentas a whole. The presentdiscussion
will concernitself primarily with the requirementson,
and behavior of, boreswhich are useful in woodwinds.
The effectsof open side holes will be taken up in a
secondpaper.
In order to provide a basisfor suchan analysisit is
worthwhile to review briefly the nature of a typical
woodwind.Air containedin a tube with rigid walls is
set in vibration by a beating reed, whose angular
frequencyof vibration wr is determinedby the inter-
action of the reed with one of the normal modes of the
air column. The blown reed is an aeroelasticdevice, so
that, strictly speaking,the frequencyproducedcannot
be predicted from an analysisof an air column that
is coupledto an unblownreed. For this reasonit is
necessaryto keep a clear distinction between the
frequencyof oscillationof an isolatedblown reed, its
free (unblown) natural frequency,the frequenciesof
the normal modes of the isolated air column, and the
frequencyof the combinedreed-pipesystem.However,
it is an empiricalfact that the generalbehaviorof an
instrumentis sufficientlywell defined,by the acoustical
propertiesof the air columnalone,that it is reasonable
to studyits propertiesapart from the reed,whichmay
be shown to function in woodwindsvery nearly as a
closedend.• The small discrepancies arisingfrom this
SeeAppendixI for a discussion
of this point.
simplification may be corrected later on when the
instrument is considered as a whole.
ii. REQUIREMENTS FOR A USEFUL BORE
As is well known, the lowest note on a given instru-
ment is associated with the lowest normal mode of
vibration of the complete air column. Successively
higher notesof the chromaticscaleare then produced
by opening holes one by one along the tube, thus
shorteningits effectivelength, until a note is reached
for which the fundamentalfrequency(lowestmode) of
the shortenedtube is the sameas the frequencyof the
secondmodeof the completetube. If the player causes
the reed to vibrate at the frequencydeterminedfor it
by the secondnormal mode of the air column, a repe-
tition of this sequenceof openingholes will continue
the scale?The tuning will of coursebe correct only if
the frequency ratio (and therefore musical interval)
between the first and second normal modes is the same
for the completehorn as for one that is shortenedby
opening a few holes. This necessityfor preservinga
constantfrequencyratio between the normal modesis
essential in all woodwinds and provides a general
limitation on the types of bore which are musically
useful.
It is possibleto show that if a row of reasonably
large finger holes is openedin the side of a bore, the
horn acts as though it were cut off a certain distance
belowthe highestopenhole, this distancebeingnearly
constant with frequency. Variations in this distance
will be ignoredhere, as it is easily taken care of by
perturbation methods later on. Successivelyopened
finger holes thus producea sequenceof shorter and
shorterhorns,and thesemust possess a certain acoustic
similarity if they are all to have constantfrequency
ratios between their normal modes. Mathematically
this implies that the ratios of the normal modesmust
be fixed by parameters of the horn, which are in-
dependentof its length. This requirementis satisfied
by the so-calledBesselhornsin which the cross-sectional
area S of the bore increases by somepositivepower •
•'A similar, though more complex,procedureis used to extend
further the range of the instrument by using the third normal
mode.

137

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138
Fro. 1. General horn shape, showingdependenceof cross-
sectionalarea S on distancefrom the apex. The over-alllength of
the horn is 1.
of the distancex measuredfrom the vertex (seeFig. 1).
Pressuredisturbancesin such horns obey the wave
equation(1), in whichw is the angularfrequencyof the
wave,and c the velocityof soundS;
d:p
d• (e)dp
• •x+k•p=
Relevant solutionsof this equation must satisfy the
following two boundary conditions:(a) The volume
flow u(x).S(x) must be zero at the vertex. This is
actuallya specificationof dp/dx for smallx sincethe
particlevelocityis proportionalto gradp. (b) The pres-
sure variation must be zero at the open end locatedat
x- l. Suchsolutionshave the generalform4shownin Eq.
(2), and propervaluesof the wavenumberk arefound
from the roots5 of the Bessel function, as shown in
Eq. (3);
p(x) -- Axiø-øJ_«(•_,)(kx)
J_i(•_.) (kl) = O, • > O.
Figure 2 showsthe frequencyratios between the first
and nth characteristicfrequenciesof thesehornsas a
functionof the flare exponent•. It is shownin Appendix
II that Besselhorns are the only horns which satisfy
the requirement that their normal mode frequency
ratios be independentof horn length. This simplifies
the subsequent' analysisby makinga great reductionin
the number of specialcaseswhich must be considered.
While the precedingdiscussionhas served to show
that woodwindboresare restrictedto beingmembersof
a particularly family, the restrictionis necessarybut
not sufficientto give usable instruments.Consider a
reed that is controlledby the lowestnormal mode of an
air column,so that it vibratesat an angularfrequency
w•w•. Under theseconditionspuffs of air are periodi-
cally admitted into the pipe from the player'smouth, in
synchronismwith the motion of the reed, thus gene-
a G. W. Stewart and R. B. Lindsay,Acoustics(D. Van Nostrand
Company,Inc., New York, 1930),p. 133.
4E. Jahnke and F. Emde, Tablesof Functions(Dover Publi-
cations,New York, 1945), fourth edition,p. 146.
• See reference4, p. 153 and p. 168.
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A.H. BENADE
rating a Fourier spectrummade up of harmoniccom-
ponentshavingangularfrequencies nwr, (n- 1,2,3-.-).
A general Bessel horn does not, however, have its
characteristic frequencies spaced out in integral
multiples of the fundamental frequency. 6 For this
reason,when the reed is driving the columnnear its
lowest mode, the higher modesof the pipe will not
resonatewith higher frequencycomponentsgenerated
by the reed exceptin certainparticular types of bore.
The musically useful horn shapesfrom this point of
view are those which possessnormal modes with
approximatelyintegralfrequencyratios,sothat enough
of the reed harmonicsare reinforcedby the horn as to
producea rich tone. Referenceto Fig. 2 showsthat
there are two horns having exactly integral charac-
teristicfrequencyratios,the cylindricaltube (•=0) for
which the ratios are 1, 3, 5, -.., and the straight-sided
cone7 (e= 2) with frequencyratios1, 2, 3 --.. A rapidly
(1)
flaring horn with e very slightly greater than 7 is also
worth mentioning becausein it the odd-numbered
modeshave frequencieswhich are almost preciselyin
the ratios 1, 2, 3, 4 ..-, while the even-numberedmodes
fall betweenthesefrequenciesand would not therefore
be excitedby the reed vibrating with the fundamental.
Becauseit possesses integral normal modefrequencies,
this last horn may theoreticallybe consideredto be a
memberof the classof musicallyusefulshapes.How-
ever, it has such a rapid flare that great mechanical
(2)
(3)
Fro. 2. Frequency of the nth normal mode relative to the
fundamental(n = 1) in Besselhorns,as a functionof flare exponent
•. The frequencyratios are integral only for •=0, 2, and 7. The
normal modes of these particular horns are indicated by dots.
Note that thesefrequencyratios dependonly on the parameter•
and not uponthe lengthof the horn (seealsoAppendixII).
6The presenceof improperly designed side holes may also
producethis effectevenin tubeswherethe frequencyratioswould
otherwisebe integral.
7 These two horns are exemplified in the orchestra by the
cylindrical clarinets and by the conical saxophones,oboes,and
bassoons,respectively.
 WOODWIND INSTRUMENT BORES 139

difficultieswould arisein constructingit for usewith a

reasonablysizedreed. The disturbingeffectsof cutting
off the horn near its apex,and the effectsof the mouth-
piece cavity, which are discussedin Secs.III and V,
respectively,may be shownto grow rapidly with horn
flare. For this reasonany specialpropertiestheoretically
available in the •= 7 horn would be destroyedby the
mouthpieceand reed combination.Furthermore, the
heavy radiation dampingproducedby the large open
end would practically obliterate the resonancepeaks
of the horn, so that the reed could not be controlled
by the horn in any event.
III. NEARLY PERFECT CYLINDERS AND CONES
Fro. 3. (a) Diagramshowingnotationdescribing
a conicalpipe
cut off and closedat the small end. The length x0 is taken to be a
positivequantity in pipesof this shape.(b) Diagramof a conical
Because no woodwind has an exactly cylindrical pipe, cut off and closedat the large end. The distancex0 between
bore, nor a conicalone which is continuedto the apex, the closedend and the vertex is consideredto be a negative
quantity.
it is worthwhile to investigate the normal modes of
pipes which are almost cylindrical, and cones which
are almostcomplete.8 Figure 3 showsthe types of bore The approximations
made in obtainingEq. (4) are
in question,togetherwith the notation usedto describe invalid in the limit (xo/l) --• O,wherethe coneis almost
them. The physical length of the horn is l, x0 being complete.This case,whichis applicableto instruments
r•l
taken to be positiveif the tube expandsaway from the suchas the saxophoneand oboefor which (xo/l):•,
closedend, and negative for a contractingtube. The requires a slight extension of a calculation due to
Morse? The result shows that the nth characteristic
sign conventionfor x0 is perhaps best explained by
meansof an example.If a horn like that of Fig. 3(a) frequencyof an almostcompleteconeis givenby
is made so that the distance between closed end and
w,•=nOrc/l){lq- (xo/l)(l/B) }-1
vertex is 10 cm, then x0 has the value (-• 10 cm). On
the other hand, for a horn like that of Fig. 3(b), a B-----1
q- (1/4) (lw/c)•'(a/l)2(a/xo)2
(S)
vertex-to-closed end distance of 10 cm is taken to mean n-l, 2, 3 .-.
that x0 has a value of (--10 cm) in the formulas. The
a-bore radiusat openend.
frequencyof the nth normalmodeof a nearly cylindrical
pipe9is shownin Eq. (4); The value of w• may be obtained by an iteration
procedurein whichthe qth approximationis calculated
o•= Orc/2l){(2n-- 1)•'+ (8/,r•')(l/xo)} •
usingthe (q-1)th value for w• in the factor B. In the
n=l, 2, 3 .-- (4) limit of smallx0the normalmodesaregivenn by Eq. (6);
(xo/l)>>(4/,r•')(2n-- 1)-•'. w,•=n,rc/(lq-xo). (6)
Equation (4) shows,among other things,that a tube
The iteration may be based on this last result, which
whosecrosssectiondecreases away from the closedend,
will alsobe usefulfor otherpurposeslater in this paper.
has a lower fundamentalfrequencythan a uniform In conicalwoodwindsthe largenessof (xo/l) givesthe
pipe, and its normalmodefrequenciesare spacedmore
factor B an appreciablefrequencydependence,whose
widely than the 1, 3, 5 ..- sequenceof a uniform pipe.
qualitativenature may be seenin the first approxi-
The reverseis true for a pipe which increasesin cross
mation of Eq. (5), whereB takes on the value given
section away from the closedend. The qualitative in Eq. (7);
behavior is often exploitedby instrument makers to
adjust the intonation of clarinetsby suitably chosen B----•I-½
(,r/2)•'(a/xo)•'[a•'/
(l+xo)•'•n•'. (7)
small departuresfrom a simplecylindricalshapein the
This shows that real conical instrument bores have their
upper part of the bore. The bell of course has an
appreciableeffect only on notesfor which most of the normal modesspreadmore widely than the 1, 2, 3 .-.
tone holes are closed. sequenceof the simplecone.In the oboethis spreading.
8 See also H. Bouasse,Tuyaux et R•sonateurs(Librairie Dela- •0See reference9, p. 287. Sincex0 is fixed and l is varied by
grave, Paris, 1929), Chap. 10. openingfingerholes,(xo/l) variesover a factor of about two in
9This expressionis adapted from one obtained by P.M. woodwinds.
Morse, Vibrationand Sound(McGraw-Hill Book Company,Inc., n Equation (6) showsthat the effectivelength of a cutoff
New York, 1948),secondedition,Eq. 24-23, p. 286.The predicted conicalinstrumentis (l+xo) and not its physicallengthl. This
frequencyratios are in very good agreementwith experiments has causedsome confusionin the literature, since ignoring x0
conductedon an old taper-boreflute (for which xo/l--- 2.4) that leadsone to supposethe reed is far from acting like a closedend
was excitedat the large end by a clarinet reed and mouthpiece. [J. Redfield,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 6, 34 (1934)-I.In actual instru-
The mouthpiececavity correctionhad a negligibleeffecton the mentsit is easilyverifiedthat the effectivelengthis closeto being
normal mode frequencyratio, which was o•/o•=3.6. (l+xo).

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140 A? H. BENADE

in the normal modes is partially offset in the notes bore abovethe top hole, which may alsobe required
belowG by a slight increasein the rate of taper in the for other reasonsin many instruments.
lower part of the bore, which increasesthe effective In a similarly idealizedoboe,the cross-sectional area
flare parameter e and so compressesthe mode fre- of the bore will increaseas x• in the proper way if the
quencies.Additional compensationcan be introduced holeradiusb satisfies Eq. (9b);
by a suitable choice of finger hole sizes,and by the
nature of the cavity inside the reed, as shown in the b= xl. const. (9b)
followingsections.
Actually the holes of an oboe do not follow this de-
IV. SIDE HOLES AND HORN pendence,
FLARE • but vary in radius with a higher power of
x, and also, the wall thicknesst may decreaseas x
In playing a woodwind, the typical configuration increases, so that the effectiveboreflaresmore rapidly
is one in which several holes are closedby keys and than doesan idealstraight-sidedcone.The resultis that
fingertips,belowwhichis a row of openholeswhichmay the normal modefrequenciesare compressed slightly.
be assumed(to the presentapproximation)to play no This contribution to the effective flare producedin
part in the behavior of the instrument. The effective oboesby the sideholesis of suchorderof magnitudeas
cross-sectional area Seff of a horn with closed side holes to complete approximately the compensationof the
is the sumof two parts, onebeingthe areaof the smooth- normal mode frequencyratios which are upset by the
walled horn, while the other is the averagevolume per relativelylargevalue of (xo/l).
unit length enclosedwithin the side holes. Figure 4
illustrates the situation and defines the notation of V. MOUTHPIECE CAVITY EFFECTS
Eq. (8);
Seff'-'71'122+
(•rb2t)/2s. (8) In all woodwinds, particularly those having a
taperedbore, the mouthpiecedoesnot make a uniform
In general,a, b, t, and s are functionsof x, the distance continuation of the idealized bore discussed in the
along the horn, and precedingargumentshave shown precedingsection,so that the behavior of the instru-
that they shouldbe chosenin such a way that Seffis ment is not in accordancewith calculation (even
either constant or varies as x 2 for the two families of
leavingasidethe effectsdueto the reed'sowndynamical
instruments.Observationof typical woodwindsshows behavior)unlesscorrectionsare made.In keepingwith
that their makersadhereto this requirementreasonably the rest of this paper, the effectsof the mouthpiece
well.
cavity will be analyzedunder the assumptionthat the
In a somewhatidealizedclarinetthe interholespacing reedmerelyservesto closeup the endof the instrument.
2s is roughly proportional to x, and in order to get a This is a goodassumptionfor clarinetsand saxophones
chromatic scale, 2s---•0.06x.Both bore radius a, and which are provided with rigid mouthpieces,and in
wall thicknesst, are essentiallyconstant, so that in whichno amountof biting downon the reedwill change
order to get an effectivecross-sectional area which is the cavity volume appreciably.For these instruments
independentof x, Eq. (9a) musthold; the followingcalculations havequantitativesignificance,
b-- x«-const. (9a) which is easily checked.For the double-reedfamiliesof
instruments,the mouthpiececavity is a part of the
Because tone holes are not drilled into the bore all the
reedstructure,and the reeddynamicsare so intimately
way up the tube to the reed in a real instrument,there mixed with the system that only qualitative infor-
is a discontinuityin S at the positionof the top hole,the mation can be obtained for these instruments.
effectivebore being larger below than above this hole. The presentcalculationswill be carriedout under the
This would upsetthe intonation of the instrumentif it assumptionthat the mouthpiececavity is a relatively
were not compensatedfor by a slight increasein the small volume, whose linear dimensions are much
smallerthan the wavelengthof any soundof interest.
This permits the cavity to be treated as a lumped
constant terminating impedance at the end of the
horn. In certain special cases this approximation
breaksdown, but the generalmethodis easilymodified
to take careof thesecases,and in any event the quali-
tative conclusionsare still valid. Morse•a gives an
expressionfor the acoustic admittance ratio at the
throat of a family of horns,whichwhensimplifiedby the
22It is essential to note in this connection that x is measured
Fro. 4. Diagram of a woodwindbore of radiusa, with sideholes from the vertex of the completeconeand not from the top of the
of radius b and spacing2s drilled through a wall of thicknesst. instrument (which is locatedat x0). The differenceis approxi-
These dimensionsare generallyfunctionsof x, the distancealong mately 15 cm on an ordinary oboe.
the horn from the closed end. 23Seereference9, Eq. 24-20, p. 285. •

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 WOODWIND INSTRUMENT BORES 141

omissionof the radiation dampingterms (these turn side of Eq. (12). In order to give an appearanceof
out not to be important), leadsto the followingexpres- simplicity, this equationmay be rewritten in the form
sion,when it is specializedto the caseof an incomplete
cone ß cot(col/c)= -- (1/xo) 1-- ( V/rao (co/c)"xo3(c/co)
(16)
pc/zo=i cot(col/c)-]-ic/(coxo). (10) =-
The notation here is the sameas that of the preceding The factor F is definedhere for convenience only, and
section,the signof x0beingdeterminedasbefore,except hasthe advantageof allowingthe directuseof Eqs. (5)
that it is measuredfrom the throat of the horn, rather and (6) to estimate the frequenciesproducedby a
than from the closed end. If the throat of this horn is
nearly completeconical pipe terminated at its small
attached to a cavity of volume V, the resonanceswill end by a cavityJ6 All that is required is to replacex0
be found at those frequenciesfor which z0 is an "in- by (xo/F) in these equations. For most practical
ductive" reactanceequal in magnitudeto the "capaci- purposesit is sufficientlyaccurateto usean approximate
tatlye" reactanceXc of the cavity. This lasO4 is found value for coin computingthe magnitudeof F. This value
to be
may be taken directly from the unmodifiedEq. (6),
Xc= ipc2•rao•'/co
V or from the frequencyof the written note which the
ao=axo/(lq-xo)----throatradius. (11) instrumentis intendedto play.
Because of the complicated appearance of the
CombiningEq. (10) with Eq. (11), so that the two algebraic expressionsobtained here, the physical
reactancesare related in the way just described,leads implications of the calculation are difficult to see. In
to the followingeigenvalueequation' order to display these more plainly it is worthwhile
cot(col/c)=(V/•rao•) (co/c)--(l/x0)(c/co). (12) to look at the extreme case where V is very small,
makingthe factorF very slightlydifferentfrom unity.
The limit (xo/l)--• •, which correspondsto a When this is done, use of Eq. (6) in evaluating F
cylindricalpipe closedat one end by a cavity, is repre- permits one to show that the effective length of the
sentedmusicallyby the clarinet, if the tube length 1 is horn is increasedby an amountapproximatelygivenby
measuredup to the base of the mouthpiece,whose Eq. (17);
cavity has the volume V. For clarinetlike systems, Al•(•V/a•)n •' (17)
Eq. (12) reducesto
n=1,2,3---
cot(col/c)
= (V/•rao2)(•,/c). (13)
In this expression,
the radiusa of the openend of the
If (and this is the practicalcase)the right sideof this horn appearsrather than the throat radiusa0. Because
equation is much less than unity, standard methods the mouthpiece correction is strongly dependent on
show that the normal modes of the system are well frequency (by way of the mode number n) it is not
approximatedby possibleto add a constant amount to the length of
(2n-- 1 the bore of conical instruments as can be done for
co,•- (14) cylindricalones.The presenceof a mouthpiececavity
2[lq-(V/rao•)•
on conicalinstrumentsflattensall the notes,the higher
n-l, 2, 3 -.-. modesbeingflattenedconsiderablymorethan the lower
ones, so that the normal mode frequency ratios are
Examination of this relation showsthat the systemacts compressed.It will be recalled that truncation of the
as though the pipe was increasedin length by a fixed coneproducesan oppositeeffect.
amount whichmay be calledthe lengthcorrectionof the It is of interest to compare the relative magnitude
mouthpiecefor use with that particular bore. This of the cavity correctionfor the same mouthpieceof
correctionis equalto the lengthof a pieceof the clarinet volume V on a straightpipe and on a cutoff cone,both
bore which contains the same volume as the mouth- having the same throat radius. Examination of Eqs.
piece cavity. The relation holds whether the mouth- (15) and (17) showsthat even for the lowest mode
piece bore is smaller or larger than that of the pipe, (n= 1), the correctionfor a conicalpipe (for which
and is displayedexplicitlyin Eq. (15); (xo/l)= «) is larger by a factor of •r2/4 than that for a
Al= (V/•rao2). (15) cylindricalpipe. The discrepancyis of courseevenlarger
for the highermodes.The largemagnitudeof the cavity
This resultis alsoobtainedand discussed by Bouasse2 5
correction on conical instruments has a great deal to
Conical-bore instruments such as the saxophone,
oboe, and bassoonare instrumentsfor which (xo/l) is do with their somewhatslipperyintonation,particularly
finite, so that both terms must be retained on the right •6Equation (4), whichappliesto nearly perfectcylinders,also
containsx0, but the behaviorof this type of resonatoris so nearly
•4Seereference9, pp. 235 and 237. like that of a straightpipe that onlY::•a
negligibleerroris introduced
• Seereference8, p. 452. by applyingthe muchsimplerresultgivenin Eq. (15).

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142 A. H. BENADE

of a woodwindmust concernitself closelywith the

actual frequenciesof the normal modes,and with the
dampingof thesemodes,sincethe latter controlsthe
band width. Figure 5 showsschematicallythe effecton
tone quality of band width and mistuningof the modes
relative to the reed harmonics.
There are two meanswherebya vibrating air column
may lose energy. The dominant one is the frictional
and thermal energy transfer to the walls of the horn.
O•b The second,which is the one for which the instrument
is built, is the radiative transferof soundenergyto the
air outsidethe horn by way of the opentone holesand
bell. It is often suggested that the vibration of the wall
material itself can give rise to energyabsorption,and
R•O HA'I• MON I• thus affect tone quality in a way separatefrom the
Fie..,5.Uppercurve:Schematicrepresentationof the resonance dampingarisingfrom viscosity,surfaceroughness, etc.
curveof a pipewith almostintegralfrequencyratiosbetweenits Similarly the differingthermal conductivitiesof various
normal modes. The dotted curve b shows the effect of increased materialsare consideredto give rise to effectsvarying
dampingon the breadthof a resonance.Lowercurve:Schematic
representation
of the soundoutputspectrumof sucha pipewhen with material. Sincethe product of density and sound
drivenby a reedwhichproduces all harmonicswith equalampli- velocity (pc)is enormouslygreaterthan that of air for
tude. The third harmonicshowshowthe output amplitudechanges all ordinary wall materials,it seemsvery unlikely that
if the dampingof a resonanceis altered. The letters a and b
indicate the behaviorfor low and high damping,respectively. the energy transfer between the sound waves in an
ordinarywoodwindpipe and its wallscouldplay much
on oboes and bassoonswhere the reed provides a of a role. Similarly the heat capacity and thermal
conductivityof the wallsis solargewith respectto that
flexiblecavity? of the air that the walls must be considered as isothermal
A primary problemof the instrumentmaker is to
insurethat the frequencyratio of the secondto the boundariesfor the wave, regardlessof their material.
first normalmodeis integral, so that the "overblown" The essential point, however, is not the detailed
middleregisternoteshave acceptableintonationwith mechanismby which energy is lost by the standing
wave, but the fact that it is lost.
respectto the low register.The acousticalcomplication
of fork fingeringsusedin the upperregistermake the
third mode less accessibleto adjustment. For this A. Wall Damping
reason the successiveapproximatemeans for com- For lossesto the walls, the damping time constant
pressingor extendingthe frequencyratios,discussed rw of wave energystoredin a generalhorn of length 1
here and in the precedingsections,are traditionally is givenby Eq. (18);
adjusted by experimentto "fit" only the first two
modes,letting the highermodestake their own course. l/(2ac). 8)
As a result the tone quality, which dependson the
response to all the reedharmonics,becomes a compli- Here 5 standsfor the averagedamplitude attenuation
catedfunctionof the "systemof fingering"uponwhich coefficientfor waves travelling in one direction down
the holes are based. A later sectionwill develop the the horn.At a point x wherethe radiusis r(x), a takes
implications of thisin connectionwith theeffectof wall the form shownin Eq. (19), where A is a constant
material on tone color. depending onthewallmaterialandits surfacecondition;
a(x)=Aw•/r(x). (19)
VI. BAND WIDTH OF NORMAL MODES

When the effective bore of an instrument has been

chosenso as to give approximatelyintegral ratios
betweenits characteristic
frequencies,
the soundoutput
at any oneof the reedharmonicsis stronglyaffectedby
the band width of the nearest vibrational
air column,togetherwith the amount of mistuning
that exists between the mode and the harmonic. For
thisreasonany attemptat understanding
the tonecolor
•?An oboefitted with smallclarinet-typemouthpieces in which
the cavity volumewasalteredby piecesof wax, displayedthese
phenomena very clearly.The reedeffectsherewerekept constant
(for a givenmouthpiece) by the fixedlay and aperturein the
table.
The averagevalue of a in a horn is thus determinedby
the reciprocal harmonicmeanradius(D/a) of the horn,
expressed for convenience
in termsof the radiusa at the
openendof the horn.The factorD standsfor the ratio
of the reciprocalharmonicmeanradiusto the reciprocal
mode of the
radius of the open end of the pipe, and is introduced
hereonly for compactness in notation.
The half-powerbandwidth gwis relatedto rwby the
ubiquitouscomplementarity relationgr= 1, sothat the
fractionalbandwidth (g/w), whichis alsothe reciprocal
of Q, is foundto be
(g/w)w= (2ADc)/w«a. (20)

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 WOODWIND INSTRUMENT BORES 143

For a cylinder For a nearly completecone

D--1
(g/•0)raa=(•r/2) (1q-r)-•(a/1)an. (22b)
•o= (2n- 1)•rc/2l
Once again the propertiesof the coneare closeenough
n=l, 2, 3 -.-. to thoseof the pipe for them to be consideredtogether.
The band width increaseswith frequency, and with
For an almostcompletecone,useof Eq. (6) gives
the squareof the open end radius for a given length.
D= (l+r) loge[(l+r)/r• The radiation dampingis very much lessthan the wall
w= (n•rc/1)(1+ r)-• damping for all musically interesting values of the
modenumber.2•For all practicalpurposesthe resonance
n=l, 2, 3 .... widths of the normal modesin most woodwindsmay
thereforebe consideredas being determinedby energy
The parameterr- xo/1describes the relativeincomplete-
transfer to the walls alone. The saxophoneis an excep-
nessof the cone. These expressionswhen substituted
tion, in that its wider conical bore provides consider-
into Eq. (12) give explicitformulasfor the fractional
ably greaterradiationdamping,and lesswall damping,
band widths of tubes and cones,respectively.For a
than do any of the othercommonwoodwinds.Only the
cylinder
first threemodesare dominatedby wall damping,which
(g/•0)w={A (8c/•r)•}(l«/a)(2n- 1)-«; (21a) may well account for the somewhat anomaloustone
for a cone
colorand behaviorof this instrumentas comparedwith
other woodwinds.
(g/w)w={A (4c/•r)«(l+r)l
VII. MUSICAL IMPLICATIONS OF WALL DAMPING
Xloge[-(l+r)/r•} (l•/a)n-«. (2lb)
It is of interest to exploresomeof the implicationsof
The fractional band width of both horns decreases as
the dominanceof wall dampingfrom the point of view
the squareroot of the frequency,and fallsdirectlyasthe of the designerand player of woodwinds.
radius a in an instrument of fixed length. The term
containedin bracesis greater for a conicaltube than A. Tone Color Relation between Modes
for a cylinderby a factor of only about 1.5 in the caseof
an oboe, where (xo/l)----•0.3,so that the essential Accordingto Eq. (21), the fundamentalof a tube
features of the wall damping may be illustrated by with heavy wall dampinghas the sameQ as doesthe
consideringthe propertiesof the cylindricalpipe alone. ruth mode of a tube m times as long. This fortunate
The careful experimentsof Fay•s on smooth brass circumstance worksto keepthe tonecoloruniformwhen
transition is made between the lower and middle
tubesgivea valuefor A of 1.12)<10-5 (sec)•(cgsunits),
while rough measurementson the band widths of registersof a woodwind.On the other hand, the rising
resonant tubes show that •-in. diameter tubes of Q producedas 1 is shortened(by the openingof finger
laminatedphenolicplastic require an increaseof 50 to holes) requires ever better accuracy in the integer
100% in A over the value obtainedby Fay. A seriesof relations between the normal modes if a full tone color
•-in. holesspacedat 1-}-in.intervalsalongthe tubeand is to be preserved.Certain ill-advisedcombinations of
closedby heavy application of masking tape on the hole size and spacingcan be shown to lead to wide
outsideincreasesthe coefficientby about 70% more. departures from integral frequency ratios, so the
For these reasons it is not unreasonable to use a rounded decreasinghole diameter required by the intonation
off value A=2.5)<10 -5 (sec)• in estimatesof band considerationsof Sec. IV may lead to a worseningof
width due to the net wall losses in woodwinds? the quality of the notesplayedthroughthe holesnearest
the reed. Furthermore, on conventionalinstruments
B. Radiation Damping wherethe upper part of the bore is not roughenedby
the presence of sideholes,the effectivevalue of the wall
Standard calculations of the radiation loss from an friction coefficientA (see Sec. VI) is less for notes
unflangedcylindricalpipe2ømay be usedto obtain the played with many openholesthan for thoserequiring
expressions(22a) and (22b) for the fractionalband many to be closed.The resultis a further increaseof Q
widthsarisingfrom radiationdamping.For a cylindrical for the higher notesas comparedwith the lower ones.
pipe These effectstogether provide a basis for explaining
(g/•0)rad=(•r/4)(a/l)2(2n-- 1). (22a) the "deadness" of the so-called bridge notes on a
•8R. D. Fay, J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 12, 62-67 (1940). This work clarinet.A possibleescapefrom the difficultywouldbe
is in excellentaccord with theoretical estimates of A provided to constructan instrument with fairly constant side
both thermal and viscous losses are taken into account.
•9To fix ideas,a pipe 49 cm in length with a radius of 0.7 cm •-•The fractional band width due to wall lossesis larger by a
has a fractionalband width of (g/o•)w=7.5X 10-•' (2n-- 1)-•. This factor of 470 (2n--l)-! than the radiation width in the pipe
is in fair agreementwith actual measurementon a clarinet. referred to earlier. This means that the two types of damping
•.0H. Lamb, DynamicalTheoryof Sound(Edward Arnold and have comparableeffect when the frequencyis around 60 times
Company, London, 1910), p. 269. that of the fundamental (n•30).

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 144 A.H. BENADE

holediameter,compensating thisin the mannerpre- It should

beemphasized
thatdetailed
calculations
ofthe
viouslyoutlined in Sec.IV by a suitablychosen
taper positionsand band widths of the normal modesare re-
of theboreitself.Thesequence of theholesmightwell quired before definite theoretical statements can be
be continued all the way up to the mouthpiece,the madeon thesensitivityof a giventypeof woodwind
to
unneeded
onesbeingclosed
offby a coverplate. itswallmaterial.Thesecalculations
requiremethods
of
dealingwith the sideholeswhich will be describedin a
B. Choice of Bore Diameter laterpaper.For thisreasonit ispremature
andincorrect
of variouspitches,which to seea contradictionbetweenthe presentdiscussion
In a familyof instruments
to and (forexample)
are to have similartone quality,it is necessary theexperimental resultsof Parker,
25
insurethat theirnormalmodesshouldhaveroughly whofoundthe tonecolorof clarinets
to be essentially
notesin their scales. independentof their wall material.
the sameQ's for corresponding
Equations
(21)and (22)showthatforconstant
Q, one
VIII. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
hastwo setsof criteria;(a) (l/a2)= const(if walllosses
dominate), (b) (1/a)=const (if radiationlossesdomi-
The authorwouldlike to thankR. M. Haybronfor
nate).Examination
of members
of theflute,clarinet, measurementsperformedon band widths of the normal
and saxophone families of instruments shows that modesin pipes. J. C. Stavash, head of Educator's
generally
theradiuslieswithin15%of thevaluesetby MusicService(Cleveland),a professional
musicianand
criterion (a), in agreementwith the conclusions
of the repairman,hasprovidedmuchhelpfulinformation
and
precedingsection? comment. The interest and assistance of H. B. Miller
of the CleviteResearch
Laboratory(Cleveland)
is also
C. Effect of Wall Material on Tone gratefullyacknowledged.
The much vexed questionof the influenceof wall
APPENDIX I
materialon tonecolorin woodwinds
may be givena
partial discussion
in the presentcontext.Referenceto Experimentsand calculations
goingbackat leastto
Fig.5 shows
clearlythatalteringthebandwidthofany the work of E. Weber in 1825 have shown that a
givennormalmode(leavingitspositionunchanged)
can reed-pipe combination, of the sort used in musical
havea markedeffectontheamplitudeof oneor moreof instruments,always emits a sound that is of lower
the Fouriercomponents presentin the soundoutput. frequency than the closed-end frequency of the pipe
Any woodwind whoseover-allnormalfrequencies do alone. 26.27The over-all behaviorof the reed-pipe
not exactly match the corresponding reed harmonics combination isa studyin itself.For thepurposes of this
will giveriseto a tonecolordepending on the amount paperon woodwindbores,it is importantonly to show
of dampingwhichis present. that the effectof the reedis not solargeasto prevent
Woodwind instruments whoseboresare neitherper- theusefulness of a studyof isolatedpipeswith thereed
fectly cylindricalnor perfectly conical,thosewhose replacedby a closedend.Figure6 showsin summary
mouth-piececavitiesgive rise to nonconstantcorrec- form the behaviorof the compoundsystemas it is
tions,andthosewith sideholesrequiringfrequency-relevantto the presentinquiry? In this diagram,the
dependent "endcorrections," aretherefore expected on normalmodefrequencies of a cylindricalpipe closed
theoreticalgroundsto be more or lesssensitiveto the at oneendare shownas a functionof tube length.For
materialfrom whichthey are made,and to its surface example,the curve ABC representsthe length de-
conditions. Thesimplelargeboreorganpipe,whichhas pendence of the third modeof sucha pipe.Alsoshown
beenusedoccasionally in studiesof theproblem, is an are the frequenciesproducedby a normal-sizedreed
instrumentwith almostrigorously exactintegerrela- coupledto this pipe, as in a clarinet. The curveAB'C'
tionsbetweenits normalmodes,and furthermore, a shows the behavior of the third mode in this case. It
largepart of the dampingis dueto radiation.On theo- will be observedthat in a reed-driven pipe thereis a
reticalgrounds at least,it wouldappearthat an instru- limiting frequencyabovewhich the instrumentcannot
ment lesssensitive to wall materialcouldhardlybe sound,evenfor arbitrarilyshortpipesand highmode
found.Theverycarefulexperimental workof Bonerand
dominates
Newmanonlargeorganpipesbearsthisout in detail? .•4 influenced overtheplayingrangesothat the toneis not strongly
by the nature of the wall material.
•5S. Parker, J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 19, 415 (1947).
• It is worthcommenting that criterion (b) is usedby organ 26Seereference9, especiallyChap. II, Vol. II.
buildersin designingsetsof pipes.It is usuallyattributedto •.7The experimental resultsof V. Aschoffontheclarinet[Akust.
Cavill•-CollICompt.rend.48, 176 (1860)-],whoobtainedit from Z. 1, 77 (1936)] are, in the main,anticipatedand explainedin
geometricalconsiderations
governing the frequency alone.Most reference 26. The conditionsof thislaterworkarenot sufficiently
organpipesarebuiltwithrelativelylargebores, however,sothat closeto the way reedsare usedby a clarinetistthat theyneedbe
radiationdampingmay well be dominant. considered further in the presentcontext.It may be notedhow-
• C. P. BonerandR. B. Newman,
J. Acoust.
Soc.Am. 12,83 everthat if clarinetsbehavedin a player'shandsas they did in
(1940). Aschoff's experiments, the instrumentwouldbe musicallyuseless.
• Thewooden buglemadeby Mahillon,andtheTenitebugles Experiments bearingonthisaredescribed laterin theappendix.
manufactured
duringWorld War II, mightalsobe citedin this ,-8This diagramis adaptedfrom Instrumentsd Vent.Seereference
connection
as beinginstruments
in whichradiationdamping 9, Fig. 24, Vol. II, p. 83.

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 WOODWIND INSTRUMENT BORES 145

numbers.For a free reed, this limiting frequencyC0m•x

is essentiallythat of the free mechanicalvibration of
the reed, independentof wind pressure.This result can LIMITINGFREQ.
be obtained by elementary analysis of the phase
relationsrequired between the reed and air vibrations
in a regenerativesystem.The behaviorof a beatingreed
is more complicated, since C0max is then determined
jointly by the reed massand stiffness,the type of table,
blowingpressureand lip tension.
It is important for present purposesto show that
under playingconditionsthe limiting frequencyof the
reed is high enoughabovethe first two or three normal
mode frequenciesof the pipe that the notes obtained
are in reasonablyclose agreementwith the behavior
of a simpleclosedpipe. A roughcheckis easilymade by
separatinga clarinet at its middle joint, and measuring
the frequency of the lowest mode as excited by the
player. The instrument is taken apart to remove the
complicatedendcorrectionproducedby the fingerholes,
leavingonly the mouthpiececavity correctiondiscussed
in Sec.V. When the pipe is played as sharp as possible
TUBE LENGTH,
(this being the desired situation for simple analysis,
as shownby Fig. 6), onefindsthat the flatteningeffect
Fro. 6. Diagram showingthe frequenciesof the normal modes
due to the reed is only a fraction of a semitone.This of a cylindrical pipe, closedat one end, as a function of tube
sortof experimentis not conclusivefor the highermodes, length, togetherwith frequenciesproducedby this pipe when
however,becauseof disturbancesarisingat the register driven by a reed. The curveABC shows,for example,the length
dependenceof the third mode of the simplepipe, while AB'C'
key, from variations in the bore, and from the closed- showsthe third modefrequencies producedby a reedon the same
hole effects that are discussed in Sec. IV. It is better pipe.
to use smooth-walled cylindrical tubes of various
lengths,drilled at the ideal placesfor speakerholesto possiblefrequency.They show that the chief effect of
assistin the production of higher modes.These holes the reedsystemon a givenpieceof tubing is to increase
may generallybe closedoncethe tone is stabilized,so its effective length by an amount which is nearly
that their presencecannot produceany complication. constantwith frequency(as shownby the accurately
The present writer has studied an ordinary clarinet integral normal modefrequencyratios). It is therefore
reed used with a standard mouthpieceand matching worthwhile to considerthe propertiesof pipes which
tubing. Measurements were made for tubes varying are closedat oneend, eventhoughthe effectiveacoust-
in length between16 and 76 cm, a rangegreater than cal pipe differsin its lengthfrom the physicalpipe. The
that usedin clarinets.Over this range the frequencies discrepancies betweenthe reed-drivenfrequenciesof a
producedwerelessthan 5% lowerthan thoseexpected pipe and the normalmodesof the samepipe closedat
from a pipe closed off at the reed aperture.29 The the reed end have been shown to be small in the mathe-
frequencyratios betweenthe normalmodesof a given matical sense,even though they cannot be ignored in
pipe were integral to an accuracy of two or three the construction of instruments. The mathematical
percent? All of thesemeasurements weremadewith the smallnessof the effectsmakes it permissibleto have
notes played as sharp as possible,so that they were separate analyses of the bores and tone holes of a
well definedby the propertiesof the pipe (sinceC0m• woodwind, leaving the synthesis of these passive
has its highestpossiblevalue). Suchsimplemeasure- systemsto the active reed systemto a separatepertur-
ments as were made are relevant to the present dis- bation-theorytype of calculation.In any event, at the
cussionof woodwindboresbecauseas normally played, present state of understanding of woodwinds, it is
the reed is usedwell within a semitoneof its sharpest useful to have accountsof the properties of their
variousparts, for the qualitative help they can give to
29The mouthpiececavity itself was allowedfor in the manner
discussedin Sec. V, so that the figuresquoted here refer to the the musicianand designer.
flatteningproducedby the reedsystemalone.
aøThis inquiry was greatly aided by the Pruefer Clarinet APPENDIX II
Company of Providence,Rhode Island, who were kind enoughto
supply several barrels and sectionsof clarinet upper joints un-
pierced by finger holes. Later, C. G. Conn Ltd. of Elkhart, It has been shown that the Bessel horn family
Indiana, providedsopranoand bassclarinetmouthpiecesmodified satisfiesa musically imposedrequirementthat the
so that they could be used, respectively,with tubes made from
«- and l-in. thin wall electricalconduit.Experimentsmade with
frequency ratios of the various normal modes be
thesedifferent types of bore gave consistentresults. independentof the length of the horn. It remainsto be

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146 A. H. BENADE

shownthat this property is possessed

uniquely by the showsthat the general horn (of finite order N) will
Bessel horns. possess length-dependent frequencyratiosexceptin the
The cross-sectionalarea of a general horn, at a following three cases: (a) very long horns, where
distancex from the closedend, may alwaysbe repre- S2vx2V>>S2v_xx •v-x, (b) very short horns, where
sentedby a suitably chosenpolynomialin x. Let the S•ux;e>>S;e+•x ;e+x, (c) when N=M. The first two
degreeof the polynomialbe N, and the lowestpower possibilitiesare essentiallytrivial, while the third case
of x be M, then merely amounts to a redefinition of the Bessel horn
N
family itself. Horns representedby infinite power
S(x)= Y'. S,•x'•. (23) seriesin x (such as the exponentialhorn) require
slightly different discussionto bring them within the
Considerthe limiting behavior of this generalized framework of the precedinganalysis.Very long horns
horn for very longand very shorthorns,for the caseof of this type neverapproachthe behaviorof a limiting
finite N. In an enormouslylong horn, the dominant Besselhorn, due to the convergence propertiesof the
terms in the infinite series. On the other hand a suffi-
term in the cross-sectional area expressionis S2vX3r
over most of the length of the horn, so that the normal ciently shorthorn will approacha limiting Besselhorn
modefrequencyratios approachthoseof a Besselhorn in its frequencyratios, so that the lengthdependence
with flare parameter e--N. On the other hand, in of the frequencyratios is establishedfor this classof
horns.
arbitrarily shorthornsthe orderof the area polynomial
reduces to M. Thus any horn, when sufficiently The conclusion to be drawnfrom the foregoingsetof
shortened, possessesnormalmoderatioswhichapproach arguments is that Besselhornsare the onlyhornswhich
thoseof a Besselhorn having a flare parameter•= M. satisfytheprimaryrequirement for instruments making
For horns of intermediatelength, the normal mode use of side holes.They constitutethe only family of
frequencyratios will fall somewherebetween those of boresin which the normal mode frequencyratios are
the two limiting Besselhorns.The foregoingdiscussion independentof the lengthof the horn.

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