The acoustics of Japanese wooden drums called 'mokugyo'

A drumlike traditional Japanese instrument, the mokugyo, is experimentally discussed. First, the acoustic characteristics of 176 mokugyos with diameters ranging from 7.5 to 120 cm and three drumsticks were measured. Results show that (a) the sound spectra consist of two common peaks [F1 (Hz): first peak frequency, F2 (Hz): second peak frequency] close together, with an average ratio (F2/F1) of 1.15, and (b) a drumstick beating the mokugyo is translated into an impact force applied over a period of time from 1 to 6 ms related to the mass and stiffness of the material wrapped around the tip of the drumstick. Second, to evaluate the acoustic response of a mokugyo in the final tuning process, the mechanical and acoustical analogy between the mokugyo and a bass reflex loudspeaker is theoretically and experimentally discussed. Results show that the model can be estimated within a relative error of 0.52% from the mass of wood chips. Finally, from a psychological experiment, the timbre of the mokugyo shows higher scores on psychological scales' when the ratio (F2/F1) becomes 1.15.