High Resolution Acoustic Measurements of Musical Instruments

This thesis presents the work undertaken while carrying out research into acoustic measurement techniques for 3-dimensional acoustic radiation data for musical instruments, specifically when the instruments are being played by musicians. The original contribution to knowledge that is presented includes the development of an algorithm which can be used for post-processing of recorded data to obtain signals from ‘virtual’ microphones. The project is discussed along with a rationale for the particular test and measurement procedure used in this research and is followed by a literature review outlining both historical and current research and writing relevant to the project. A design for high spatial resolution 3-D acoustic measurement apparatus is proposed, and the design details and construction methods are discussed. The measurement process is described, including the issues surrounding testing and the use of human musicians in the measurement of musical instrument acoustic radiation patterns. A novel algorithm is presented which applies transfer functions derived from interpolated measured data points in order to process recorded audio signals with applications in audio post-production. A prototype implementation of the algorithm is described along with its testing. The conclusion summarises the thesis; contains an evaluation of the work undertaken and the results; and explores potential future work from this project.