Re: Tones [was Re: the electrix repeater]

[Mark <sine@zerocrossing.net>]

yeah, when I read, "it has nothing to do with resonance" I had to think to
myslef, "uuh, doesn't EVERYTHING, soundwise, about an acoustic instrument 
have
something to do with resonance?"  (yes) So I wrote that down in this email 
and
sent it to the list.  So there.

Mark

Richard Zvonar wrote:

> At 10:41 AM -0400 8/4/01, David Beardsley wrote:
> >Wolf tones are out of tune fifths. They are so out of tune that they 
>howl
> >like a wolf. They have nothing to do with resonance.
>
> It appears that the term "wolf tone" is being used in at least two
> different ways, though I've never before heard the definition David
> Beardsley proposes.
>
> In my experience the common usage describes undesirable resonances.
> As my violist wife explains it, a wolf tone is caused by an unstable
> interaction between the frequency of a bowed string and the
> fundamental resonant frequency of the instrument's front or back
> plate. It causes the instrument to "bark" at you, and on the viola is
> commonly in the range of F to F#. The fact that the wolf note is not
> necessarily in tune with the string suggests a possible origin fro
> Beardsley's usage.
>
> I've found citations for "wolf tones" or "wolf notes" in Benade's
> "Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics" and "Horns, Strings, & Harmony"
> and in Backus's "The Acoustic Foundations of Music."
>
> It is even possible to purchase wolf note eliminators!
>
>         <http://www.sdlmusic.com/html/wolf.htm>
> --
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Richard Zvonar, PhD
> (818) 788-2202
> http://www.zvonar.com
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