Cagima

Global Acoustic Conception of Reed Musical Instruments, In Tune and Homogeneous

The Cagima project focuses on flaws found in reed instruments in tuning, homogeneity of emitted sounds, and timbre from both the perspective of the musician and also that of the instrument-maker who endeavors to satisfy the specific demands of each musician.

Project Description & Goals

The project's ambition is to replace the historical incremental approach used by instrument-makers with a rational and global approach that aims to design new "logical" instruments that minimize the identified flaws. This is a large step forward for the methodology and technology of instrument making.

To begin, the constraints of sound production that are imposed by an instrument on a musician must be evaluated via the measurement of a specific gesture (e.g. pressure in the mouth, pressing on the reed with a lip, configuration of the vocal tract) and to correlate them to the acoustic flaws of the instruments in order to suggest novel methodologies for the general design for the bore and the lateral holes of reed instruments. For this, the study of global criterion will be at the heart of this project; their understanding will lead to the fabrication of two playable prototypes - a clarinet and a saxophone - following a process of optimization.

Project Details

Participants