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Re: Clamp that sucker down!

Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2015-03-02 22:07

My BA (not BS) was is Physics with a Music minor, but it was so long ago that I can't claim extensive relevant expertise. Nonetheless, here's an interesting thought experiment:

If we consider the extreme cases (a reed held to the mouthpiece with NO mechanical contact [assuming that were possible]) vs one in which the the reed-ligature-mouthpiece are essentially one mechanical component, I think this makes sense.

If there is nothing mechanically holding the reed to the mouthpiece, then there is no coupling of the reed to anything, and therefore no mechanical damping of the reed from any "clamp" (i.e., only the mass of the reed need be considered), hence nothing to attenuate any of the frequences.

As we tighten the ligature, I believe it has the effect of transforming the reed-ligature-mouthpiece into a single system whose greater aggregate mass has more significant damping characteristics on the reed, hence the increased attenuation of higher harmonics.

Perhaps those with more expertise in acoustics may have a different take on this.

Bob Barnhart

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