Felix Rohner’s scientific contributions

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Publications (5)


The HANG: A hand played steel drum
  • Article

November 2001

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163 Reads

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5 Citations

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Felix Rohner

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Sabina Schärer

The HANG is a new steel instrument consisting of two spherical shells of steel, suitable for playing with the hands. Seven to nine notes are harmonically tuned around a central deep note which is formed by the Helmholtz resonance. Elliptical note areas are formed on the upper shell and tuned so that the (1,1)a and (1,1)b modes of each note area have frequencies that are in the ratios of 3:2:1 with respect to the fundamental, except in the highest notes where they are in the ratio of 2.5:2:1 or 2.4:2:1. Holographic studies show the modal shapes and also the extent of coupling between note areas.


Modal analysis of a new steelpan: The ping

May 2000

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32 Reads

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

The ping, which has the same playing range as a tenor steelpan, is a new instrument in the steelpan family. Its playing surface is sandwich hardened steel having a uniform thickness of 0.9 mm, and its skirt is of stainless steel 1.25‐mm thick. Each note area has a small elliptical dome at the center to provide stability and a durable strike point. We compare the modes of vibration of the ping to those of a tenor steelpan. In both pans, the (0,1) mode of each note is tuned an octave above the fundamental, and the (1,0) mode is tuned a twelfth (three times the frequency) above the fundamental in the lower notes. In the ping, it is possible to tune a twelfth throughout more of the range, and the frequency remains unchanged for a longer time during hard playing. Radiation of sound by the skirt is compared.


Modal analysis and materials considerations in Caribbean steelpans

November 1995

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24 Reads

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1 Citation

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Modal analysis contributes significantly to an understanding of the vibrational patterns and the rich spectral tone color of the Caribbean steelpan sound. This will be illustrated with several examples of computer animations of steelpan normal modes. In addition to showing some of the low?order modes which contribute strongly to the radiated sound, these animations also show direct linear coupling effects between note sections. Since impact excitation modal analysis is fundamentally a linear experimental technique a solenoid driven excitation hammer minimizes amplitude?dependent nonlinearities. PANART artisans have emphasized tonal consistency through material and processing controls. This includes steel production to pan crafters specifications, custom drum manufacture, and a systematic sandwich surface hardening process. A European cultural influence has led to some departure from traditional Caribbean standards. Examples of note spectra and modal analysis computer animations will be shown.


HISTORY, DEVELOPMENT AND TUNING OF THE HANG

80 Reads

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2 Citations

The HANG is a new musical instrument, suitable for playing with the hands, consisting of two hemispherical shells of nitrided steel. It is the product of a collaboration among scientists, engineers and hangmakers, thanks to which we have been able to better understand the tuning process in all its complexity. Seven notes are harmonically tuned around a central deep tone (ding), which excites the Helmholtz (cavity) resonance of the body of the instrument. There are many ways to play the HANG. We show the different stages of its development over the seven years since its birth in 2000. We describe the tuning process and the musical conception of the HANG.


Figure 5. Apparatus for electronic TV holography Figure 6. High-voice HANG mounted on holographic table Five modes of vibration in the central G3 note area of the high-voice hang are illustrated by the interferogram in Fig. 7. In the (0,1) mode of lowest frequency, the entire note area vibrates with the same phase, while in the (1,1) a and (1,1) b modes a nodal line bisects the note area. The nodal lines in the two latter modes are orthogonal to each other, so they represent normal modes. These three modes at 189 Hz, 390 Hz and 593 Hz have frequencies nearly in the ratio of 1:2:3. Also shown in Fig. 7 are the (2,1) a and (2,1) b modes having two nodal diameters and frequencies 1418 Hz and 1543 Hz which are not harmonically tuned. The three lowest modes in the E4 note area, shown in Fig. 8, also have frequencies in the ratios 1:2:3, although the higher modes are quite different from those seen in the G3 mode.
Figure 7. Modes of vibration in the central G3 note area of the high-voice HANG
Figure 12: Active intensity 8 cm above the center of the high-voice HANG
Figure 13: Reactive intensity 8 cm above the center of the high-voice HANG
ACOUSTICS OF THE HANG: A hand-played steel instrument
  • Article
  • Full-text available

666 Reads

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1 Citation

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Sabina Schärer

The HANG is a new hand-played steel instrument developed by PANArt in Switzerland. We describe the modes of vibration, observed by holographic interferometry and the sound radiation from the instrument, observed by measuring the sound intensity in an anechoic room. A low-voice HANG is compared with a high voice-HANG.

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Citations (2)


... The high-voice HANG we report in this paper had 9 notes tuned to a pentatonic scale, as shown in Fig. 2. This is the same HANG describe in an earlier paper [11]. Other scales are illustrated in Fig. 4. The low-voice HANG had 9 notes tuned to an Ake Bono scale with the lowest note at F3. ...

Reference:

Modes of vibration and sound radiation from the HANG
The HANG: A hand played steel drum
  • Citing Article
  • November 2001

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

... A third and final potential motivation that arises from existing literature is that of wanting to produce new sounds or timbres with which to make music. This wish to work with new timbres drove the development of some modern acoustic instruments (e.g. the hang, invented in 2000, Rohner & Schärer, 2007). It was furthermore the principal motivation of many of the early pioneers of noise and electronic music, such as Luigi Russolo and Edgar Varèse. ...

HISTORY, DEVELOPMENT AND TUNING OF THE HANG
  • Citing Article