Final Exam Practice Questions

What causes the opening and closing of a reed from air flow?

• The Bernoulli effect

• The Naviar Stoke law

• Pascal’s law

• Air pressure

What is the fundamental of a clarinet with effective length (L') of 0.5 m in room temperature air (20 C)?

• 50 Hz

• 100 Hz

• 171.5 Hz

• 200 Hz

A clarinet is basically sealed at one end (you blow into a very narrow hole), but open at the other. A flute is open at both ends. If a clarinet and flute of equal length each play their fundamental:

• the flute will sound higher (higher frequency).

• they will have identical pitch.

• the clarinet will sound higher (higher frequency)

What gap must a flautist provide with a jet velocity of 60 m/s to produce an edge tone of 740 Hz?

• 0.62 m

• 0.081 m

• 0.016 m

• 0.006 m

The factor(s) that control the pitch of the human voice is (are) the

• standing waves in the vocal tract.

• position of the lips, tongue and soft palate.

• length, tension, and effective density of the vocal folds.

• tension in the jaw, the length of the vocal tract and the arch of the pharynx

The vocal folds of the human voice:

• have only one sharp resonance and are responsive to the standing waves in the vocal tract.

• have only one sharp resonance and are not responsive to the standing waves in the vocal tract.

• create a sound with a complex harmonic recipe and are not responsive to the standing waves in the vocal tract.

• create a sound with a complex harmonic recipe and are responsive to the standing waves in the vocal tract.

• have a broad resonance and are responsive to the standing waves in the vocal tract.

Brass instruments are played by buzzing the lips into a mouthpiece. Brass instruments:

• have resonant modes that are only odd harmonics of the fundamental.

• have overtones that are not always harmonic with the lowest resonance of the pipe.

• have resonant modes that form a complete harmonic series.

A Flugel horn differs most significantly from a trumpet

• In the amount of cylindrical and conical tubing in their construction

• In the number of valves

• In the material used in the construction

• In the range

The most important factor listed below in determining the timbre of a wind instrument is the:

• material of which it is made.

• heat treatment or other processing steps in its fabrication.

• length of the pipe.

• shape of the pipe that forms the “air column.”

• air temperature.

What is the point of the pipe bore?

• To change effective length of the pipe

• To lower the frequency

• To produce a pedal tone

• To produce resonances that are harmonic