Real-time physical model of an Aeolian harp

Publication Summary

A real-time physical sound synthesis model of an Aeolian harp is presented. The model uses semiempirical fluid dynamics equations to inform its operation, providing suitable parameters for users to interact. A basic wind model is included as well as an interface allowing user adjustable parameters. Sounds generated by the model were subject to objective measurements against real-world recordings, which showed that many of the physical properties of the harp were replicated in our model, but a possible link between harmonics and vibration amplitude was not. A perceptual test was performed, where participants were asked to rate sounds in terms of how plausible they were in comparison with spectral modelling synthesis and recorded Aeolian Harp samples. Evaluation showed that our model performed as well as an alternative non-physical synthesis method, but was not as authentic as actual recorded samples.