Resonance Chladni Soundboard Harpsichord Clavecin

A sound board, or soundboard, is the surface of a string instrument that the strings vibrate against, usually via some sort of

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

s, banjos, and many other stringed instruments incorporate soundboards. The resonant properties of the sound board and the interior of the instrument greatly increase the

loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The relation of ph ...

of the vibrating strings. "The soundboard is probably the most important element of a guitar in terms of its influence on the quality of the instrument's tone ."Sloane, Irving (1989). ''Classic Guitar Construction'', p.20. Bold Strummer. . "The sound board is the most important element in the guitar." The sound board operates by the principle of forced vibration. The string gently vibrates the board, and despite their differences in size and composition, makes the board vibrate at exactly the same frequency. This produces the same sound as the string alone, differing only in

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musica ...

. The string would produce the same amount of energy without the board present, but the greater surface area of the sound board moves a greater volume of air, which produces a louder sound. "Generally, stiffer boards will give a brighter edge to the sound than softer, more flexible boards....A good, dry sound board has a certain 'live' tone while a poor one will have a relatively dead response," which may be tested during construction by thumping the board and listening for, "brighter, more noticeable ring ng" as one works the board, "to the appropriate thinness." Sound boards are traditionally made of wood (see

tonewood Tonewood refers to specific wood varieties that possess tonal properties that make them good choices for use in woodwind or acoustic stringed instruments. Varieties of tonewood As a rough generalization it can be said that stiff-but-light softwood ...

), though other materials are used, such as skin or plastic on instruments in the banjo family. Wooden sound boards typically have one or more

sound hole A sound hole is an opening in the body of a stringed musical instrument, usually the upper sound board. Sound holes have different shapes: * round in flat-top guitars and traditional bowl-back mandolins; * F-holes in instruments from the vio ...

s of various shapes. Round, oval, or

F-hole A sound hole is an opening in the body of a stringed musical instrument, usually the upper sound board. Sound holes have different shapes: * round in flat-top guitars and traditional bowl-back mandolins; * F-holes in instruments from the vio ...

s appear on many plucked instruments, such as

s and mandolins.

s are usual in

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

family instruments. Lutes commonly have elaborate rosettes. The sound board, depending on the instrument, is called a ''top plate'', ''table'', ''sound-table'', or ''belly''. It is usually made of a softwood, often spruce. In a grand

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, the sound board is part of the case. In an upright piano, the sound board is a large vertical plate at the back of the instrument. The harp has a sound board below the strings. More generally, any hard surface can act as a sound board. An example is when someone strikes a

tuning fork A tuning fork is an acoustic resonator in the form of a two-pronged fork with the prongs ( tines) formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic metal (usually steel). It resonates at a specific constant pitch when set vibrating by striking it agains ...

and holds it against a table top to amplify its sound.

References

{{Authority control String instrument construction Guitar parts and accessories ca:Caixa de ressonància

See also

References