Waveguide String Model

friction, or energy loss, from the system. This loss is best described as an output phenom-
enon--energy from the string is transferred to the air and to the guitar body.
A guitar string can vibrate in a three dimensional space, since it is suspended in air
between two endpoints, so there are generally more vibrations than represented by (4),
which describes vibration in one dimension only. A string tone can be thought of as a com-
bination of the two vibrational modes, one normal to the guitar body, called vertical, and
one parallel to the guitar body, called horizontal [4]. The coupling of the two modes is non-
linear and cannot be modeled completely, since it is dependent upon the guitar construc-
tion. For our purposes, however, it is adequate to assume that the two modes are
independent. Each mode is excited by a single guitar pluck, with some energy transferred
to each mode.
Each mode has different interactions with the bridge and the top plate of the guitar
body. The guitar tone for pure vertical plucking directions decays quite sharply, whereas
the tone for purely horizontal plucking decays quite slowly. The overall plucked string
response can be modeled as the sum of these two decaying modes, ignoring nonlinear cou-
pling. The relative amount of excitation transferred to horizontal and vertical modes varies
with the angle of the pluck.
4. Waveguide String Model
This section deveIops the digital string model solution to the wave equation and the
refinements necessary to allow for non-integer periods. This model, implemented as a digi-
tal filter, is used for both horizontal and vertical mode string oscillations.
4.1 Basic String Model
A digital simulation of a vibrating string can be constructed using digital waveguide
techniques, as in [I 1], yielding a general form for a string model, as shown in Figure 4.1. I.

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Waveguide String Model
The expression g/V groups all energy loss in the string into one expression. Energy lost
generally goes through the bridge to the guitar body. The difference equation describing
the system is
y[n] = gVy[n-N] +x[n] ts~
which yields a z-transform representation:
1
H(z)
N-N
1--g Z
x[n]~ Nsamplesdelay I yln-N]
Figure 4.1.1 General String Loopback Filter Model.
This filter essentially copies the signal sample values from N samples ago and multi-
plies by a decay factor of gN < 1. To generate a decaying oscillatory response, the delay line
is initialized to all zeros, x[n] introduces the first period of the oscillating signal into the
delay line, and the recursion equation produces the remainder of the response with gN act-
ing as the decay rate (per period).
More general responses, including non-integer periods and frequency-dependent warp-
ing, can be achieved by replacing gN with a feedback FIR filter h/In] having z-transform
Hi(z). The overall feedback system is then governed by the difference equation
y (n) = u In] +
t
In] , y I n - N]
where u[n] is an input to the system and y[n] is the resulting output. This more general
string model enables frequency-dependent losses with decay factors included in h/[n].
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Waveguide String Model
4.2 Non-integer Periods
A specific limitation of [ ] 1] is that only frequencies w~th integer periods can be repre-
sented. For very low frequencies, this is not a terrible restriction. At higher harmonic fre-
quencies, however, an integer period approximation causes increasing error in
representable pitch, as shown in Figure 4.2.1.
100o0
Figure 4.2.1 Effects of Integer-Only Periods
Allowing only integer pitch periods is quite restrictive; however, non-integer periods can
pose quite a problem [6]. A simple solution is to interpolate between the samples at the
integer delays to approximate the signal value one non-integer period ago. One choice for
Hi(z) is a Lagrange interpolation filter, with the constraint that the sum of the filter coeffi-
cients be equal to the desired decay rate gN. Assume that the non-integer period T = N + x~
where 0<x<I. Then the current sample value can be generated from the values in the prior
period by interpolaUng between the integer samples by defining an interpolation filter:
M/2
l-~l ( Z) ~
O~i
z-i
M
i=-~+ l
where a
i
is a Lagrange interpolaUon coefficient given by

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Waveguide String Model
M/2
x
i
(x) = I-1
x -__.i
j
(~
i-]
jf--~+ l,j~i
and M is the number of coefficients (an even number). Note that the index i = 0 corre-
sponds to an integer delay of N. While Hi(z) is non-causal, it is only used at delay Nso that
the overall feedback loop filter is causal. We have found that L=6 is sufficiently accurate for
providing reasonable sound using a 44.1 kHz sampling rate and a usable bandwidth of 11
kHz.
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Frequency ~n rarYsec
Figure 4.2.2 Interpolation Loop Filter Frequency Response
In frequency domain, the interpolaUon loop filter looks like a periodic series of peaks,
inverted notch filters, with a peak appearing at each harmonic, as shown in Figure 4.2.3.
The Lagrange interpolation introduces a lowpass filtering effect onto the string model, as is
clearly visible in Figure 4.2.2.
It should be noted that the string model as shown enhances energy at harmonic fre-
quencies relative to that at non-harmonic frequencies. This effect is evident from the fre-
quency magnitude spectrum in Figure 4.2.3; signals at non-harmonic frequencies are
attenuated.
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Waveguide String Model
This string model is ver~ similar to the Karplus-Strong model, as presented in [5], [8],
and [12], where either white noise or an ideal string waveform is used as excitation to the
model. The KS model removes energy at non-harmonic frequencies resulting in a set of
harmonic tones. The LPF operation of the averaging filter helps to attenuate unwanted
aperiodic wide-band energy in the synthesized signal. The resulting output has an initial
burst of white noise that fades rapidly into a decaying tone. Although the random excita-
tion produces interesting sounds, it is not well-suited to make real-sounding synthetic
instruments because the signal energy is randomly distributed at each harmonic, rather
than exhibiting the spectral structure enforced by physical constraints.
Figure 4.2.3 Close-up of String Frequency Response
4.3 Waveforms on the String Model
The ideal string shape, as represented in (3), contains only harmonic frequencies. If the
ideal string shape can be synthesized for one period and used as an excitation to the string
model, the resulting output essentially will be copies of the first period with continuing
exponential attenuation. [I 2]
If the waveform input to the string model contains only harmonic frequencies, the only
effect of the string model will be the attenuation of the input signal. For example, if a sinu-
soidal waveform with frequency fo is fed into the string model, all that will be apparent is

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Overall System Model
an exponential decay of the amplitude depending on the value of gN. The frequency of the
signal will not change, and additional harmonic components will not appear.
5. Overall System Model
By combining the physical intuition and digital modeling techniques presented thus
far, we developed a computationally efficient and physically-based model for the guitar.
This model is an extension of that presented in [ 14]; here the model parameters from sam-
pled guitar string data, and the steady-state response of the guitar is analyzed separately
from the transient vertical response. The method in [14] makes several compromises in
accurate sound blending and overall reverberation, both of which are critical to generating
sounds characteristic of the guitar and to distinguish between different guitars. The
method presented in this report takes advantage of an advanced IIR filter design algorithm
to make a resonant filter that provides excellent mixing of the guitar string sounds and
resonance based on the physical characteristics of each specific guitar body.
The overall system model used is shown in Figure 5.0.1, with the excitations forming
the input and the guitar sound as the output. HI(Z) is a Lagrange interpolation filter, and T
is an integer period.
Horizontal Excitation
Vertical Excitation
:Horizontal~~ |
;[ String Model ]___]
~i
Guitar Body ~
Model
Synthesized
Guitar
Ha(z) Sound
Figure 5.0.1 Overall Synthesis Model
There are several important components to this model:
Base interpolation filter HI(Z)
Filter delay T (the integer pitch period)
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