Effects of internal resonances in the pitch glide of Chinese gongs.

The framework of nonlinear normal modes gives a remarkable insight into the dynamics of nonlinear vibratory systems exhibiting distributed nonlinearities. In the case of Chinese opera gongs, geometrical nonlinearities lead to a pitch glide of several vibration modes in playing situation. This study investigates the relationship between the nonlinear normal modes formalism and the ascendant pitch glide of the fundamental mode of a xiaoluo gong.

Modal active control of Chinese gongs.

Instruments that belong to the gong family exhibit nonlinear dynamics at large amplitudes of vibration. In the specific case of the xiaoluo gong, this nonlinear behavior results in a pitch glide of several modes of the instrument in addition to harmonic distortion and internal resonances. This study applies a linear modal active control to a xiaoluo gong in an attempt to change its sound properties.