G. R. Plitnik
Ronald Knox
Dept. of Phys., Frostburg State Univ., Frostburg, MD 21545
Pipe organ reed pipes sound when a fixed-free curved brass reed mounted on a shallot is forced to vibrate by an impressed static air pressure. The frequency dependence of these vibrating reed tongues was determined as a function of three variables. These were the thickness of the reed, the static air pressure within the reed boot, and the length of the reed allowed to vibrate. For each trial, two of these variables were kept constant while the third was altered. Experiments were conducted using three different types of shallots: The American (standard) style, the French style, and the German style. The results show that for each shallot, the frequency increases linearly with thickness and linearly with air pressure (over the normal operating range of the reed). For each of the shallots, frequency varies inversely with length when the other variables are held constant.