Mutual benefits of collaborations between instrumentmakers, musicians and acousticians

Effective collaboration between instrument makers, musicians and acousticians can be of great benefit to all parties, leading to improved instrument designs, greater understanding of an instrument’s playing characteristics, and an improved knowledge of the physical processes that occur within an instrument. As a working relationship develops between an instrument maker, a musician and an acoustician, the trust that builds up can facilitate increasingly more detailed investigations. Through a series of case studies involving brass and woodwind instruments, this paper charts the development of several maker/player/acoustician collaborations, showing how they have evolved over the years and highlighting the benefits experienced by all the different partners involved