The Future of Instrument Making Research

Dear Colleagues,

Musical instrument making (IM) research is undergoing a veritable revolution. With new computational methods available, researchers are getting used to busying themselves at the workbench, and each day, instrument makers are more comfortable with the concepts of acoustics and the application of artificial intelligence. This Special Issue will be an accompanying volume for the second Mondo Acustica conference to be held in Cremona on the 25th and 26th of September, 2024. The topic of the conference is the future of instrument making research, encompassing new ways of crafting, measuring and studying stringed instruments—in a word, how the future can help us understand the past. The development of musical instruments has had a parallel history from science; Galileo’s father was a lute player and researched string properties in his basement in Pisa. This year, we are meeting in Cremona to build a future where science and instrument making speak more freely and learn to understand one another. Topics range from timbre characterization, new methods for the simulation of musical instruments and cutting-edge technology for instrument manufacture, as well as new methodologies for their conservation.

Therefore, we are interested in articles that investigate new advances in musical instrument research. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Additive and subtractive manufacture for IM;
• New technologies for IM;
• Simulations of musical instruments;
• Experimental methods for instrument characterization;
• New approaches to timbre characterization;
• Artificial intelligence and IM;
• New measuring techniques for IM.

Original work highlighting the latest research and technical development is encouraged, but review papers and comparative studies are also welcome.

Dr. Sebastian Gonzalez
Dr. Carolina Espinoza
Dr. Henna Tahvanainen
Dr. Fabio Antonacci
Guest Editors

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• musical acoustics
• FEM simulation
• violin
• timbre
• CNC