The fretted zither and the influence of a supporting table on its initial transients—An impulse pattern formulation model

Fretted zithers originate in the Alpine region and their adjacent countries. They consist of 5 fretted and 24-37 free vibrating strings stretched across a thin body. The instrument is usually played on a specific table, which is designed to amplify the sound. Thus, the table is crucial for the produced sound and must therefore be considered in respective acoustical analyses. This work explores the influence of various tables and other supporting material on the length and character of initial transients of a played zither tone. Measurements are performed while playing with differently designed tables, with a solid tabletop or with a hollow sound chamber, but while playing without a table, with the instrument placed on one’s knees. As every part of the instrument is coupled to the table, the transients not only depend on the impedance of the support material but also on the plucked string itself. Thus, all components are modeled together. The method of choice is the Impulse Pattern Formulation (IPF) which assumes the zither to work with impulses traveling through the instrument body. During the transition from zither to the table, they get partly reflected, damped, and act back on the string, effectively co-defining the transient behavior.