Acoustics of the Chinese qing

The qing is a bowl-shaped musical instrument, commonly used in Buddhist religious ceremonies; it usually rests on a silk pillow and is struck at the rim with a wooden stick. The principal modes of vibration resemble those of a bell, have 2-m well-defined modes around the mouth of the bell. Mode frequencies have been measured in four small qing, having diameters of 18, 15, 12, and 10 cm, and mode shapes in the larger two have been determined by means of holographic interferometry. The pitch of the qing is determined by the frequency of the fundamental (2,0) mode, although the (4,0) partial typically has the largest amplitude. The mode frequencies are not harmonic, so no subjective strike note is heard.