In this paper, we show how the formalism of the Volterra series can be used to represent the nonlinear Moog ladder filter. The analog circuit is analyzed to produce a set of governing differential equations. The Volterra kernels of this system are solved from simple algebraic equations. They define an exact decomposition of the system. An identification procedure leads to structures composed of linear filters, sums and instantaneous products of signals. Finally, a discrete-time realization of the truncated series, which guarantees no aliasing, is performed.

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This paper deals with digital waveguide modeling of wind instruments. It presents the application of state-space representations to the acoustic model of Webster-Lokshin. This acoustic model describes the propagation of longitudinal waves in axisymmetric acoustic pipes with a varying cross-section, visco-thermal losses at the walls, and without assuming planar or spherical waves. Moreover, three types of discontinuities of the shape can be taken into account (radius, slope and curvature), which can lead to a good fit of the original shape of pipe. The purpose of this work is to build low-cost digital simulations in the time domain, based on the Webster-Lokshin model. First, decomposing a resonator into independent elementary parts and isolating delay operators lead to a network of input/output systems and delays, of KellyLochbaum network type. Second, for a systematic assembling of elements, their state-space representations are derived in discrete time. Then, standard tools of automatic control are used to reduce the complexity of digital simulations in time domain. In order to validate the method, simulations are presented and compared with measurements.

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This work deals with the physical modelling of acoustic pipes for real-time simulation, using the “Digital Waveguide Network” approach and the horn equation. With this approach, a piece of pipe is represented by a two-port system with a loop which involves two delays for wave propagation, and some subsystems without internal delay. A well-known form of this system is the “Kelly-Lochbaum” framework, which allows the reduction of the computation complexity. We focus this work on the simulation of pipes with a convex profile. But, using the “Kelly-Lochbaum” framework with the horn equation, two problems occur: first, even if the outputs are bound, some substates have their values which diverge; second, there is an infinite number of such substates. The system is then unstable and cannot be simulated as such. The solution of this problem is obtained with two steps. First, we show that there is a simple standard form compatible with the “Waveguide” approach, for which there is an infinite number of solutions which preserve the input/output relations. Second, we look for one solution which guarantees the stability of the system and which makes easier the approximation in order to get a low-cost simulation.

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This paper investigates the passivity of the Moog Ladder Filter and its simulation. First, the linearized system is analyzed. Results based on the energy stored in the capacitors lead to a stability domain which is available for time-varying control parameters meanwhile it is sub-optimal for time-invariant ones. A second storage function is proposed, from which the largest stability domain is recovered for a time-invariant Q-parameter. Sufficient conditions for stability are given. Second, the study is adapted to the nonlinear case by introducing a third storage function. Then, a simulation based on the standard bilinear transform is derived and the dissipativity of this numerical version is examined. Simulations show that passivity is not unconditionally guaranteed, but mostly fulfilled, and that typical behaviours of the Moog filter, including self-oscillations, are properly reproduced.

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This paper deals with the time-domain simulation of a simplified electro-mechanical piano. The physical model is composed of a hammer (nonlinear component), a cantilever beam (damped linear resonator) and a pickup (nonlinear transducer). In order to ensure stable simulations, a method is proposed, which preserves passivity, namely, the conservative and dissipative properties of the physical system. This issue is addressed in 3 steps. First, each physical component is described by a passive input-output system, which is recast in the port-Hamiltonian framework. In particular, a passive finite dimensional model of the Euler-Bernoulli beam is derived, based on a standard modal decomposition. Second, these components are connected, providing a nonlinear finite dimensional port-Hamiltonian system. Third, a numerical method is proposed, which preserves the power balance and passivity. Numerical results are presented and analyzed.

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This article addresses identification of nonlinear systems represented by Volterra series. To improve the robustness of some existing methods, we propose a pre-processing stage that separates nonlinear homogeneous order contributions from which Volterra kernels can be identified independently. The proposed separation method exploits phase relations between test signals rather than amplitude relations that are usually used. This method is compared with standard separation process. Its contribution to identification is illustrated on a simulated loudspeaker with nonlinear suspension.

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This article addresses the Doppler effect of a planar vibrating piston in a duct, as a plane wave radiation approximation generated by a loudspeaker membrane. This physical model corresponds to a nonlinear problem, because the linear propagation is excited by a moving boundary condition at the piston face: this introduces a varying propagation time between the piston and a fixed receiver. The existence of a regular function that solves the problem (a socalled “strong” solution) is proven, under a well-posed condition that guarantees that no shock occurs. This function satisfies an implicit equation to be solved. An algorithm based on the perturbation method is proposed, from which an exact solution can be built using power series. The convergence of the power series is numerically checked on several examples. Simulations derived from a truncated power series provide sound examples with audible intermodulation and distortion effects for realistic loudspeaker excursion and speed ranges.

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This work takes place in the context of the development of an active control of instruments with geometrical nonlinearities. The study focuses on Chinese opera gongs that display a characteristic pitch glide in normal playing conditions. In the case of the xiaoluo gong, the fundamental mode of the instrument presents a softening behaviour (frequency glides upward when the amplitude decreases). Controlling the pitch glide requires a nonlinear model of the structure, which can be partially identified with experimental techniques that rely on the formalism of nonlinear normal modes. The fundamental nonlinear mode has been previously experimentally identified as a softening Duffing oscillator. This paper aims at performing a simulation of the control of the oscillator’s pitch glide. For this purpose, the study focuses on a single-degree-offreedom nonlinear mode described by a softening Duffing equation. This Duffing oscillator energy proves to be ill-posed - in particular, the energy becomes negative for large amplitudes of vibration, which is physically inconsistent. Then, the first step of the present study consists in redefining a new energetically well-posed model. In a second part, guaranteed-passive simulations using port-Hamiltonian formalism confirm that the new system is physically and energetically correct compared to the Duffing model. Third, the model is used for control issues in order to modify the softening or hardening behaviour of the fundamental pitch glide. Results are presented and prove the method to be relevant. Perspectives for experimental applications are finally exposed in the last section of the paper.

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This article is concerned with the accurate simulation of passive nonlinear dynamical systems with a particular attention paid on aliasing reduction in the pass-band. The approach is based on the combination of Port-Hamiltonian Systems, continuous-time statespace trajectories reconstruction and exact continuous-time antialiasing filter realization. The proposed framework is applied on a nonlinear LC oscillator circuit to study the effectiveness of the method.

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The Snail is a real-time software application that offers possibilities for visualizing sounds and music, for tuning musical instruments, for working on pitch intonation, etc. It incorporates an original spectral analysis technology (patent-pending) combined with a display on a spiral representation: the center corresponds to the lowest frequencies, the outside to the highest frequencies, and each turn corresponds to one octave so that tones are organized with respect to angles. The spectrum magnitude is displayed according to perceptive features, in a redundant way: the loudness is mapped to both the line thickness and its brightness. However, because of the time-frequency uncertainty principle, using the Fourier spectrum (or also Q-transform, wavelets, etc) does not lead to a sufficient accuracy to be used in a musical context. The spectral analysis is completed by frequency precision enhancer based on a postprocessing of the demodulated phase of the spectrum. This paper presents the scientific principles, some technical aspects of the software development and the main display modes with examples of use cases.

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