The Bowed String as a Nonlinear Dynamical System

A cello string on rigid supports is bowed by a digital bow, a system consisting of a laser vibrometer, a digitally stored friction curve and the electrodynamical application of the force. Thus the bowing parameters can be reproducibly adjusted and are constant in time. The motion of the digitally bowed string is investigated for different bow speeds with fixed bow position and pressure. Furthermore, one of the supports is driven periodically by an external force to simulate the influence of a resonating body.