FINAL THOUGHTS FROM SYENNA

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM SYENNA FINAL THOUGHTS FROM SYENNA

Dear Reader, I sometimes like to try out Systems Engineering methods outside of the workplace. This month I wanted to share what happened when I applied Function Flow Block Diagrams (FFBDs) to tuning my violin – see diagram below. A diagram is intended to save a thousand words, but a few points may be of interest: • We normally start by tuning the A string to “concert” pitch (440 Hz in modern times, but it used to be lower). Various sources can be used for the reference frequency. Typically, a concert orchestra will use the oboe. In other situations, a tuning fork, piano, organ, or other instrument may be used. Some people even have a capability known as “absolute pitch” (or “perfect pitch”), which means that they can hear or sing a given note without any external reference; • We then tune pairs of strings to achieve perfect fifths between them. The frequency ratio should be close to 3:2, which can be detected by listening for beating effects; • The violin bow can normally only play two adjacent strings simultaneously, and hence it isn’t possible to compare the G to the A. This illustrates that you need a knowledge of a candidate physical architecture when devising the FFBD, and is something you might miss if you didn’t engage somebody with domain knowledge in the process; • Having tried out the string pairs, it’s normal to go back to the start and make finer adjustments. For one thing, the violin may flex as the pegs are adjusted, which may disturb earlier tunings. There is also the question of the “tempering” of the musical scale, which is a subject in its own right.

I hope this is of interest to you and that you might like to try it on your own hobbies. Send in your results to ppisyen@ppi-int.com for potential inclusion in a future edition!