I wish I knew where my textbook is from the course in acoustics I took in graduate school. For what it's worth, two strings will be only moderately louder than one, something that's very obvious when you stop to think about it but that I had never thought about until that course. That works also with any other musical instrument. In an orchestra, two trumpets will be somewhat louder than just one, but each additional instrument's impact on volume is less than the last. The difference between five trumpets and six would be barely perceptible, I imagine, assuming they are playing in unison. I'm talking strictly about volume. Certainly we can hear the difference between a string composition being played by one instrument on each part, compared with a string orchestra. I have never heard a piece played by an "orchestra of pianos." The next time I get the chance I plan to go. Regards, Clyde "Kevin S. Riggs" wrote: > But I'm not quite clear on one matter. How is it > that three strings are louder than two, are louder than one, given > exactly the same energy input into the system? From what area of the > sound envelope is the energy taken, and distributed to where, to > increase apparent loudness?
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