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Sound hole
Sound hole
Sound hole
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The sound holes of cellos and other instruments of the violin family are known as F-holes and are located on opposing sides of the bridge.

A sound hole is an opening in the body of a stringed musical instrument, usually the upper sound board. Sound holes have different shapes:

Some instruments come in more than one style (mandolins may have F-holes, round or oval holes). A round or oval hole or a rosette is usually a single one, under the strings. C-holes, D-holes and F-holes are usually made in pairs placed symmetrically on both sides of the strings. Most hollowbody and semi-hollow electric guitars also have F-holes.

Though sound holes help acoustic instruments project sound more efficiently, sound does not emanate solely from the sound hole. Sound emanates from the surface area of the sounding boards, with sound holes providing an opening into the resonant chamber formed by the body, letting the sounding boards vibrate more freely, and letting vibrating air inside the instrument travel outside the instrument. The F-holes in the violin family instruments also serve the purpose of enabling a luthier to use specialized tools to adjust the sound post inside the instrument.

In 2015, researchers at MIT, in collaboration with violin makers at North Bennet Street School, published an analysis that charted the evolution and improvements in effectiveness of violin F-hole design over time.[1][2] One of the conclusions of this paper was that acoustic conductance (air flow) is proportional to the length of the perimeter of the sound hole and not the area. They proved this mathematically, and showed how it drove the evolution of shape of the F-holes in the violin family. The highest air flow in a violin's F-hole are the places at the top and bottom where the points nearly touch the other side. The effect is analogous to putting one's thumb over the end of a hose to accelerate the water coming out. By this measure, the open round hole of a flat-top acoustic guitar is not very effective.

Alternative sound hole designs

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Some Ovation stringed instruments feature a particularly unique sound hole architecture with multiple smaller sound holes that, being combined with a composite bowl back body, are said to produce a clear and bright sound.

Tacoma Guitars has developed a unique "paisley" sound hole placed on the left side of the upper bout of their "Wing Series" guitars. This is a relatively low-stress area that requires less bracing to support the hole.[3]

A few hollowbody or semi-hollow electric guitars, such as the Fender Telecaster Thinline and the Gibson ES-120T, have one f-hole instead of two, usually on the bass side.

B&G Guitars, a private build guitar company from Tel Aviv, Israel, uses their signature "backwards" sound holes on their guitars.[4]

Holes not positioned on the top of an acoustic guitar are called soundports. They are usually supplementary to a main sound hole, and are located on an instrument's side facing upward in playing position, allowing players to monitor their own sound.[5]

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Sound hole

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
A sound hole is an opening in the body of a stringed , usually the upper soundboard, that enhances and by allowing sound waves to radiate from the internal resonant chamber. These openings function primarily through , where the of air inside the instrument's body and near the amplifies low-frequency sounds, similar to the resonance in an empty when air is blown across its opening. Sound holes vary in shape and design across instruments, influencing their acoustic properties; common forms include circular holes in flat-top acoustic guitars, which promote balanced projection, and f-shaped holes (f-holes) in violins and archtop guitars, which optimize efficiency by concentrating airflow at the edges for greater sound radiation. The size and position of the sound hole also affect tone: smaller holes enhance bass projection, while larger ones yield a more open, treble-rich sound. In electric guitars with f-holes, such as Gibson's L-5 model introduced in the , the openings serve more aesthetic and traditional purposes, as amplification reduces their acoustic necessity. Historically, sound holes evolved from simple circular or shapes in 10th-century viols and lutes to more complex designs like rosettes in lutes and f-holes in 17th-century violins, driven by empirical refinements that increased radiated power by up to 4.5 dB and reduced material use while broadening bandwidth. This progression reflects centuries of innovation to maximize acoustic output, with f-holes emerging from makers like Andrea Amati in the mid-1500s and later adapting to guitars via Gibson's designs in the early .

Definition and Acoustics

Basic Definition

A sound hole is an opening in the body of a resonant , typically an acoustic stringed instrument such as a guitar, , or , that allows sound waves generated by the vibrating strings to project outward from the internal air cavity. This opening serves as a critical component for enhancing the instrument's and projection without external amplification, by coupling the internal air vibrations to the external environment. In essence, it functions as a portal for the acoustic energy produced within the hollow body to radiate efficiently into the surrounding space. Unlike the ports or finger holes in wind instruments, which primarily facilitate to produce and control pitch through direct of air columns, sound holes in string instruments emphasize unamplified by enabling the escape of pressure waves from the enclosed . Similarly, they differ from electronic pickups, which capture string s electrically for amplification rather than relying on passive acoustic projection. Sound holes are commonly located on the top plate (or soundboard) of the instrument, positioned near the bridge to optimize the coupling between and air . For example, in guitars, they are typically circular and centered below the strings; in violins, they appear as paired f-shaped openings on either side of the bridge; and in lutes, they often take ornate rosette forms in the central upper bout. Sizes vary depending on the instrument's scale and , generally ranging from 2-10 cm in effective or equivalent , such as approximately 7.5 cm long f-holes in standard violins or 9-10 cm round holes in acoustic guitars.

Acoustic Principles

The sound hole in acoustic string instruments operates as an integral component of a Helmholtz resonator, with the opening functioning as the narrow neck and the instrument's internal cavity serving as the compliant volume of enclosed air. This configuration allows the sound hole to couple the vibrations of the air inside the body to the external environment, facilitating efficient sound radiation. The enclosed air acts like a spring, compressing and rarefying in response to changes induced by the vibrating soundboard, while the air plug in the sound hole oscillates as a mass, amplifying acoustic output particularly in the lower register. The resonant frequency of this Helmholtz mode, often denoted as the air resonance or A0 mode in instruments like the , is determined by the formula: f=c2πAVLf = \frac{c}{2\pi} \sqrt{\frac{A}{V L}}
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