Sound hole
|
Traditional round sound hole of an acoustic guitar |
A
sound hole is an opening in the upper
sounding board of a
stringed musical instrument.
The sound holes can have different shapes: round in flat-top
guitars,
f-holes in instruments from the
violin or
viol families and in arched-top guitars,
rosettes in
lutes.
Mandolins may have round or oval holes. A round or oval hole is usually a single one, under the strings. F-holes are usually made in pairs placed symmetrically on both sides of the strings.
Some
Ovation guitars feature a unique soundhole design with multiple smaller soundholes that, being combined with a
composite roundback guitar body are said to produce a clear and bright sound.
Though the purpose of sound holes is to help
acoustic instruments project their sound more efficiently, the sound does not emanate solely (nor even mostly) from the location of the sound hole. The majority of sound emanates from the
surface area of both sounding boards, with sound holes playing a part by allowing the sounding boards to
vibrate more freely, and by allowing some of the vibrations which have been set in motion inside the instrument to travel outside the instrument.
*
Stringworks U - brief explanation of the effects of sound holes, with a closeup diagram of an
f-shaped soundhole
