The impact of bridges made from different types of wood onthe acoustic properties of the baglama

The baglama, one of the most frequently used musical instruments in Turkish music, is in the group of plectrum stringed instruments. It consists of three basic parts: the resonator, the soundboard and the neck. The vibrations occurring in the strings stimulated by the plectrum or sometimes by the finger are transferred to the soundboard through the bridge and from there to the resonator. In this research, the focus is on the acoustics of the baglama. The aim of this thesis is to determine how bridges made of different wood materials affect the acoustic properties of the baglama. In this direction, bridges were made from 4 different wood materials. However, the geometries of these bridges were ensured to be the same. Thus, the only variable was the material from which the bridge was made. The preferred woods for bridge construction were juniper, maple, ovenkol and wenge. While selecting these woods, the fact that the hardness levels of the woods were different from each other was decisive. The bridges were prepared with the help of CNC machine in order to avoid any differences on the geometrical structure. After the bridges were prepared, they were tried on the same baglama in order and sound recordings were taken in the studio environment. Firstly, the bridge made of juniper was attached to the baglama and recordings were taken from the lower, middle and upper empty strings of the baglama. Then similar procedures were repeated for maple, ovenkol and wenge bridges. The data obtained were first presented individually, then in groups of two and finally with visuals of all bridges together. In the second stage of the research, the strings of the bridge were silenced for each bridge and the impact responses of the bridge were measured. The data obtained were presented as graphs for all bridge models. At the end of the study, it was observed that the frequency spectra of the sounds obtained from the baglama changed as a result of using bridges made of different materials. It was determined that the harmonic structure and therefore the timbre of the baglama were affected by this change. When the studies on baglama acoustics were investigated, it was seen that the number of studies was limited. Similar situation is also valid for other Turkish music instruments. For this reason, it is recommended to conduct more scientific research on musical instrument acoustics in order for our instruments to achieve a certain standard structure.