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Professor David Sharp

Profile summary

Professional biography

David Sharp is Professor of Musical Acoustics in the STEM Faculty at the Open University. 

David's primary research activities are in the Acoustics Research Group, but he also co-supervises PhD research in the Music Computing Lab. His research interests are in musical acoustics, in particular measuring and evaluating the playing characteristics of wind instruments. David regularly delivers interactive talks on sound to both local schoolchildren and the general public. He was an academic consultant for four series of BBC Coast and has appeared on the programme several times, carrying out acoustic measurements and demonstrations.

Research groups

NameTypeParent Unit
Acoustics Research GroupGroupFaculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology

Publications

Acceptability of Remote Monitoring in Assisted Living/Smart Homes in the United Kingdom and Associated Use of Sounds and Vibrations—A Systematic Review (2024)
Tong, Ki; Attenborough, Keith; Sharp, David; Taherzadeh, Shahram; Deepak Gopinath, Manik and Vseteckova, Jitka
Applied Sciences, 14, Article 843(2)


Findings from a survey of pitch drift (2020-05)
Seaton, Richard; Jones, Allan; Pim, Dennis and Sharp, David
Choral Directions Research Journal, 1, Article 6(1) (pp. 58-70)


Assessing the sound of a woodwind instrument that cannot be played (2019-01-01)
Bowen, D. Keith; Buys, Kurijn; Dart, Mathew and Sharp, David
Applied Acoustics, 143 (pp. 84-99)


Virtual Pitch and Pitch Shifts in Church Bells (2017-09-08)
Hibbert, William A.; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Sharp, David B.
Open Journal of Acoustics, 7(3) (pp. 52-68)


Developing and evaluating a hybrid wind instrument (2017-09-01)
Buys, Kurijn; Sharp, David and Laney, Robin
Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 103(5) (pp. 830-846)


Testing a Spectral Model of Tonal Affinity with Microtonal Melodies and Inharmonic Spectra (2016-12)
Milne, Andrew J.; Laney, Robin and Sharp, David B.
Musicae Scientiae, 20(4) (pp. 465-494)


An active mute for the trombone (2015-12)
Meurisse, Thibaut; Mamou-Mani, Adrien; Caussé, René; Sluchin, Benny and Sharp, David B.
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(6) (pp. 3539-3548)


Experimental demonstration of the modification of the resonances of a simplified self-sustained wind instrument through modal active control. (2015-05)
Meurisse, Thibaut; Mamou-Mani, Adrien; Benacchio, Simon; Chomette, Baptiste; Finel, Victor; Sharp, David and Causse, Rene
Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 101(3) (pp. 581-593)


A spectral pitch class model of the probe tone data and scalic tonality (2015-04-01)
Milne, Andrew; Laney, Robin and Sharp, David
Music Perception, 32(4) (pp. 364-393)


LIF measurement of the diluting effect of surface waves on turbulent buoyant plumes. (2014-07)
Sharp, David B.; Shawcross, Alistair and Greated, Clive A.
Journal of Flow Control, Measurement and Visualization, 2(3) (pp. 77-93)


Partial frequencies and Chladni’s law in church bells (2014-06)
Hibbert, William A.; Sharp, David B.; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Perrin, Robert
Open Journal of Acoustics, 4(2) (pp. 70-77)


A numerical and experimental investigation of an axially symmetric RF plasma (2012-10-16)
Sutton, Yvonne C.; Johnson, Peter C.; Naidis, George V.; Sharp, David and Braithwaite, Nicholas St. J.
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 45, Article 455201(45)


A MIDI sequencer that widens access to the compositional possibilities of novel tunings (2012-04)
Prechtl, Anthony; Milne, Andrew J.; Holland, Simon; Laney, Robin and Sharp, David B.
Computer Music Journal, 36(1) (pp. 42-54)


Investigating the consistency of woodwind instrument manufacturing by comparing five nominally identical oboes (2012)
Mamou-Mani, Adrien; Sharp, David; Meurisse, Thibaut and Ring, William
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 131(1) (pp. 728-736)


Investigating perceptual differences between two trumpets of the same model type (2011-12)
Placido, Laetitia; Mamou-Mani, Adrien and Sharp, David
Applied Acoustics, 72(12) (pp. 907-914)


Looking into a plasma loudspeaker (2011-11)
Sutton, Yvonne; Moore, John; Sharp, David and Braithwaite, Nicholas St.J
IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 39(11) (pp. 2146-2147)


A single microphone capillary-based system for measuring the complex input impedance of musical wind instruments (2011-09-01)
Sharp, David; Mamou-Mani, Adrien and van Walstijn, Maarten
Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 97(5) (pp. 819-829)


Modelling the similarity of pitch collections with expectation tensors (2011-05)
Milne, Andrew J.; Sethares, William A.; Laney, Robin and Sharp, David B.
Journal of Mathematics and Music: Mathematical and Comptational Approaches to Music Theory, Analysis, Composition and Performance, 5(1) (pp. 1-20)


Evaluating the suitability of acoustical measurement techniques and psychophysical testing for studying the consistency of musical wind instrument manufacturing (2010)
Mamou-Mani, A. and Sharp, D. B.
Applied Acoustics, 71(7) (pp. 668-674)


A psychoacoustical investigation into the effect of wall material on the sound produced by lip-reed instruments (2008)
Whitehouse, James W. and Sharp, David B.
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 123(5) (pp. 3120-3120)


Inverse potential scattering in duct acoustics (2006-01)
Forbes, Barbara J.; Pike, E. Roy; Sharp, David B. and Aktosun, Tuncay
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 119(1) (pp. 65-73)


Increasing the axial resolution of bore profile measurements made using acoustic pulse reflectometry (2005-10)
Li, A.; Sharp, D.B. and Forbes, B.J.
Measurement Science and Technology, 16(10) (pp. 2011-2019)


Wideband measurement of the acoustic impedance of tubular objects (2005-06)
van Walstijn, Maarten; Cambell, Murray; Kemp, Jonathan and Sharp, David
Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 91(3) (pp. 590-604)


The problem of offset in measurements made using acoustic pulse reflectometry (2005)
Li, Aijun and Sharp, David B.
Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 91(4) (pp. 789-796)


The Acoustical Klein-Gordon equation: the wave-mechanical step and barrier potential functions (2003-09)
Forbes, Barbara J.; Pike, E. Roy and Sharp, David B.
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 114(3) (pp. 1291-1302)


An Acoustical investigation into the effect of the crook profile on the sound produced by the bassoon (2003)
Sharp, D.B.; Wright, H.A.K. and Ring, W.
Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 89(1) (pp. 137-144)


Singular system methods in acoustic pulse reflectometry (2003)
Forbes, Barbara J.; Sharp, David B.; Kemp, Jonathan A. and Li, Aijun
Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 89(5) (pp. 743-753)


Distinguishing between similar tubular objects using pulse reflectometry: a study of trumpet and cornet leadpipes (2002-05)
Buick, J.M.; Kemp, J.; Sharp, D.B.; van Walstijn, M.; Campbell, D.M. and Smith, R.A.
Measurement Science and Technology, 13(5) (pp. 750-757)


Rapid assessment of surface topography via non-destructive acoustic testing (2021-04-27)
Bowen, James; Dong, Yishan; Taherzadeh, Shahram and Sharp, David B.
In : 23rd International Conference on Wear of Materials (26-29 Apr 2021, Online)


Apparent asymmetry in discriminating between two closely spaced pitches (2019)
Seaton, Richard; Sharp, David; Jones, Allan and Pim, Dennis
In : Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics Annual Conference (Acoustics 2019) (13-14 May 2019, Milton Keynes) (pp. 302-309)


Assessing engineered materials via non-destructive impact acoustics (2019)
Dong, Yishan; Taherzadeh, Shahram; Sharp, David B and Bowen, James
In : Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress on Acoustics : integrating 4th EAA Euroregio 2019 : 9-13 September 2019 in Aachen, Germany (9-13 Sep 2019, Aachen, Germany) (pp. 2588-2595)


On The Accuracy Of Calculation Of The Impedance Spectra Of Woodwind Instruments (2018-10-24)
Bowen, Keith; Buys, Kurijn and Sharp, David
In : Measurements and modelling of musical instruments and performance spaces (22 Oct 2018, St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh)


Sensor Grid Design For High Resolution 3D Acoustic Measurements Of Musical Instruments. (2018-10-22)
Carugo, David; Hayatleh, K.; Lidgey, F.J. and Sharp, David
In : Measurements and modelling of musical instruments and performance spaces (22 Oct 2018, St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh)


Development of a hybrid wind instrument—Some key findings (2017-06)
Buys, Kurijn; Sharp, David and Laney, Robin
In : Acoustics '17 Boston (25-29 Jun 2017, Boston, MA, USA)


Improving the stability of a hybrid wind instrument using two microphones (2016-09-12)
Buys, Kurijn; Sharp, David and Laney, Robin
In : International Symposium on Musical and Room Acoustics (ISMRA 2016) (11-13 Sep 2016)


Experiments with Choirs – Practice and Pitfalls (2016-09-06)
Seaton, Richard; Sharp, D.; Jones, A. and Pim, D. N.
In : Acoustics 2016 (5-6 Sep 2016, Chesford Grange, Kenilworth, Warwickshire) (pp. 362-373)


A comparison of single-reed and bowed-string excitations of a hybrid wind instrument (2015-10-23)
Buys, Kurijn; Sharp, David and Laney, Robin
In : 3rd Vienna Talk on Music Acoustics (Vienna Talk 2015) (16-19 Sep 2015, Vienna, Austria) (pp. 290-296)


Play that funky music: Making 3D acoustic measurements of instruments under performance conditions. (2015-10-15)
Carugo, David; Halyatleh, Khaled; Lidgey, J. and Sharp, David
In : Acoustics 2015 (15 Oct 2015, Harrogate, UK) (pp. 251-259)


Developing and evaluating a hybrid wind instrument excited by a loudspeaker (2014-10-16)
Buys, Kurijn; Sharp, David and Laney, Robin
In : Institute of Acoustics 40th Anniversary Conference (15-16 Oct 2014, Birmingham, UK) (pp. 294-303)


Pitch drift in a capella choral singing: the outcomes from an international survey. (2014-10)
Seaton, Richard; Sharp, David and Pim, Dennis
In : Institute of Acoustics 40th Anniversary Conference (15-16 Oct 2014, Birmingham, UK) (pp. 312-319)


Developing a hybrid wind instrument: using a loudspeaker to couple a theoretical exciter to a real resonator (2014-07-07)
Buys, K.; Sharp, D. and Laney, R.
In : International Symposium on Musical Acoustics (ISMA 2014) (7-12 Jul 2014, Le Mans, France) (pp. 331-336)


Experimental validation of adjusting the resonances of a simplified bass clarinet through modal active control. (2014-07)
Meurisse, T.; Mamou-Mani, A.; Benacchio, S.; Finel, V.; Chomette, B.; Caussé, R. and Sharp, D.
In : International Symposium on Musical Acoustics (ISMA 2014) (7-12 Jul 2014, Le Mans, France) (pp. 365-370)


Comparison of perceived sound qualities of five clarinets of different makes (2014-07)
Kowal, Paulina; Sharp, David and Taherzadeh, Shahram
In : International Symposium on Musical Acoustics (ISMA 2014) (7-12 Jul 2014, Le Mans, France) (pp. 477-482)


Simulations of modal active control applied to the self-sustained oscillations of the clarinet (2013-07)
Meurisse, Thibaut; Mamou-Mani, Adrien; Caussé, René and Sharp, David
In : SMAC Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference 2013/SMC Sound and Music Computing Conference 2013 (30 Jul - 3 Aug 2013, Stockholm, Sweden)


Active control applied to simplified wind musical instrument (2013-06)
Meurisse, Thibaut; Mamou-Mani, Adrien; Caussé, René and Sharp, David
In : 21st International Congress on Acoustics (2-7 Jun 2013, Montreal, Canada)


The Mari-Cha lion - did it once roar? (2013-05)
Sharp, David
In : Institute of Acoustics Annual Spring Conference 2013: Acoustics 2013 (13 May 2013, Nottingham, UK)


Analysing differences between the input impedances of five clarinets of different makes (2013-05)
Kowal, Paulina; Sharp, David and Taherzadeh, Shahram
In : Institute of Acoustics Annual Spring Conference 2013: Acoustics 2013 (13 May 2013, Nottingham, UK)


Pitch drift in a capella choral singing – work in progress (2013-05)
Seaton, Richard; Pim, Dennis and Sharp, David
In : Institute of Acoustics Annual Spring Conference 2013: Acoustics 2013 (13 May 2013, Nottingham, UK)


Mutual benefits of collaborations between instrumentmakers, musicians and acousticians (2012-04)
Sharp, David
In : Acoustics 2012 (23-27 Apr 2012, Nantes, France)


Physical and perceptual differences between two trumpets of the same model type (2012-04)
Mamou-Mani, Adrien; Placido, Laetitia and Sharp, David
In : Acoustics 2012 (23-27 Apr 2012, Nantes, France)


Correlating differences in the playing properties of five student model clarinets with physical differences between them (2012-04)
Kowal, Paulina; Sharp, David and Taherzadeh, Shahram
In : Acoustics 2012 (23-27 Apr 2012, Nantes, France)


Active control applied to wind instruments (2012-04)
Meurisse, Thibaut; Mamou-Mani, Adrien; Causse, Rene and Sharp, David
In : Acoustics 2012 (23-27 Apr 2012, Nantes, France)


Hex Player—a virtual musical controller (2011-05)
Milne, Andrew J.; Xambó, Anna; Laney, Robin; Sharp, David B.; Prechtl, Anthony and Holland, Simon
In : The International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression 2011 (30 May - 01 Jun 2011, Oslo, Norway)


Characteristics of a transition discharge in air through N2 spectroscopy (2011)
Johnson, P. C.; Sutton, Y.; Sharp, D.; Moore, J. and Braithwaite, N. St. J
In : TPW 8th Technological Plasma Workshop (6-7 Jan 2011, Bristol)


Visualising gas heating from an RF plasma loudspeaker (2010-10)
Sutton, Y.; Naidis, G. V.; Johnson, P. C.; Sharp, D.; Moore, J. and Braithwaite, N. St.J
In : GEC & IRCP 2010 (Paris France)


Investigating oboe manufacturing consistency by comparing the acoustical properties of five nominally identical instruments (2010-09)
Mamou-Mani, Adrien; Sharp, David; Meurisse, Thibaut and Ring, William
In : ViennaTalk 2010 (19-21 Sep 2010, Vienna, Austria)


Spectral pitch distance and microtonal melodies (2010-08)
Milne, Andrew J.; Prechtl, Anthony; Laney, Robin and Sharp, David B.
In : Proceedings of the International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition 2010 (ICMPC 11) (23-27 Aug 2010, Seattle, USA)


Ausio sound reproduction by thermal expansion in an RF generated plasma (2010-03)
Sutton, Y.; Johnson, P. C.; Sharp, D.; Moore, J. and Braithwaite, N. St.J
In : Institute of Physics Plasma Physics Group Conference 2010 (Mar 2010)


Metrics for pitch collections (2010)
Milne, Andrew J.; Sethares, William A.; Laney, Robin and Sharp, David B.
In : Proceedings of the International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition 2010 (ICMPC 11) (23-27 Aug 2010, Seattle, USA)


Investigating the consistency and quality of musical wind instrument manufacturing (2009-07)
Mamou-Mani, Adrien and Sharp, David B.
In : UK Musical Acoustics Network Summer Meeting: Wind Instrument Acoustics (12-13 Jul 2009, University of Edinburgh, UK)


Cylindrical RF discharge with free boundary at atmospheric pressure (2009-07)
Sutton, Y.; Naidis, G. V.; Johnson, P. C.; Moore, J.; Sharp, D. and Braithwaite, N. St.J
In : International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases (17-19 Jul 2009, Cancun Mexico)


A psychoacoustical investigation into the effect of wall material on the sound produced by lip-reed instruments (2008-04)
Whitehouse, James W. and Sharp, David B.
In : Spring Conference of the Institute of Acoustics 2008: Widening Horizons in Acoustics (10-11 Apr 2008, Reading, UK)


Acoustics by the sea with Coast (2008-04)
Sharp, David B.
In : Spring Conference of the Institute of Acoustics 2008: Widening Horizons in Acoustics (10-11 Apr 2008, Reading)


The effect of wall material on the structural vibrations excited and sound produced when lip-reed instruments are blown (2007-09)
Whitehouse, James W. and Sharp, David B.
In : Proceedings of the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics (9-12 Sep 2007, Barcelona, Spain)


The problem of offset in acoustic pulse reflectometry (2007-09)
Sharp, David B. and Li, Aijun
In : Proceedings of International Symposium on Musical Acoustics 2007 (9-12 Sep 2007, Barcelona, Spain) (pp. 789-796)


An optimisation approach to the location and sizing of multiple leaks in a duct (2006-04)
Sharp, D. and Chilekwa, V.
In : Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics (3-4 Apr 2006, Southampton, UK)


The effect of wall material on the structural vibrations excited when lip-reed instruments are blown (2006-04)
Dorn, S.; Whitehouse, J. and Sharp, D.
In : Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics (3-4 Apr 2006, Southampton, UK)


Acoustic pulse reflectometry for the measurement of musical wind instruments (1996)
Sharp, David
PhD thesis University of Edinburgh