MATERIALS
Orchestral harps with carbon-fibre soundboards would be more robust and sound just as good as harps with wooden soundboards, according to Thomas Royston and his colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The quality of the soundboard, a flat piece of spruce just above the player’s knee, determines the instrument’s tone. A carbon-fibre soundboard would be less vulnerable to damage when an instrument is moved between performances or rehearsals.
HEARING
Infants find it difficult to hear someone calling their name when there is a lot of background noise. Adults are able to understand speech even when it is…
