This laboratory assignment will help the student apply feedback control to a model of a musical instrument in a simulated laboratory environment. First we introduce feedback control, which helps further motivate the need for physical models. Next, we remind the student about the analogy between a mass-spring-damper system and a plucked vibrating string. Feedback control of the mass-spring-damper system is derived theoretically, and then feedback control of the more detailed plucked vibrating string model is tested in pd. In particular, the effects of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control on the harmonic content of the vibrating string are demonstrated.
