sound hole
1
4.9
- noun
- /saʊnd hoʊl/
- Specialized
:
orificio de sonido
- Relocating the sound hole to a new position alongside the fretboard and increasing the width of the body by eliminating the waist can increase the area of the soundboard by about 40 percent.
Examples
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I've always wanted something for working through the sound holes of violins... and that seems to be exactly right.
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But the section just beneath the sound hole of the guitar seems drawn forward (precisely by its relation to that overlaid "hole") where it is reconstituted as the guitar's surface and so made to reside, at least momentarily, on a completely different plane in depth.
Academic text (2002) -
In fact, the sound hole is not required to be in any particular position.
Academic text (2011) -
The soundboard is supported by the sides of the body at the edges and by a transverse brace below the sound hole.
Academic text (2011) -
But that design leads to the presence of the sound hole at the end of the fretboard, which puts limits on the size of the soundboard.
Academic text (2011) -
Four spruce diagonal braces are also present in the compression zone between the bridge and the lower edge of the sound hole.
Academic text (2011) -
From an engineering perspective, the hollow body and sound hole constitute a Helmholtz resonator that is tuned to the lower frequency range of the instrument.
Academic text (2011) -
Like the guitar, the ukulele has tuning pegs, a nut, a neck or fingerboard, a sound hole, and a bridge.
Academic text (1992) -
To support the soundboard, two short, stiff cantilever beams are bonded to the upper neck extension using spacer blocks to allow the beams to pass outside of the sound hole.
Academic text (2011) -
The violin produces a rich sound that resonates through the sound hole on its body.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an opening that lets out or projects sound' is directly and literally built from 'sound' (auditory vibration) + 'hole' (an opening), so the compound denotes a hole related to sound. Although it's a domain-specific term for instruments, the relation is transparent and follows ordinary noun–noun composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Sound hole is the opening in the top of a guitar or violin; the hole lets the instrument's sound move out when the strings vibrate. So, the name means the opening that helps the instrument be louder and send its tone out.