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About WIDesigner

WIDesigner (Woodwind Instrument Designer) is a Java application intended to facilitate the design of woodwind instruments. For an introduction to WIDesigner and how to use it, read Using WIDesigner, or watch the video tutorial WIDesigner Introduction. WIDesigner is available free under the GNU Public License. As a stand-alone Java application, it should run under Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, and more, with a suitable Version 8 JRE installed. (Look here for automatic Java installation, or here to select your preferred download.)

WIDesigner offers several advantages over other tuning calculators:

  • It models notes over the full range of an instrument, including arbitrary cross-fingerings, and notes in higher registers.
  • It supports tapered bores, including multiple tapered sections. For transverse flutes, it models the headspace above the embouchure hole, and the effect of the stopper position.
  • It uses multivariate optimization, varying multiple instrument dimensions to get accurate tuning across the full range of notes.
  • It supports a broad range of wind instruments: fipple flutes, transverse flutes, and single-reed and double-reed instruments.

You can download the WIDesigner zip file from the latest release page, and watch WIDesigner Installation for an explanation of how to install it. WIDesigner Release Package and Sample Files describes what is in the release package.

About the WIDesigner Project

See User Stories for the evolving list of features we hope to implement.

See Acceptance Tests for the evolving list of black box acceptance tests.

See Iteration Plan for a description of the intended iterations.

See Instrument Design Considerations for discussion of instrument design and tuning.

See NAF Design for a description of the process that Edward Kort (Wood Wind) uses to design Native American Style Flutes (NAF).

See Agile Design Principles for links to the Agile principles we will attempt to embrace in our development.

See Development Libraries for the list of libraries used on the development of WWIDesigner.