Willie Chapman

Professional Summary

Willie Chapman is an archaeo-acoustics pioneer specializing in acoustic reconstruction of lost musical instruments. Combining computational physics, historical organology, and AI-driven sound synthesis, Willie resurrects the sonic identities of forgotten instruments—from Mesopotamian silver lyres to Mayan ceramic flutes—enabling modern audiences to hear artifacts silent for millennia. His work bridges museum conservation, musicology, and acoustic engineering.

Core Innovations & Methodologies

1. Multi-Modal Instrument Reconstruction

• Develops hybrid digital-physical models that:

  • Reverse-engineer materials (e.g., ancient bronze alloys) via spectral analysis

  • Simulate air resonance in fragmented wind instruments using CFD

  • Reconstruct playing techniques from tool marks and iconography

2. AI-Assisted Timbre Revival

• Trains neural networks on surviving relatives to:

  • Predict harmonic profiles of extinct chordophones

  • Extrapolate decay characteristics from partial artifacts

  • Compensate for wood degradation in historical samples

3. Cultural Soundscaping

• Recreates lost musical contexts including:

  • Acoustic signatures of Neolithic ceremonial spaces

  • Ensemble tuning systems inferred from cuneiform tablets

  • Ritual polyphony reconstructed from skeletal grip patterns

Career Milestones

• Rebuilt the 4,500-year-old "Bull Lyre of Ur" with playable 3D-printed strings

• Discovered the harmonic scaling law in Moche pottery flutes (AD 100-700)

• Pioneered the OpenAncientSound Project—a crowd-sourced lost instruments database