A multi-chamber model for the combustion instabilities manifested in a gas turbine model combustor was developed. The proposed model was used to explain the dependencies of instability frequency on burner geometry and other flow parameters, some of which could not be reconciled with previous models. The new model was built upon the Helmholtz analysis of two connected resonators. The instability frequency as well as the complex pressure ratio between two chambers were predicted by solving ordinary differential equations. To assess the assumptions and predictions of the proposed model, the spectra and magnitude of the oscillations of pressure, heat release rate, and velocity were measured for four different operating conditions: rich (R1), lean (L1), stoichiometric (S1), and reduced flow rate (R2) with a kilohertz laser diagnostic system. These measurements reconfirmed that the instability is of Helmholtz type. A global equivalence ratio that is consistently greater than unity was identified to be an enabling factor for combustion instability. This is also in agreement with the predictions made by the proposed model. Furthermore, the model was shown to be able to predict the right trend of instability frequency when multiple parameters were changed. It is concluded that the current model is an improvement over previous models, because the acoustic coupling between different chambers of the burner was considered. (C) 2016 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.