  We present a class of spline finite element methods for time-domain wave
propagation which are particularly amenable to explicit time-stepping. The
proposed methods utilize a discontinuous Galerkin discretization to enforce
continuity of the solution field across geometric patches in a multi-patch
setting, which yields a mass matrix with convenient block diagonal structure.
Over each patch, we show how to accurately and efficiently invert mass matrices
in the presence of curved geometries by using a weight-adjusted approximation
of the mass matrix inverse. This approximation restores a tensor product
structure while retaining provable high order accuracy and semi-discrete energy
stability. We also estimate the maximum stable timestep for spline-based finite
elements and show that the use of spline spaces result in less stringent CFL
restrictions than equivalent piecewise continuous or discontinuous finite
element spaces. Finally, we explore the use of optimal knot vectors based on L2
n-widths. We show how the use of optimal knot vectors can improve both
approximation properties and the maximum stable timestep, and present a simple
heuristic method for approximating optimal knot positions. Numerical
experiments confirm the accuracy and stability of the proposed methods.
