From the probable origins of the violin in the early 16th century there is a long history of experimentation; first, the empirical development of the violin by the makers themselves over more than 200 years to its height of excellence in the late 17th and 18th centuries; then the scientific investigations of its vibrational characteristics which have been done since the early 19th century. These have progressed in spurts of activity associated with technological innovations, particularly the developments of increasingly sensitive measuring equipment. This paper attempts to cover briefly the work of the early mathematicians as well as that of Savart, Helmholtz, and Rayleigh as related to the violin; then considers the research of the 20th century from the pre-electronic investigations of Raman, Miller, and Fuhr, through the spate of activity in violin research from 1930 to 1960 particularly in Germany, the USA, and Japan; and finally a brief overview of the many current developments associated with today’s electronic and optical technologies, along with the concept of the violin as a musical instrument involving research in fields as widely separated as psychoacoustics, musical composition and performance, materials research, vibration analysis, and violin making.

No abstract

No abstract

The 30-year acoustical and musical development of the violin octet has shown that new instruments of the violin family can be constructed with fine tone and playing qualities based on acoustical parameters, free plate tuning, and skilled violin making. The frequency placement in relation to string tuning of the body-length air cavity mode (A1), originally called the ‘‘main wood’’ resonance, has been found to be the prime controlling factor differentiating overall tone quality of the violin from that of the viola, cello, and string bass. The frequency placement of the A0 cavity mode, originally labeled ‘‘Helmholtz’’ or ‘‘main air’’ resonance in relation to string tuning is secondary. For instruments smaller than the cello this A0 cavity mode frequency is controlled more by air volume than by compliance of the top, back, and sides (ribs). For cello and larger instruments the A0 mode frequency is controlled more by compliance of the top, back, and ribs than by air volume. Due to greatly increased compliance of the wooden walls of the basses particularly, it has been found structurally unsafe to make ribs shallow enough to place the A0 cavity mode seven semitones above the lowest note as our original scaling theory projected. The musical development of the violin octet and its potential for new sounds and compositions is discussed along with projections for its future in our musical culture.

FOR THREE OR FOUR centuries string quartets as well as orchestras both large and small, have used violins, violas, cellos and contrabasses of classical design. These wooden instruments were brought to near perfection by violin makers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Only recently, though, has testing equipment been good enough to find out just how they work, and only recently have scientific methods of manufacture been good enough to produce consistently instruments with the qualities one wants to design into them. Now, for the first time, we have eight instruments of the violin family constructed on principles of proper resonance for desired tone quality. They represent the first successful application of a consistent acoustical theory to a whole family of musical instruments.