2018
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1800666115
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Acoustic evolution of old Italian violins from Amati to Stradivari

Abstract: SignificanceAmati and Stradivari violins are highly appreciated by musicians and collectors, but the objective understanding of their acoustic qualities is still lacking. By applying speech analysis techniques, we found early Italian violins to emulate the vocal tract resonances of male singers, comparable to basses or baritones. Stradivari pushed these resonance peaks higher to resemble the shorter vocal tract lengths of tenors or altos. Stradivari violins also exhibit vowel qualities that correspond to lower… Show more

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Cited by 40 publications
(24 citation statements)
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“…We noticed that in the analysis of the classic Stradivari violin, the content of certain inorganic elements is not naturally increased; for example, Cu 2+ , Ca 2+ , and Al 3+ , inferred bivalent and trivalent metal ions, may make cellulose and lignin cross-link together. These metal cross-links seem to change the sound quality of the Stradivari violin [27][28][29]. From our results, the divalent copper ion could cross-link the SCC and PEI together and improve the treble-sound quality, and the analytic system developed here might have potential to approximate the metal ion cross-linking effect with lignin/cellulose-based earphones.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 72%
“…We noticed that in the analysis of the classic Stradivari violin, the content of certain inorganic elements is not naturally increased; for example, Cu 2+ , Ca 2+ , and Al 3+ , inferred bivalent and trivalent metal ions, may make cellulose and lignin cross-link together. These metal cross-links seem to change the sound quality of the Stradivari violin [27][28][29]. From our results, the divalent copper ion could cross-link the SCC and PEI together and improve the treble-sound quality, and the analytic system developed here might have potential to approximate the metal ion cross-linking effect with lignin/cellulose-based earphones.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 72%
“…Instead of subjective listening tests, Tai and coworkers have resorted to objective analyses to evaluate Stradivari violins' timbre quality [6] . T h e y r e c o r d e d f i v e to p -n o tc h Stradivari instruments from the Chimei Museum in Taiwan, which has the world's leading collection of antique Italian violins.…”
Section: Wenjie Caimentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The city of Cremona, in fact, was already teaming with numerous luthiers, and the experimentation on string instruments was constantly in full throttle. At the beginning of the 18th century, Cremona was home to the most celebrated luthiers of all times, such as Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri “del Gesù”, and through them this tradition of experimentation gave birth to some of the finest instruments ever made 1 , 2 . Nowadays, violin makers tend to follow a “differential” approach, and apply idiosyncratic variations to violin models of celebrated luthiers of that period.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%