A brief history of violin research

Abstract

Underpinnings making possible present day violin research have been provided by such well known figures as Gallileo, Mersenne, Hooke, Saveur, Fourier, Chladni, Poisson, Helmholtz, Rayleigh, Dayton Miller, Erwin Meyer, and manufacturers of modern electronic and optical equipment. First known extensive investigations in violin acoustics were done in early 19th century France by Felix Savart. Not until early 20th century did a continuous research flow emerge. Today there is fairly good knowledge of what goes into the violin and what comes out based on extensive studies of: vibrational characteristics of bowed strings; overall spectral content of violin sounds with variations from one instrument to another; vibrations of the violin bridge; Eigenmodes of free plates; geometries of air resonances of the violin cavity; acoustical properties of suitable wood and other materials. We are beginning to understand how free-plate Eigenmodes affect tone quality, but we don't know how they relate to the coupled modes of both wood and air in the bowed instrument. We don't know exactly how the nonlinear bow-string mechanism activates the instrument, nor how vibrations of the bridge relate to those of each violin for desired tone quality; and we don't know how Chladni patterns of the vibrating box affect radiated sounds, nor how they are altered by changes in position and other soundpost variations. Also we have relatively little psychoacoustical information for correlation of subjective musician judgements with physical effects amenable to measurement and analysis. Since the early 1900s research has been done in laboratories around the world and considerable goes forward today on highly technical level which should provide new insights into old problems. Highlights of this will be discussed. An excellent survey of currrent developments is: “The Acoustics of Stringed Musical Instruments,” M. E. McIntyre and J. Woodhouse, Interdiscip. Science Rev. 3, No. 2 (1978).