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Methods of changing the frequency spacing (delta) between the A1 and B1 modes of the violin
... The movement of the wood, dependent on the humidity, on the other hand, reverses the 'playing-in' effect as the damaged structures are newly formed. This would explain why 'played-in' violins need to be reactivated after a long phase of not being used by increased playing, because in this phase the wood moves again [10]. ...
... Hutchins & Rodgers [10], using vibrations, were able to influence the difference between two selected resonances in violins. These were the cavity resonance A1 (ca. ...
Perceptual enhancement of the sound of musical instruments due to long-term playing has not been found yet in experiments under controlled conditions. Subjects were even unable to make a mere differentiation between much and less played instruments. Constant playing may lead to changes in the frequency curve, but are not found in all studies. This review article presents empirical findings concerning natural and artificial (mechanical) breaking-in. Different explanations for a possible breaking-in effect are discussed.
... A study has shown a decrease in internal damping as a consequence of mechanical excitation in isolated samples of violin wood [4]. Extended mechanical vibration of violins has produced improvements as judged by listeners and players [5,6] as well as measurable changes in the vibro-acoustic properties that are associated with improved tone and playing qualities [5,7]. However, not all studies have shown a measurable mechanical change of violin wood upon extensive mechanical excitation [8], and there is again no simple a priori reason to suggest that these changes will improve the instrument. ...
... A study has shown a decrease in internal damping as a consequence of mechanical excitation in isolated samples of violin wood [4]. Extended mechanical vibration of violins has produced improvements as judged by listeners and players [5,6] as well as measurable changes in the vibro-acoustic properties that are associated with improved tone and playing qualities [5,7]. However, not all studies have shown a measurable mechanical change of violin wood upon extensive mechanical excitation [8], and there is again no simple a priori reason to suggest that these changes will improve the instrument. ...
This is a report on the fi rst three years of a long-term experiment designed to measure how two very similar violins change with time. After being constructed'in parallel,'one is stored under controlled conditions in a museum and is played infrequently, while the other is played regularly by a professional musician. Vibro-acoustic measurements were performed on the instruments and parts thereof during and after construction. Playing and listening tests by a panel of experienced violinists were conducted at completion, after three years with no adjustment, and then after minor adjustments were made to the played violin only. Panels of players and listeners rated the two violins at all stages, and all results are consistent with the null hypothesis: at present there is no signifi cant preference for either instrument over a range of categories.
... Hutchins & Rodgers [10] Allerdings wurden in der Folgezeit auch noch weitere physikalische Messungen an vibrationsentdämpften Instrumenten veröffentlicht. Dabei zeigten sich bei Gitarren Veränderungen im Frequenzkurvenverlauf sowie eine Verlängerung der Ausklingzeiten [24]. ...
Zusammenfassung: Unter kontrollierten experimentellen Bedingungen konnte bisher keine subjektiv empfundene Klangverbesserung von Musikinstrumenten durch Einspielen nachgewiesen werden. Auch die bloße Unterscheidbarkeit zwischen viel und wenig gespielten Instrumenten misslang auf subjektiver Ebene. Spielabhängige Veränderungen in der Frequenzkurve können anscheinend messbar sein, wurden aber nicht in allen Untersuchungen gefunden. In diesem Artikel werden empirische Befunde zu natürlichem und künstlichem (maschinellem) Einspielen sowie verschiedene Erklärungsansätze für einen möglichen Einspieleffekt vorgestellt.
... NOMENCLATURE/ABBREVIATIONS ζ = % critical damping TP = violin top plate BP = violin back plate TPC = violin tailpiece NKFB = violin neck-fingerboard f-hole = s-shaped slots in violin top plate aFRF = acceleration frequency response function STDEV = standard deviation of mean INTRODUCTION Musicians have felt for a very long period that the violin's sound -and feel -generally benefits from vigorous playing, without any real quantitative evidence to back up this claim. Recently however there have been experiments where the violin was subjected to acoustically induced vibrations for extended periods and measurable differences in vibration frequency and response for modes between 400 -600 Hz were seen -changes partially reversible if the instrument was not played subsequently [1]. This interesting and important empirical effect appears to offer an excellent application for modal analysis techniques to determine the frequency, damping, and mode shape and amplitude changes associated with vigorous vibrations of a violin. ...
... They have continually hypothesized sets of quality parameters containing subjectivity, including tonal qualities, playability and suitability to repertoire [4]. They would claim that major properties are prescribed by setting of the A1-B1 modes [5] [6], the use of Bi-Tri octave tuning of free plates [7][8] and shaping of the B/H hill in the frequency response [9] [10]. Further refinement in setting up by tuning fingerboard, tailpiece and bridge resonances also help to define the sound a violin is capable of making [11]. ...
Professional players project personality into the generic sound of a violin. Appositely, outstanding violins have measurable properties, some described subjectively, that differentiate violins apart independent of player. The relative contributions that skill of the player and quality of instrument make to outstanding performances is widely debated. However, an outstanding performance invariably involves both a top player and instrument. This paper reports on testing the hypothesis that high quality violins as a cohort have distinctive sounds that differentiate instruments apart and help define their contribution to performance. Comparative studies to test the hypothesis require sameness in player and in work performed whilst changing the instrument and also a need for descriptors used to be relevant, meaningful and comprehensive. A set of recordings has been used in semantic differential tests to discern between sound properties of violins. The recordings were made on instruments that span the making years of both A Stradivari and G Guarneri Del Gesu and already judged very successful samples of the makers' crafts. Two groups of listeners were used, tertiary level music students and professionals, all players of classical instruments. Of the twelve violin samples used, students had significant difficulty in identifying them apart. Professionals were able to hear more distinctively than students, sometimes to a significant extent. A cluster analysis was conducted on the listening results for both groups. Neither the professionals nor students gave answers that clearly distinguished violins made by A Stradivari from those made by G Guarneri Del Gesu in the limited sample used. The generic sound of each violin was also measured by looking at the overtone peaks in the playing of a D6 harmonic. A cluster analysis conducted on their magnitude ratios up to the 10 th harmonic was surprisingly similar to that obtained from the student results but less similar to the professional clustering. This may shed light on what it is that professional players hear that is different from the so-called generic violin sound that students seem to be hearing. Correlation checks on violins and descriptors used showed that most but not all the violins were differentiated apart by use of descriptors and some redundancy existed between descriptors.
In a musicians view “good” or “bad”, “old” or “new” descriptions of violins can be related to their perceived tone quality and their acoustic properties. For more than two centuries the Stradivari and other Cremonese violins fascinated the imagination of musicians, scientists and craftsmen. Today, numerous recordings exist allowing subjective and objective appreciation of the remarkable tonal quality of Old Italian violins. The quality of a “good” or “bad” violin is related to its radiation efficiency. Violin qualities have been described theoretically by mechanical characteristics and it was demonstrated that normal modes of vibration are determined by the corpus (top, ribs and back) the substructural elements (neck-fingerboard, bridge, strings and tailpiece) and the cavity with air. The signature of all violins is characterized by five important resonances: A0 - air mode or Helmholz resonance at about 280 Hz; A1 is at 470-490 Hz corresponding to the first standing wave in the length of the box with a node at the f- holes; CBR – the lowest “main resonance” at 380 – 440 Hz ; B1 and B2, two twin modes are at 450-480 Hz and 530-570 Hz. Dünnwald (1991) studied 700 violin spectra and concluded that Old Italian violins can be statistically differentiated from Modern violins. Since 1985 modal analysis greatly contributed to the development of violin dynamics showing that in all violins good or bad, old or new the five modes can be detected. Based on modal analysis “perfect tonal copies” of Old Italian violins can be reproduced in new violins. The parameters which characterize in detail the sound of the violin are the mode shape, the frequency, the total damping and the acoustic radiation efficiency.
The bridge, the soundpost and the bass bar of the violin and of all instruments from the violin family have complementary acoustical and mechanical functions for transmitting strings' vibration to the body of the instruments. The chief function of a violin’s bridge is to transform the motion of the vibrating string into periodic driving forces which are applied by the feet to the top plate of the violin. The bridge is held in place by friction. The bridge adjusts the impedance characteristics of the strings to the instrument body, giving a tonal colour to each instrument. The bridge is characterised by the following parameters: shape, thickness, mass and, of course, the physical characteristics of its material. Bridge geometry and wood species have an important influence on the sound of the instrument. The bridge is made exclusively in field maple and has a characteristic shape and size for each member of the violin family. The bridge is set on the top of the violin, between the ff- holes. One of the bridge feet is over the bass bar and the other one is near the soundpost. The soundpost and the bass bar are made in resonance spruce. Two laboratory techniques can be used to visualise stress distribution into the bridge and the effect of impulses transferred from the bridge to the violin corpus, photoelastic and holographic interferometry. Using modal analysis in the range 0-2 kHz, it was possible to show the mechanical and acoustical consequences of removal of the soundpost. By adjusting the position of the bridge and of the soundpost, a skilled violin maker can greatly improve the playability of the violin.
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