Basic physics of the violin

About: Basic physics of the violin is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 62 publications have been published within this topic receiving 421 citations.

Electronic simulation of violin resonances

Abstract: A study of the resonances of the violin is described Magnetic pickups attached to the bridge of a violin (sans body) responded to the lateral motion of the strings to produce a signal used to excite a set of electrical resonances The parameters, such as center frequency, bandwidth, and attenuation of the resonances were adjustable and by means of these variables a variety of tones were produced and presented to experienced subjects from the music world Subjective evaluation of the various tones indicates that the preferred violin tone is produced when the resonance frequencies are irregularly spaced with respect to the harmonics of the string vibration and the bandwidths have values which achieve a 12‐dB peak‐to‐valley differential in the resonance response curve A theory of enhancement of tone quality by resonant filters is presented and the construction of an electronic violin is discussed

Measurement of the bowing parameters in violin playing

Abstract: A method is presented that allows the measurement of the bowing parameters in violin playing, without interfering with normal playing conditions The measured parameters include the force between bow and string (“bow pressure”), the position of a contact point between bow and string along the bow (“bow position”), and the distance between the contact point and the bridge (“bow‐bridge distance”) Typical registrations for a sample of bowing patterns will be presented, and the violinist's use of the bowing parameters in controlling the dynamic level will be discussed

Laser vibrometry measurements of vibration and sound fields of a bowed violin

Abstract: Laser vibrometry measurements on a bowed violin are performed. A rotating disc apparatus, acting as a violin bow, is developed. It produces a continuous, long, repeatable, multi-frequency sound fro ...

On eigenmodes of the violin--Electronic holography and admittance measurements

Abstract: The present experimental investigation, using recently assembled advanced electro‐optical equipment for vibration analysis of three violins, was conducted to seek answers to three questions. A general or global question: Which parts of the violin body are vibrating the most? And two questions related to tonal quality: Are basic low‐frequency vibration modes of a musically superior instrument different from those of an inferior violin? Can some special vibration properties be found to support the ‘‘bridge hill?’’ Optically obtained vibration modes were recorded as well as frequency responses in the form of admittance measurements. The investigation showed that the vibration modes found earlier are representative both for the inferior violin and the musically superior instruments, although discrepancies can be seen, both in eigenmode shapes and admittance responses. The experimental results are also in quite good agreement with published results of the modal analysis of a violin. Further, the experimental results indicate that the transversal vibrations are mainly within the plates, but at low frequencies, the vibrations of the edges and of the ribs can be large and in‐plane as well as transversal. At higher frequencies, the transversal vibration amplitudes are small at the plate edges and larger inside. The top plate tends to have the largest amplitude of vibrations. In the 2.5‐kHz range the violin with the most clear ‘‘bridge hill’’ tends to have the largest vibrations of the plates.

A violin shell model: vibrational modes and acoustics.

Abstract: A generic physical model for the vibro-acoustic modes of the violin is described treating the body shell as a shallow, thin-walled, guitar-shaped, box structure with doubly arched top and back plates. comsol finite element, shell structure, software is used to identify and understand the vibrational modes of a simply modeled violin. This identifies the relationship between the freely supported plate modes when coupled together by the ribs and the modes of the assembled body shell. Such coupling results in a relatively small number of eigenmodes or component shell modes, of which a single volume-changing breathing mode is shown to be responsible for almost all the sound radiated in the monopole signature mode regime below ∼1 kHz for the violin, whether directly or by excitation of the Helmholtz f-hole resonance. The computations describe the influence on such modes of material properties, arching, plate thickness, elastic anisotropy, f-holes cut into the top plate, the bass-bar, coupling to internal air modes, the rigid neck-fingerboard assembly, and, most importantly, the soundpost. Because the shell modes are largely determined by the symmetry of the guitar-shaped body, the model is applicable to all instruments of the violin family.