Behind the violin
To music lovers and professionals alike, the violin is one of the most important musical instruments in history, with a fundamental role as a solo and orchestral instrument and an inspirational and romantic sound.
How the violin originated
The history of the violin can be traced back as far as the 9th century. Violin playing might be best known in European countries because of world famous violinists like Nigel Kennedy, Jascha Heifetz and Yehudi Menuhin, but the violin is believed to have originated in Asia. The current form of the violin, however, evolved more than 500 years ago from several musical instruments. These precursors include rudimentary instruments called the Rebab, Rebec, and Ravanastron, played in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and India.
How the violin works
A traditional acoustic violin is made almost entirely of wood. It is said to be shaped like a woman's body by design (!) and has a bridge that is placed between the two f-holes. Four strings, connected to a tail piece, are positioned on the bridge, extended across the fingerboard, and tied into four pegs at the opposite end. These strings can be metal, gut or a hybrid called synthetic core. Also, two f-holes are carved out from the body of the violin and at the end of the fingerboard, a scroll protrudes from the pegbox. The major parts of the violin - the body, bridge, strings and bow - each contribute to the violin's distinct sound.
Major components of a violin
Spruce, maple, ebony and rosewood: the four types of wood that make up the body of a violin. Flexible, high quality wood helps shape the violin and projects the highest quality of sound. Woods are aged or air-dried in order to have the optimum amount of moisture equilibrium with the environment - so the violin doe that crack during shaping or playing! The wood is stored in a ventilated place protected from the weather for as long as two decades. The wood has to be light so melifluous sounds can be produced by decent resonant vibrations, but strong enough to withstand the concentrated pressure exerted by its four strings on the bridge, which can be as high as 250 Newtons or 17 lbs.
After it has been selected, the wood is carved into two matching plates, the upper and lower bodies. So-called "Chladni patterns" in the wood are tested by using a loudspeaker to vibrate the bodies and observing the patterns formed by some black sand sprinkled onto the plates - this can indicate whether the wood must be shaped or thinned. The final pattern must be very exact, so a skilled craftsman must make these alterations carefully.
The bridge
One of the smallest elements of the violin, but probably the most important. The bridge holds the strings and transfers vibrations from the strings to the belly, which then transmits those vibrations to the body through the soundpost and the bass bar. The bass bar and soundpost are connected to the bridge so the whole instrument vibrates. This causes waves in the air inside the violin, changing the vibration of the strings into sound and emitting these sounds through the F holes... and the beautiful sound of the violin is born! Tellingly, the bridge transmits power to the body at frequencies from about one to four kHz, the range at which the ear is most sensitive.
The right bow - and the right strings
A florist selects the freshest and most beautiful flower varieties; an artist chooses high-quality brushes; and the violinist chooses the best and most suitable strings for his instrument. Low-quality strings can produce a squeak at exactly the wrong moment!
The violin has four strings - the top string, E, the highest note, is usually made of metal because this has the highest tension and is capable of producing the highest frequencies. The lowest string, the G, is usually made of gut core string that has far less tension than metal and produces low frequencies. The bow is traditionally strung with horse hair, because of its electrostatic qualities, attracting rosin that helps stick the bow to the strings. The more the bow stick sto the strings, the richer sound it will produce! The friction between bow hair and strings causes them to vibrate.
The string itself vibrates in a V shape - an observation first made by Hermann von Helmholtz two centuries ago, and since then violinists have tried to achieve the "Helmholtz Motion," where "smooth playability and good tone" are accomplished.
