Ricerca sulla produzione del suono nel Violino

Hourglass-like shape

The violin sound depends on:

• its shape
• the wood it is made from
• the top and back graduation
• the varnish that coats it
• the skill of the luthier

The varnish and especially the wood continue to improve with age, improving old well-made violins built by famous luthiers.

The neck is usually maple with a flamed figure compatible with that of the ribs and back. It carries the fingerboard, typically made of ebony, but often some other wood stained or painted black on cheaper instruments. Ebony is the preferred material because of its hardness, beauty, and superior resistance to wear.

Fingerboards are dressed to a particular transverse curve, and have a small lengthwise concavity and it is more pronounced on the lower strings, especially when meant for gut or synthetic strings.

The bridge is a precisely cut piece of maple that forms the lower anchor point of the vibrating length of the strings and transmits the vibration of the strings to the body of the violin.

The violin is a stringed instrument. Its top curve holds the strings at the proper height from the fingerboard in an arc, allowing each to be sounded separately by the bow.

The sound-post, or soul post, fits precisely inside the instrument between the back and top, at a carefully chosen spot near the treble foot of the bridge, which it helps support. It influences the modes of vibration of the top and the back of the instrument.

The tailpiece anchors the strings to the lower bout of the violin (tailgut), which loops around an ebony button (tailpin) which fits into a tapered hole in the bottom block.

Fine tuners may also be applied to the strings. The fine tuners enable the performer to make small changes in the pitch of a string.

At the scroll end, the strings wind around the pegs in the pegbox. Pegs are tapered and fit into holes in the peg box and they are held in place by the friction of wood on wood.

Strings usually have a colored silk wrapping at both ends, for identification and to have more.

player's hand. When the bow is drawn across a string, the friction between them makes the string vibrate. Traditional materials for the more costly bow sticks include some expensive wood. Some recent bow design innovations use carbon fiber for the stick.

Violin Acoustic: Strings

A vibrating string can produce a motion that is rich in harmonics. Bowing the string allows a range of expressive techniques and also supplies energy continuously and so maintains the harmonic richness. A string on its own makes little sound. The bridge and body of the violin, and other related instruments, serve to transmit some of the vibrational energy of the string into the air as sound.

Violin Acoustic: Bridge

The bridge transfers some of the energy of vibration from the string to the body of the violin. The bridge itself is very effective at transmitting power to the body at frequencies from about 1 to 4 kHz, which is where the ear is most sensitive. This is one of the reasons for the bright timbre of the violin.

The bridge stands on the belly between the f holes.

Violin Acoustic: f Holes

The f holes have two different functions:

• Connect the air inside to the air outside.
• Transform the part of belly between them more flexible than the other.

Violin Acoustic: Soundpost and Bass Bar

The soundpost connect the flexible belly plate of the violin to the much stiffer back plate. This post prevents the belly from collapsing under the vertical component of the tension in the strings, and it also couples the vibrations of the plates. This connection to the stiffer back plate restricts the motion of the treble foot considerably.

Violin Acoustic: Soundpost and Bass Bar

The position of the soundpost is critical to the sound of the instrument. Makers will sometimes move it slightly to change the response of the instrument. Small changes can have a noticeable effect.

Under the belly on the bass foot side of the bridge is the bass bar. It extends beyond the f-holes and thus transmits the motion of the bridge over a large

area of the belly.