1964 n.2 casj

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ

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Novemb er

1,196*+

N E W S L E T T E R N0.

2

THE C A T G U T

A C O U S T I C A L S O C I E T Y

/

S i n c e .

the

publication"

of Newsletter No.

l,

May

1,1964,

there has

not,

unfortunately,

been a

large"

scale

meeting

devoted

to

technical matters--

such

as

the one

r e p o r t e d

at

that

time.

However,

there

was an

exciting general

meeting

of

the S ociety,held

May

24,

1964

at

the home

of

M r.

and

Mrs

.

J . K e ll um

S mith

in New

York

C i ty , and this

newsletter

w i l l

begin

with

minutes of that

meeting.

Attending

were

nearly

fifty

members

and

friends

as

follows:

Mr

. and Mrs .Lawrence

Apgar

Dr.

Virginia

Apgar

Dr.Alice

T-Eaker

Mr.Armand Bartos

Mr

.and - M r s .Donald Blatter

M r.

Henry

Brant

Dr

.

William

C ox

Mr.and Mrs .Donald

F letcher

Dr.

Mary

white

Hinckley

""

Mr.

S terling Hunkins

Mr

.

and

Mrs

.

Morton

A

.

Hutchins'

M r. William A.

Hut

chins

Miss

Caroline-

Hutchins

Mr.

and

Mrs. J u liu s Levine

Mr.

and

Mrs

.William K r o l l

Mrs.Lila Kallman

M r.

and

Mrs. Otto

Luening

Mrs

.

Sonya

Monos

off

Mr

.

Ronald . Naspo

M r.

Carl

P ancaldo

Mr

.P eter

Pruyn

Miss

P a ts y Rogers

Mr. and

Mrs.

P eter Rosenfeld

Mr.

J o hn

Schelleng

'Mr.

Sanford Schwartz

Mr.

and

Mrs

.William S c o tt

Mr .and Mrs

.

J - .K e ll um S mi th

Miss

A l l i s o n

S mith

Mr .Timmy

S mith

Dr.Asher

Treat

Mr. and

Mrs.

Charles

Dodsley

Walker

M r.

and

Mrs.

Sam

Zaslovsky

M r.

and

Mrs

.Lcuis Zerbe

Miss Louise F e n n

Mr.

and

Mrs

.P eter Heller

M I N U T E S OF THE M E E T I N G —

May 24,1964,

IJ I

E a s t 66th

S treet,

New

York C i ty

..-diness

meeting

called

to

order by

J ohn

C

.Schelleng,

vice-president,

at

8:45

PM.

Since

the

meeting

of

the T E C H N I C A L G R O U P l a s t

May, we

r e g i ' e t

exceedingly

to

r e p o r t

the death of

four

members of the

C . A . S .

Frederick A.Saunders

president

—

J u n e, l 96 s

J ean Da utrich

Sept-.

,1963

Rembert Wurlitzer

0ct.,1963

Louise

R o o d

Feb.,

1964

The

Secretary

mentioned

a few

excerpts

from her f u l l report

which was

published

in

Newsletter N o . l .

»

-""-

The

Treasurer's

report

is summarized as

follows:

Income

from

s e v e n contributors

$>105.00

■E xpenditures :

C ertifica tes

18,80

S ta t io n e r y ,

etc.

11.00

13.75

ostage

Reproduction c o s t s

55.00

Lettering

15.00

$118.513

£

46.45alance

5-24-64

(

ed:

Since

then,

$100.00

has been received from

eight

contributors,

and an

expenditure

of $26.35 made

for

stationery. Balance

as

of

9-20-64

is

$

120.10)

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


P resident,

J ohn C .

Schelleng

Vice-president,

Robert

K.

F r yx ell

Secretary,

Carleen

M. Hutchins

Treasurer-,-

Virginia

Apgar

Motion

carried

to

elect

the

officers

for

a

two

year

period.

2?&i^

*

<***« t)

Saunders

the

first

honorary

m e m b e r

of

Motion

carried

to

elect

the

.following

to

membership:

r

'

Mildred

Alleri,physicist,.

Mount

Holyoke

College,

South

Hadley

toss

'

U L ^r

o^

m

*t

V

'

E a S t

«th

S t ,

New

Yorfcity'William

Bishop,

guitar

maker and p l a y e r .

262

Nor+hf-^M

a„/

tt ±

Edith

Corliss,physici

S

t,

295 5

Albeniri'

"

W eS t

° ^

n

'

'"

~

No

other

new

business.

B u s i n e s s

meeting

adjourned.

SSSrSSo^tSSn^

T i c S l t ^

f

a

I°^

famlly:

toeble

vioXin/

soprano

'

C o n t r a b a s s

violin

aeirVvel ni^

h"

0

*

V

f°

lin

'

Baritone

v

*olin,

Bass

violin

0

place

H U t^

'

S ^S r?

I °^

r—S-

Sol

nH S i ^

°

i ol i n ,

Konaxd

liaspo,Contrabass

violin.

Henry

Brant

conducted

I j e v l n e

'

B a s s

Soprano

vocalist— Miss

Louise

Fenn

conaucned.

me

general

consensus

of

the

audience

was that

we

had

s ome excitw

,nn

h

*

ew

sounds;

that

the

new

instruments

are

measuring

f°

f* h

S

E n d

lntel>

esting

their

full p o t e n t i a l

could

notle

realized

, ?

S^

f?

1

*

cx

P

ecte

*ions

,

but

that

p r a c t i c e

on

them

for

a

period

1

? t

musicians

really

had

a

chance

to

them.

T h e r e

was a

generll

tir

of

IkT+'T

"T ^

"

*°

be

finished

on

of

for

a

long

time

to^eafLch soLds

**'

■°*

S e V S r a X

Sald

that

ted

*«>

""ing

tfE S tS S

iT S d?

P r

°=

e edi -

**~

P ruyn

too*

photographs;

a

p r i n t

- c a s l "

? IZ7J ? l £^

nd

K e l l

-

«*

and

their

fakl

y

rade

,

the

r

Respectfully

submitted,

C a r l e e n M.

Hutchins,

Secretary.

to

SS.S

Sa^

y0U

f

ed

"

0r

*"

« » «

*°

-"end).

M iss J fctsy

inftru nts

S ng

S o d

00

"

5056^

P

°

int

°

f Vle

-

W

'

the

nsw

R i ng e d

opportunity

for

homogeneous

tone

amli4

f

an

*

LDO

»

t

those

present

to

heaf?he

instrL s ^

C

°

n

H°

e rt

6n

°

hl

"

o

arrangements

of

a

H a y d n

"Barvton" T - i o I

5

,

*

indS

of

rausic;

to addition

P i e c e

was

written for

the

occ sl n

b y

6ral

f

h

°

rt

pieces

a

long

work

of

his

own

?or

soprano

voice and

ft

f

» <

hf

f

B

'*^

HenlV

Braßt

oonducted

a short

ior

soprano

voice

and

all

eight

instruments.

The

results

fulfilled

the

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


(;>>

J iO P C i- .

and

expectations

of

conoo- c

«

1/

o-

.

r

vrpLj:

?

? A :

.

:XL/

-

a

"

ls

clear

fro*

this

diagra

/.'h; —

—^

9

-

--

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.:..

--

i*

'"

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"i

J l_

r~

—

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66

'".

:

~

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:

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P i c c o l o

soprano

Ezzo

Alto

T

eno~

C

g °' |? ' ^

ail

are

transposing

in s tr u c t

soot

striking,

developments

of

th»

°w

1° ?,

qUailty

this

ra"e

is

„

low

on

any

single

strinc

is

thO.

-amily

of

violins.

m«

fti ii k

S one

0:f

th

e

instrument'

or

o ^

instru~ n

that

°

f

the

**»*

Tl'^

<*

tim

Thus,

the o o t d m » -

J

J

instruments,

and

this

is

tru=> «<■

*..

"

whstiler

on

the

sane

or

less

loud1

han

oS/w

"

391

*

W0W

*

»c £ °

«»mttlo. as

well.

--,

each

s t of

J S - S T tS t f?

;- f

? -

iS L "

or

soi

°

"-

- t:

h rnd

e

it°s

s

i

zabir

«* s r

tional

instruments-

„i

"

ts xt -

T h u s

on e

of

-he

*

"°

c

easily

'

is

retained-

but

fr+f

2

"*

diffar

«ces

of

cha "a-° w

-f

of

the

conven

---the

wvi

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rAVo

iitT

c

tl

6

,e

one

of

te

=

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on

difi

'

e r s n t

"*££?:.

ocen

eliminated,

toe

p^blf

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iWo

«

a

*

brings

in

t t

of

voL T "

"

31

*»*««*

vioii'n

v

p o s s i b l e

e x c e p t i o n

h»r*

-~

*i.

,

volume

ana

fullness-

v«

;-

as s

>

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—

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. s ors.

rs «

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*or

the

composer

-"-he

n

conventional

viol^

ViL

,9

y

leM

**«

0

^

>

la ^

simultaneously

a o X l

n,

viola,

cello,

and

b a s s .

~

s

"customed

to

the

'

wftoErlor

T ***"

a

single

concert

,

t

--,

-,

c o m p o s i t e

f

or

tin as*«

Ws hays

"

s c ch- d

th-°

instr

s

-ere

mjf'

f

ll

that

h as

been

hea^

o

609

,.

til=

s ur ce

in

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of

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and

for

arrangements^

tlf V oT "

1

*

3

cc*"~-»nt

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-lused

;;

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s p e e d s

££ *,

88ar

?

hl

«

s e

*

a

*

the

t oto-n al

T ."

reco rd G

a

good

5

in,

would

, J fl

a

f

done

in

E uc

awyas

to

"

-,f

"

? ,

1

'

9\

5

'

and

7 -5 inches

per

S.s a^

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l

d S

3t

the

W* »

of

"-^

:

played

back

at

sneed

a?

Contra

boss).

Thore

-»*

smaxler

instruments,

managed

to

,?f

vors

«

s

high

pitch

playiO.;

t*

"«*""""«

Problems

about

the

.

guess

reasonably

w»1l

"

y

'"'

'-"■"

musician

was

,m

i-^

h*

,

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


a

4

The

activities

of

ranbf*»«s

"

technical

matters,^

£"££

~

tll t fU

"*° *

rom

K w . & M i n O c r e .

I

thank

the

c'a?S

fo-

,'°M-,t

-t

k"

*°

°

U r

Secretary

you

a ll

must

kn ow

that

I

need

no

thanks

fo-

do' u l

T

orary

Kera

'

Der

-"-

But

see

that

everything

that

Andy

(D-.S->u-,66° ,

°. t

I

tei

*°

do

that

*

to

anyone

who

could

use

it

to

carry

t

wL ?

"T"

shoul

«

be

"»**

available to

especially

glad

to kn ow

that

J ohn

S ch Uen-

t

::ad

.

sxarte

1-

A l s o

of

course

I'm

Andys

a p p a r a t u s .

How

happy

that

h e can

T

o

\t

ooa

ff

ln

S

on

damping

measurements

with

practical

experimenting

"

gracefully

combine

mathematics

and

you

rS

r

L °

f

fin

r

e

a l S V L o l d

^

-"

with us.

P erhaps

many

of

from

.the

work'

of

dT ^ ^ ****

*g*

6

0U

fA°f

and

"

s

-oLtion"

deal

of

other

publicity

as

well

lar Lv

«^v,

l I'

t

]

'

There

h aS

be6n

a

B

reat

Hutchins:

'

lar

S

el

y

a

tribute

to the

accomplishments

of

C a r l e e n

(1)

Television h a l f

hour

done

b y

r-,n*-

"

„

„

"The

S c i e n c e

of

Music"

featuring

*Z

£

alli

°

r n l a

A c a d e m y

of

Sciences,

called

L.and I . g e r b e

and

B^sno

J ur

S ?

f?"

U y

°

f

instruments;

played

probably

this

autumn.

J u

--

e

&

in.xne

W e s t ,

with

release

in

tne

E a s t

(2)

A

release

by

the

United

S tates

I-fo-nation n

*

Women

of

Achievement,Ko.2t-

C a r l e e n

-utch-s

r v^

1964

titled

(5

J

E a r li e -

mv^

-

o

i'

.._

,

.

~

&lxc

-

(

~

-utc^s

;

L i u . i x e r

ana

Resear ch

S cientist

*r±ie-

p

releases

which

escaped

the l a s t

newsletter.

dentist

x-.

- ^

J une

15 1902

New

York

Times, 0ct.

20,1963

Als

<i)°f

K S H f

H

h

:S

2-552

sohedule

-

aa

*

-—

-

^

Acoustical

Society

of America

qi

-,

QI

~

'

.

(*,\

n*i,*~. 4

"

.

A*.'t-rj.ca,

musical

S y m p o s i u m

lp;

Columoia

University,

Music D e t.

(4

J

Montclair

S tate

College

2

diversity

of

Toronto,

Royal

College

of Music

'

7

S f

B l^

°

f

f

S t e r n

°

ntario^

Col^

of Music

UJ

Canadian

Association

of

P hysicists

-S

Se

;ic:mprL

hne

e

n T : / o

r

rue4-r

e

4--

"**

"*

the

Med

S

e

that

without

t :rou

s

h this

kind

of

plT lo ilyt - T Z l^ ^

a T O r a b l e

response.

It is

hopefully

w i l l

j o i n

with usll

farmg

1

our

S S l %

iato

°

U r

r&akS

'

Wh

°

ere

to

r e q u e s t

nominations

for

n ew

members

Please

Xll'tltl

*

T

ap

P

ro

P

r i a t

«

any

of

your

officers).

P l ea s e

. e e l

i r e e to

make

suggestions

to

already

a

°

"

"*

S i c a l

"complishments

which

are

infrequent,

that

most of us

'are

not

n

t

I T T

"*

Varled

'

and our

stings

so

attempt

to fill

that

void

We

hobe

thu*

Z

Zi

r

*0

ainder

°

f

this

newsletter

w i l l

a forum

for

reporting

technical

-^0

-

sera

precedent,

by

making

this

newsletter

-r.a

technical;,

propound

projects

re636

-:0

36f.

o

"-

" 6

10n

and

.

oriticism(both

musical

:=

your

newsletter,

and

we

hone

i6n'-"o' r~4

°0.

U

"

J

s£sgg£S-

This,

then,

w i l l

;or

luture

issues.

This

will

L

st-iX, ."

"

"

,

i

""

zo

volunteer contributions

o-eard

of

the

nlan:

■„

■

'

formal,

and

as

Arthur

B e n a d e

said

wh en he

-"ithout

committing

anyone

to

the

ri rfn- -W T ^

ri

'

Ul

3'

ay

t0

kaep

P

e

°P

la

informed

of

iSth

century

science

P U O I l

°

P rintS

'

and

has

a

ve^

Plea sa nt

0

without

further

ado,

here

are

contributions

from

several

members.

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


5

N O T E S

ON

HAIE

T E S T I N G

AND

V A R I A B L E S

...

C a r l e e n

Hutchins

Tuning

thy

plates

a c c o r d i n g

to

ou** t-.n

+"..

+-

~

e s u l t ,

both

i„

my

own work

Ind

?hatt

S v - r f

riTrn""

3

"/'

0

SiVe

B0

"

t

voriv

in

making

violins

and

vic>.~

--

w^

6

.

6

Ca uoni

1G

"sing

it

to

check

can

finish them.

J o hn

Abbott

of

}Wo~£*\

(£<?-££*

°j

in

f.

tvu,

"

cnts

as

fast.

as

viola, for

which

I

tested

r>U H ,t t ^ ?

a

*? *

b

bc

Tertis

mode

lanini

does

over

the

factory

fiddle."

Ver-n

0^? ,,. ""

-°

Vi

°

U

as

v? the

viola

in the

white

yesterday

and it

s^

-0

*

'

' ?

,'

f

"

S aS

S a y i

:

X

■

the violas

I

have

made

bafc-e

T

kLv

?t

6,

v

"" ^

B*—8

*—

l

gain

as

much

ton

co mpar es

very,

well

with

9i

G ^ U e r

I o 05000^01°

r

***

tive

but

the

viola

-

.

.

v.-..iH~.c.

x,±o

v.,000.00)

tnat

oelongs

to

the

s c h o o l

he

n

thinning

the

wood

of a

ton

or a

V—'.

■„.,.,

,

meker-s,

approximate

thickr.esLs

for

a

-£n

XT n

Cl

°

S e

f

a

d

oloser

to

the

vio

the ta p

tone

test

that

net

on3v

do -

-3

-^

instrument,

lam

finding by

m e a n

also

when

the

wood is

thtrlned

too^

r

uS-

*£T?

°?

ca

°

h

?

late

bcooae

"«

active

aecrecse.

This

means

that th-

P T \ 6

i6''-h66"ji

0

*

pJ

"

a

°tivity

begins

to

maker's

ears,

can

acti-11-60:

'':

6'

°V

TOoa

'

rportent

to the

good

violin

top

or

back

plate

is

carved to

**?

°«cili°==°P e

to

roach

its

maximum

as

wo o d

ouality.

o p , i „ u n

dimensions

for

its p a r t i c u l a r

contours

and

to

Pro duce

90 _ — -fi^

a

°les

„

the

way

the

wood

of

the

plates

can be

carv

P roving

J us t

„:

at

do V r^ L

instruments.

Definitive

tests

„

or

"1

,

'"**

'

U e

'°

B B

yeart:

ahead

'

but

here are

indications

to

date:

between

tlor rT T ^ " T

haV

6

the

ia

resonance

of

the

back

pla

F or

S ' . - A L L

v^gOo

,,.?■

a O O V e

tho

strongest

r e s o n a n c e of

the

top

nlat-

vioias^ 'ss

B^

;°w"k

r

to

R r\r

eD

:

to

"

cc

°-

uite

»«■**£:

w

X

semitone

below

that of

th°

ton

strongest

peak

of

the

back

about a

- u f "

—

I~

aa

r

to

be

giving

E

that

the

best

ar ngeU t

%4£d

to ^

f C ? *

»".

****

°

f

the

ass,

I found

a

semitone

below

that of

to

top.

in

& . "£?' "J ?

f

esonance

°

f

the back plate

than

the

ton

with

fine

results

°

aS 3

'

thS

ba

°"

is

a

semitone

higher

quality.

To

achieve a

so-called

"br -n

*"

7

?

,

£

lflarkea

c o ntl s t

in tone

the

thickest

area

is

about

the

Le

of a fifty

c«nt°^

i

8

lraduated

S

°

that

P late,

with

the

wo o d

thinner

out

vl-t

*

lty

?

9nt

Pxecs

ln

xhe

ce

>

:act

c te r

of

the

edges.

(island

contour

t

por

a%--T

ln a ll

dil

ions to

the

between

the

C

bouts is

k t

thick

?av

IC *,

*°

J "*

l^

c whole

center of

the

ba

'Then

j u s t

b o - v

°

ay

A

.

iaj

s to

°

nini

spending

on

wo o d

duality,

going

doirn to

2.

5

or

? "^

G n

/

ru

-

ot

sol

°

*o

35

inn

and

entire

area

C

f

tV

Xl-r^

~-X

v l.^

J

T

J

°

x

.

°

n

°

upper

and

O T S 1

*

°outs.

T h u s the

is

quite

thick,

(three r rtyo r'

'

"°'

Whtt

°

b e

t

Ween

the

C

b

°

UtS

~

ba

-

«

-

—

to a

given

(lj

i-a

in

resonance

cf

t'--

bor-v

1U

+,

-,

(2)

Main

resonance

of

th 6

b-. °3

P

J ±

r

"

a

*°

ne

aad

a

semitone

Mgher

than

the

(3)

The

island

contou-

6-96666?

~.:*t

0

"

f

°

n

°

a

"

d a

lto il o lower

than

the

(4)

*.

-roe

area^h^

T £ %

to^

throug \hTc^^of

f

Dr°v,rv

T '°

°

n tone

Mty

ara

baia^

P a n n e d

of

thfir

W W B I tJ r

'

Wh

°

toS

°"

0 1

'

ed tht U S e

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


m

(6)

0

""" *"

TH E

E C T

0?

S H E A R

LoO

'ii,uu.,;

l

f3

A h O U T

EB-;

VXOi.IfJ

rv.

„.„.

.

u

-'

J ohn

C . Schelleng

Througu

courtesy

or

our

fpJ J

ow

■

,v»r

m~

,

on

a loan

,asi>6

,-

j iS j

t

o6et

.- "v^var u^

*

°'

ne

°

f

*«*

s

~rs

Chnrl.s,

has

put

me

back

i

to

the

laboratory

1~£"

""

"""***«»

and

my

son

simple-minded

tests on

wood

and

lea ninf

a-ain

al

first*TT<.?

■**"*

yearS

'

d

°

ia

ature.

Briefly,

lan

measuring

the

"internal

rtll

J "?

hand

the

°

raariness

of

Hot

co.ifficier.ts,

and

also

the

elastic

Moduli

Z

Z

f r i C Z X O a

as

e x p r e s s e d

by

damping

have

entered into

existing

to

*

a

«Z

U . T * *

">??**

"°

d

Whi

=

h

e

sources of

supply.

A

memorandum

"Relation

nS

tn

'

f"

°

r

vhlch

indicate

n ew

S tringed

Instruments"

has

been

written

a f»v

*"*

°

ther

FaotOrs

to

Resonance

really

interested.

v.i.ten,

a lew

c o p i e s

on

which are

available

to

anyo

The

g e n e r a l

conclusion as to

■ ' -

-.

>■< ■=■

+

-

■

hardly

important

in stringed

it^ /

1

" ?*i"

that

while

certainly

present,

i

Sitta.

spruce,

tne

rise

in9lamoin6.6tiff

"

.. 3

S

?

e C l e S

V

h V;J jich

J

v

'

z

hear

lowers

the

■-■■

e - c - O "

6

eO

- s n c y

could

not be

attributed

to

shear

in

the««^^

'

"""'

3

dSSree

* ^

the

through

the

».;",

o.f 6he

'

violin:

"°

co ns is "t

increas e i n

damping

as

frequenc

l ^ t T c t- t T l X ^

i g n i f i c a n t

to

our

fraternity

relates

to

the

grair.wise

strip.;.

-;"

e3e

al/Z-'llll .:^

^

of

?

ast

tests has

been

with

of

wood

losses,

cr. os r.- ain

»-*~>-Ul

6

"

L

'°

sserrs

lik

ely

that

from

the

vi-unoint

losses

may

exceed

tho s eti ^a^

«

-f-

■

*

entatively

it

see.s

that

cro"

the.total

losses in

the

? "*

*"*>

'

th

j.-

unose

m

the

t o p .

During

zae

year

~

have

«tT*jV«-«

consists

primarily

of

sS

tao

rvV?

ld^°

n

**

a

h

0f tba

-°"

a

Th

of

arch is

to

be

sought.

The

cw^ K f *"

Wherein

the

proper

measu

otner

may

be

expected

to be

acoustically

a6^o--l

4 f "*"*? '

on e

scaled

f"m

the

area

.-.eight

to

plate

thickness

-is

the

sa^f

both

.

relative

arah

ratio

tne

ratio:

height

of arch

toler-th

o*-

:

w - f OO

°

oti

}\

lalS xs

in

contradistinction

t

ior

similar

timbre, on e

would

e»aot"a"^«o"vio^^?

1B

?

eneral

is "°t

the

same.

T

m

arch,

20%

in

arch

height

for

107

inert

°lr

7

V

lUlre

an

ac

centuated

increas

e x p e c t e d

for

thickness

of

plate

lncrs

"

e

0I

instrument

length,

since

this

is to

be

v.

_

v

Louis

C o n d a x

or

sortie

ten

y'^

ov

*s

~

h v^

+■■ »-*

a

a

soundpost

in

s3c3

a

6,3y

6

t

v

°

°l

by

alterin

*

the

reducing

its

vertical

str.-v.-ti-.

,

"tO."

W *

'

S

length

without

in

any

wav

a

multiple

function,

and

\V°

d

°

Ubt

that

the

soundpost

Ls

improves

the

general

receons.

o

9n

vie"

i

3

-

ln

J

e S t l

S ation is

that

the

n ew

p o s t

ccr.side.-.oiy tn,

Olf

.'i,;o,.;v

6.

cr

■■

"z:..,

f

adai

tion,

it also

removes,

or

minimize

...„.

v

,

,

>;i-....-o.v

;.;i

:

■ 1

-in

: . - , .

*

.

"

c^

rnxniniz

ecale

which a.-.o-

ii/.w-or-Zv-Fo-"./""

'*

"

00W:inS

°

f

certain

notes

in

the ton

' . - v e r y

v:-.o.'.in

The

soundpost

is

directly

r te d

+o**»*

>n,

a

-

'

,

violin,

-96,

-..-,,.

ri

i,

.

;;..;

r

:'.;

5

;.'

b

-

s

0:

- .

and

wh en

a

p o s t

is

installed

on

a

'-■y

the

location

cf

the

bass

bar

\clZilvS

to\*f

2

v V t

°

f

f°

bridGe

iS

in uenc

respense

out

of a

ri v n

« M n

h

L t

In

°

rder

to

realize

the

to

find

the

ri-;kt . p o ^

and

W

'out

o

w.'"

f

e

Wria»ntatias

is

necessa

-ttor

that

ctnyo,:,

can

do.

It

X

<>

oalnnce

'

This

is

not

a

simole

tone,

but

aVov.

:;U

-^

vi.-:'

itr/'co

P y

'v

J ° ? V

S

°^

experience

and

keen

judgement

of

can

follow

to

assure

hi.-self

wh-t ""

tCts-T

I*1

*'.

ci

?

are

certain

ru

les

which

on e

trying

to

finger

and

bow

the

d V ui

f

.

'ZS^

l

has

bc "

found,

and

that

is by

sightly

different place

for

*«»

"

hich

***

** **

s

a

certain

rin

:;

and

freedom

of

sound

P °

s

*

ls

P roperly

adjusted,

there

>ouna.

ihio

...cans

the best

place

for

the

p o s t

has

been

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


7

found.

The

pressure,

the contact

of the

two

surfaces,

the

direction of the

post,

whether

be

vertical or

slightly

slanted on on e

side,

a ll

play

an

important

.part.

It is

for

thi

reason that

this

job

should be

placed

in

the

hands

of

an expert.

Changes in

the weather

can so

distort

the contours

of a

violin

that a

p o s t

which

was

perfectly fitted for on e condition

.:ay

s h o w

up

to be

out

of

lin e .

That

is,

on e

or

both

of the

contacting

surfaces

no

longer

fits,

leaving

a

gap

between

it

and

the to p

or

ba

By

slight

tipping

or

readjusting,

the

d i f f i c u l t y

may

be

corrected, but

only

to

recur

with another drastic weather

change.

This

does

not

happen

in the

same

degree

to

a ll

instruments

because

it

is

related to

the

curves

of the

plates,

the

nature

of

the

w o o d ,

and

to

the

ag e

of

the

instrument.

Some of the

high

arched

instruments

suffer

more from

this

problem.

Hence,

we have a

variety

of

response

usually

associated

with the

post,

which

depends

on

the weather

and

to

some

extent to moisture

absorption,

localized -

pressures,

etc. For

the

very

"sensitive

v i o l i n i s t

these

variables

are

a

constant

annoya

and it

appears

from the

experience

gained

at

this

point

that

the

newly

designed

sound

p o s t

minimizes

these

variations

considerably

and

definitely improves

response,

tone

quality,

and

generaj.

stability.

Heron-Allen

mentions in

his

book

Violiw

Making

As

It

Was An d

Is*

1

,

page

152

that some

early

workers had

tried to

improve

the

p o s t

either

by drilling

a vertical hole

throug

the

center

or

by

drilling

longitudinal

holes

every

h a l f inch apart.

Modern experimente

have

tried

to

improve

the

p o s t

by

facing

the

contact

areas

with

cork

or

any

other

cushioning

material

but this

only

mutes the

tone. The

present

design

gives

the

p o s t

flexing

ability

in

two

directions

to

conform with

the

complex

motions

induced

by

the

bridge

in the

top

of

the vio lin .

Whether

or

not

this is the

proper

-interpretation,

this

post

has in

f a c t

improved

every

violin on which

it

was

installed,—

and

the

bett

the

violin,

the

greater

the

effect.

On

many

occasions I

have installed posts

of

this

type

on instruments

brought

to me for

minor

repairs,

the

owners

of which were

friends and

professional

musicians.

Without

th

knowledge

that

the

p o s t

was

replaced

with a modern

one,

the moment the instrument

wa

in

their

hands

they

exclaimed of its better

tone. And wh en

they

were

back

in

their o

acoustical

surroundings, they

realized

even

more the

vast

improvement.

This was

alway

followed

up

with a

phone

c a l l

that

the

violin never sounded

so

well

before,

with

an

inquiry

as

to

what I

had

done

to

bring it

about.

At

l e a s t

ten

different

designs

were

tried before

the

present

illustrated

one was

adop

T H O U G H T S

ON THE R E S P O N S E

OF

A VIOLIN

—

-

iY aurice

Hancock

I

have

long

been

of

the

opinion

that

th e d iff er en c e s

between

individual

violins

--

and

others

of

the

violin family

—

.were

frequently

much more noticeable

to

the

player

than

to the

listener,

and were

particularly

apparent

in

the feel of

response

under

'the

bow

and

in the

readiness

with which

transitions from

one

note to another took

place.

These

effects

of

course

produce

a feedback which c a u s e s

the

player

to have confidence

-

or

lack

of

it

-

in his

instrument,

and

in

this

way

they

reacc b e n e f i c i a l l y or

otherwise on

his

performance,

and so

they

influence

ultimately

what

'the

listener

hears,

but

they

are

primarily

functions

of

the

purely

mechanical

attributes

of

the

instrument.

These

thoughts

suggested

that the

mechanical

driving impedance

at the

contact

point

between b ow and

string

would be an

interesting quantity

to

measure,

and that

if this we

done,

some

interesting

correlations between

it and the

quality

of

the

instrument

might

be found.

I

originally thought j u s t

of

measuring

the

damping.

parameters,

but

obviously

this

is

only

one

aspect

of

a broader

problem,

and

in

setting

out to measure

damping,

it

would

require

only

a small extension

of.

the

work to

measure

the

mechanical

input

impedance

completely.

In

principle

there

seems to be no

d i f f i c u l t y

about

measuring

these

quantities

if an

electrically conducting string

is

driven

by

feeding

it with the

appropriate

alternating

current

and

the

mechanical

driving

force is

generated by applying

a

small

permanent

*

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


(8)

magnet

close to

the

string

at

the desired

B lrml.+.*

"

p o s s i b l e

to

find

both

the

driving

forceand

tte

*

"

slaould

* »

be

impedance.

"

"

response

produced

and

hence

the

driving

An

obvious and

interesting

extension

would

then

*■

to

try

+

„

«

ower

supplied

to the

string

actually

end- un

Th„\

?

find

°

ut

where

"the

.

from

the

driving

parameters,

andlTa

s rvev

o f

tb

in

J f

P °

wer

"»««W be

calculated

a n e c h o i c

chamber

or

in

the

open

air,

wHouL

sav

whffn^

h^

"

eld

Was

*«

d

*

**

S S

tbf

int

°

YeV

c

radlated

aound

a

'bsiSarrLSen?

P

mi t

n

b°

f

the

***»«

powel-

find

the

energy

losses

in

the

strini?

itself

by

*l?Z ? \?

S ht

be

nea

essa ry

here

to

string

alone

without

the

counling

'to

»

radLtL

-

?imilar

drlvla

8

experiment

on

the

the

difference

between

radiatin^and

S o S S ^ *"

t h O U S h t

°

f

"n T

x=r

tS -

i

d

r

ha-UT^

instrument,

_so

1

have_dLnitelf

3££3

r^ ^ -

—

T"V'

K O I S T U R S

W THE

"

B

*

ra

«-«

»

I«»«B

-V

R

obert

I

ood

can

breathe

moisture in and

on+ ac

,

«ooert

E . F r yx e ll

ei°olin

bUt

d

ntW

°

rayS

toa

-

a

*

b

- - ina ^ ^

i

0

**»

iolin:

I.

dimensional

changes,

2.

acoustical

changes

the-behavior

and

sound of a

It

is

well-known

to

wo o d technologists

a<~

Swells

1

f

S h

aS

2^

%

IS

cro s s ain S on^

S

?

W

°°

d

are

considerable

Swelling

m

hot

humid

weather

causes

increfsed

\ln£l

I

eXtrerae

v e a t

her

changes,

bnoge

and

strings,

and

generally

the

who?

-^

aroh:in^

changes

in

the

angle

between

It

is

less

well-known

thft

manlf

shows a

somew^

'

*

instr

"

*

affected,

swelling

than

spruce,

and

althou-h this

%

aair

'

ewha

"

"

greater

tendency

towards

such

recognized

by

many

o S $£

respect

to

pro bl V

0

eValU ate

'

« *»

acoustical

ch„"

■"

Problems of

instrument

adjustment.

e

sonan= e

S

4X "r cS a

;i

s odfT ^

B

**

« **

°

f

— *«

on

a

decrease in

resonance

freauen

w"

Soneral,increasing

moisture

content

specimens

is

sc^ty,

I T T o r^ T *'"

aiXable

formation on

carefu^y

gap

in

information

in

the l a s t

L T I

non-existent

.

I

have

attenpted

tomi

by

Mrs

.Hutchins

These

in

most

J "'

1

T "

5 a

» « « * » »

collection

of

saLaeT

from

Ito

5

0

years

for maple

andl

tn

b

r

°

m

boards

o t to

°"

age,

unvarnished

samples

in

chambers

of

vaLL hu,

L^ /^

or

S p r U C e

By

storing

found

weight

changes

as

high

as

15°/

w,t

humidities from

zero

to

100%

relative

changes

wire

also

considerate

viS

S,?

f

nd

Very molst

*»«« «

For-

maple,

the

results

were

very sis W

"- V*

1 1 1

a S

ra

°

iStUre

c

°

a

tent

each

p e r c e n t

change

in

weight.

F o - s n r uc e r t

?',"?

frequency

shift

of

0.7-0.6%

with

shifts of

0.4-0.

7

%

for

each

S

*

individual

strips

v a r i e d ,

considerably

of this

variation

with

ge

°

*

*

elgbt

'

There

vaa

no

a p p a r e n t

that

such

shifts

w i l l

occur-

16

+*

«

„

is

clear

that

a

s h i f t

of

nearly

107

coull

S

r

T

nance

°

f a

fialsha

*

instrument,

also

that

the

"air

r e s o ? W >

%t

place

for

extreme

weather

changes.

is

obvious

that

the

optimum

talf

octev

°f

" ^ oted

by weather

conditions

by

humidity

changes

Als^

and

ntlh

lnterval

betwee

n the

two

may

be

seriously

and

maple

s h o w

slignUy

£t£renl

resoonsTtV^

+

im

*">

rtaa

t,is

the

fact

that

or

semitone

difference

between

top

and w

„?

°

moisture

c h a n g e s .

Thus,

the

optimum

weather

c h a n g e s .

Al

5

eps

s h i f t

in

oac^

P^es

may

be

significantly

disturbed

between

the

hu-,id

sui"r

and

dry

indoor'wint"

°

S f?

dlffa

rence

may

well

t e

a

15

eps

shift

in

the

interval be?we3.n

n V°

ndlti°ns.

And

according

to Mrs.

'

■

a good

and

a

poor

instrument

PlateS

sorae ti os

s p e l l s

the

difference

S'sx r^

„--tr^

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


r

(9)

this

criterion

--

p r e v e n t i o n

rt

"

"

.

mont

to

the

rrnkingand

PrcservaUon'o -

2

°

f

fre

*

uea

=y

shifts

-

is

particularly

»

.

omposition

0

f a pp L a d

a ^

"

ml H

J

*

o.-o

of

my

experiments

together

with

"

,

'

vera

submitted

to

S T H A D

magazine

se af"

0

*

0

C

"

Cnts

havti

bee

»

vrittei,

up

and'

or

publication

h as been

receive*

J

?°

nth

SagS

ag0

'

but

at

this

date

no

a

ll

d

our

understanding

of

mature

effect

T *

"°

re

Work

ne s

be

done

t n

en tire pla tes .

*

f^

ts

'

P articularly

on

varnished

samples, and

if

posta

B O W

DESIGN

F OR

T H E V I O L I N

F A M I L Y "

M

'

,

H

family

—

Maxwell

Kimball

e atd

S

i

n

nte^ol on

W

fr^

Z £ T S Z Z £

"*

*

ly

«

S lo p e d

with

their

performance

characteristicfdictate^r

s ugge T ^

a

"d'

corrected

as

In

the

p a s t

a ll

sorts

of

designs

wer» tri^

*

rr;:cr:::

a

rr

f"-"

~'°

-

1

-

8

-*

-

Scientific

analysis

of the

action

of +h

,

,

at

p r e s e n t .

Our

designs

are

f+?77

?

resents

a

Pro blem

too

complicated

fn *

character-

form

to

behave

well

mechanically

Thts

dl

? **

careful

ly

adjusted

in

baLnce

and

tonal nnnii+v

«■*"

**v-«M,a.,y

.

mis

does

not

oyniaTn

+v.~

„

.

wl

u^

ce

ana

a S ■

P °

rt

ant

as

a

good

instrument.

For

those

of

you

wh o

have

r d

+>-,-

c

-

„,

'

Fletcher

has

s p e n t

-anThoSf

transl'inf

tT

°?

era

*°

« * « « .

Donald

and

your

editor

hopes

e v e n t u a l l y

?o 3

S

s i g n i f i c a n t

writings

of

F e l ix

'

re

partie,T itre

Vi.

D cs

Instruments

d e

musique.

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


-

"

I

1

0

"

,

tra°in

S

W^ rt

ne

tooo that

**?*

*°

> *

»»«

I

smoother

English garbled

by met

S

S

°lont

strSd

IhV^

U fx t s

o

not

oelng

pothered

by,

if

even

aware

of,

French-English.

Ho"

it

is

1-

"T*

afe to oe

too

literal.

F or

example,

on

page

60

of

thf

Memoire,

Savart

says

U W

pour

usage

d e

transmettro au

fond

les

vibrations

de la table

-

,«^

+ ?

that

'l'arae'is

here

used

to

.mean

'sound

p o s t

1

this

"fIA. *L 0 6

,

W

,t

tnout

rea^

+

_

+

*«

4.v v

i

j..

7,

p o s t i

,

u.ns

would

be

translated;

The soul

<z

to transmit

to

the

back

the

vibrations

of

the

belly.

'

oux

s e

"Having

looked

up

translations

for

'Memoire'

,

I

decided

that

the work is

+w

ra

U

the^

*

S

-\°

f

. ^ gra hical

report, nof

Ughtly

VaToltT^

a t n e .

conversational,

—

tnmkmg

on

paper.

The

portions

from 'l

'T n *,, *'

1.1,4

stenographic

notes

of

lectures,

perhaps

taken

down by

mssonfwho

si ed

them.

"*

avart

s e e m s to me

more poet

than

scientist;

perhaps

a

nineteenth

centm-

m an

"

should

S L

b

i S T .

Hors-,a,

£

£T

'

8

o

r

«-~

s

~3

check

with current

understanding.

i n s t r u m e n t

"I

am

rlad

to

have

at l ea s t

a

verbal

role

in

the

work of

the

C . A . s l '

Carleen

Hutchins

has

offered

the

additional comments-

l

»r>nn*-M

t?i*+„\,

cent

and

dedicated

J ob

of

translating

S awt mo i e

O S 9

aT

stve tions"*

8

pertaining

to

violins

from the

C O U R S E

IN

E yP F R ^ T ' AT

pttvqtpo

7

1

it

sectlons

ol

1^

J **

■*

these

writings

is that

they

indicate that

1

5

0

years

a *o

relation

be

tS t

if

Serrations"

or

C

£*££"#£"

1

'

f"

d

SU

°

h

that

« - *

f* ^

>

„

*/°°

d V l

°:

ln

ou

S

ht to

s a t i s f y

these

two

conditions: have plates

g i vi n g

v°Wtiont

+

b

llf

?.

toae

'

and

a

r aS S ozr

a ir

g

ivin

S

when

blown

upon

...

j&

*

*

ibrations, xhe

other

dimensions

being

those

of

Stradivarius

vio lin s . .

ihe

sound

D 3and

"sL

r°p

? T l ^

°

- ^

M d D '

iW

the

belly

'

and

"-

toe^ack

£Le„

a

whole

tonef

''

alVayS

a

differen

=c

between

them

of a

half

tone

or

"He

then

said that

"one

could

p ' v - v s

n-,

.,,

i*

4.

"

" ■

"

making

'i* <v«+

+vo+

O . « . '.r

awtruc

"

an

excellent

violin on

another

note

by

di »nf-o-s

~H.

n

0 1

S-.ranivarius and

being

careful to make

the

homologous

nli l

hllltT°lt\

S U C h

3

*£**

thelr

reiati

°

n

be

that of

«*

vibrations

of

C

"he

Sss

(

0

5

r

v

p

L c o'ivr;

?? *

so£ds

0

---

nu

r

in

the

next

seotion vith:

of

the

violin onseque y-nis ns S ^ d

C e S nT

uchlSt

S T

S

n

S^ S

T

the

sound of

-

air

—

ba

Tnis is

exactly

what we

have

do ne

in

developing

the

baritone, or

enlarged

cello-

go t

the

relo- cc

I °" ^

j

f

°?"1

and

a

« « »

*

add

io nwe

have

got

the

wood*

a p m r e n t l v

did not h

°

f

Violia

3

a

fact

°^

vhich

Savart

each

X

ne w

*££?).*"

"

°

S ^

<*«

P

r in ai

P

las a

P P ^

ad

to

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


1

" S a v a r t

recognized

the

main

air resdnance of

the

violin

at

512

eps

(our

256

eps)

whic

very

close

to

the

open

D

string.

He

did

not

mention

the

main

wo o d resonance a fifth

higher

near

the

open

A

string.

Nor

was

he

able

to

recognize

the

proper placement

of

the

a ir

resonance in

the

normal cello. Instead

he

apparently

considered the strong

resonance

an octave

below the

main

wo o d

resonance

to

be

the

a ir

resonance of the cello

(which

it

is

not)

.

In

the

concluding

paragraph

of the

1819

M E M O I R E

Savart

states

what

many

of

us

consider

to be

the

main

purpose

of

this

Catgut

Acoustical

S ociety:

it

is 'to

be

presumed that we

have

arrived at a

time when

the

efforts of

scientists

and

those of artists are

going

to

unite

to

bring

to

perfection

an art

which

for

so

l o n g

a time

has

been limited to

blind

routine.

With

this,

your

editor

ends

Newsletter

N0.

2

and

expresses

the

wish that

readers

offer

suggestions

and

contributions

for

future

issues. He

thanks the members

who,

with their

fine

cooperation, have

made

this issue a

pleasure

to assemble.

Robert

E.

F r yx e ll

As

this

goes

to

press,

your

editor

hasleernid of another

important

translation

which

is in

the

making.

E d ith C o r lis s has

undertaken

to translate

from

the German

several

important

articles

by

W. Lotter.noser

which

have

been

published.

in

recent

years.

These

are

concerned

with

the

physics

of

the

behavior of

stringed

instruments,

and

w i l l be

very

useful

to

our

technically

minded

members

in

an

English

version.

F urther

information

w i l l b e

in

another

newsletter.

/

8/17/2019 1964 N.2 CASJ


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i

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1964 n.2 casj

Documents