Scan 299
The American history and encyclopedia of music .., 1908
6 lines. Read by computer on 8 September 2026. Printed page 241. See the scan on archive.org.
1The four strings are tuned in fifths, and when open, they sound G below middle C, D, A, and E. Their preparation is very complicated. The lowest is wound with wire which adds to its weight. Although denominated catgut, sheep, or goatgut, has been used for numberless years. The process of making is long and the raw material must be soaked in many solutions and scraped and cleaned diligently before it is in a condition to be divided into shreds, which are then spun into strings. The number of fibers varies from three to eighty-five according to the use to which the strings will be put. Silk strings have been introduced from the Orient, but are of little account, the great fault being that they do not remain tuned. The best for use and wear are the gut strings before they are polished. When purchasing, size, quality and substance must be well considered as must also the instrument and the style of the player.
3The neck, with the scroll as its head, is carved from a block of maple about ten inches long, by two inches deep, and one and five-eighths inches wide. It must be substantial, for upon it rests the entire strain of the strings, and the wood must be carefully selected as to grain, in order to do its work in the transmission of vibrations. As its name indicates, the scroll is carved to represent a spiral and much of the symmetry of the instrument depends upon it. Just below the scroll is that part of the neck through which the pegs pass, and which is known as the peg-box. The pegs are made of box-wood, ebony, or rose-wood and fit firmly into their holes. The continued turning soon wears the holes too large, when they are plugged and bored again.
5The finger-board is a strip of ebony of the same width as the neck, about three-sixteenths of an inch thick, and a little over ten inches long. It is glued to the upper surface of the neck, and extends along the belly to a point about two and one-half inches from the bridge. It cannot have too smooth a surface. On the finger-boards of the old viols were gut frets as on the guitar, but to interpret the exquisite compositions of later days the fingers must be able to glide
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.