Books › The varnishes of the Italian violin-makers of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and their influence on tone;, 1904 › scan 64
Scan 64
The varnishes of the Italian violin-makers of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and their influence on tone;, 1904
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1not be produced at first with the same facility as after some weeks of daily use; the sounding-boards of the instrument will offer more resistance at the beginning than at the end of a period of frequent playing; there will be a perceptible difference in the tone after a period of complete rest as compared with one of daily practice—always supposing that a good instrument is in question. The Messrs. Hill, writing on this subject, express themselves very strongly (Stradivari, 239):—"To close—one most earnest "word. Instruments by continual use are apt to "become weary. They may even virtually be killed. "Give them rests. We feel it a duty to urge most "strongly that fine instruments should not be brought "to premature death by ceaseless use."
3Physiologists have given much study to the weariness, or decline of power of response, which overtakes living cells (animal and vegetable) under varying conditions of excitement and work. It can be no such problem which is set before us in considering the change in the condition of the dead cells of a stringed instrument caused by repeated and varied vibrations. This can be no question of exhausted vitality or of subtle electrical conditions—the change must be purely physical.
5During the course of these experiments an incident occurred that throws some light on this subject. Certain violins were varnished with pure turpentine varnishes (containing no oil). After drying, for at least six weeks, it was found that if the surface of the varnish (which was not sticky) was briskly rubbed with the fingers (a cloth would not do) the surface pulverised. If this powder was carefully removed,
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.