Scan 102
The violin & its story : or the history & construction of the violin, 1905
8 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. Printed page 86. See the scan on archive.org.
1Just as the number of vibrations of a string per second fixes the pitch of the tone, and the width of those vibrations fixes its loudness or softness, so is the quality of the tone fixed by the form which the vibration takes. The more regular and even the form of the vibrations, the purer and finer is the quality of tone; the more irregular is the form of the vibrations, the more does that irregularity reveal itself in the tone-colour, or tone-quality, of the sound produced. It is the form of the vibrations alone which makes the difference between the soft, sibilant tone of the flute, the "biting" tone of the violin, and the piercing tone of the trumpet.
3The strength and quality of tone of the strings of the violin are not, however, the only conditions necessary to produce the true violin tone; the "resonance-body," or body of the violin itself, is by far the most important factor. But even though the body of the violin may unite in itself, from the constructive and other points of view, every good quality that can be desired, the faulty stringing of the instrument will prevent those good qualities from showing themselves to the greatest advantage. Above all things, in addition to suitable strength and power to sustain stretching, a string must possess perfect equality if it is to yield a pure and fine tone. It may, therefore, be of interest to look closely at the very careful mode of operation which is necessary for the production of good violin strings.
5In this manufacture the Italians stand easily first. Of the strings of the violin, the first, or E string, is the one which needs the greatest care in manufacture and finish, and the best—indeed, the only first strings suitable for solo playing—come from Italy. All attempts in more northern countries to produce E strings of the goodness, delicacy, and equality of the Italian firsts, have been up to now, and are likely to remain, absolute failures, for they lack the one vital and indispensable material—the peculiar quality of gut.
7It is a theory well grounded on experience, that the membranes of thin animals are more ductile and more
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.