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Scan 32
The violinist, 1903
32 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 10. See the scan on archive.org.
1Violin Making as a Feminine Craft
3The violin has known very little of the deft touch of woman in its evolution from the sturdy spruce and maple tree singing in the forest, to the graceful Amati or Stradivarius, or some of the excellent modern violins, says the Brooklyn Eagle. Now and then a woman has been heard of as fashioning a violin, but it has been seldom and up to the present the business of violin making has been in the hands of men.
5But now that mechanical tools are so frequently found in women's hands, and women have proved so successful in wood carving and other of the finer branches of working in wood, some progressive women appear to think that there is a field and a good one for their industry and skill in violin making. A prominent violin maker of this town has already had application to take women pupils into his workshop, and is seriously considering the proposition.
7The "business" is one that will take much more than skill in carving to make it a success. Musical sound has to be considered largely in the fashioning of a violin. Great care must be used in the selection of woods for the instrument. Women are fitted for this work for, in general, they have a refined tonal perception helped out by cultivation in music to a greater or less degree.
9Not only in the making of violins is there apt to be a good field for women's work, but in the repairing of them, which is even more of a business than the manufacture today, as a good violin is supposed to last many years, and not wear out as the piano does, after a few years of use. For this branch of work women's sensitive fingers are particularly adapted.
11As to the best locality for setting up in business, either in making or repairing violins, the newer centers of life and wealth in the West or Northwest seem to be the mecca toward which young violin makers are turning. It is an attested fact that Manhattan is well stocked with violin makers and repairers, and though a good living seems possible to be made by new experts anywhere in this section, still it is stated that there are almost no experienced violin makers in the West, and that therefore the field for an expert in the art there offers greater possibilities than in the East.
13Speaking on this subject an experienced violin maker said: "It depends largely on the capabilities of the pupil, whether she will learn the business slowly or quickly. Of course, women who have had courses in wood carving and can handle tools, or those who possess marked mechanical ability, will acquire a knowledge of violin making more quickly than others. When the business is once learned, a violin can be made in two three weeks, and if it turns out well it will be worth from $80 to $90 for ordinary types and increased prices for instruments fashioned from especially fine grades of wood. Fine woods such mahogany or rosewood are not used in violin making. The best woods for the purpose are spruce and maple, with ebony for the fingerboard and other accessory parts of the instrument."
15[Note.—The statement in this article that the West has "almost no experienced violin makers," is certainly made without knowledge of the facts. Chicago has violin makers and repairers whose skill and reputation are established even as far East as the town of Brooklyn.—Ed. T. V.]
17Lover of Music
19Mr. Bob Burdette, the well-known humorist, loves music, and in describing his accomplishments in this direction, says: "I play the fiddle by note, ear and main strength, and to avoid getting into deep water never attempt any compositions that have been written within the past seventy-five years." He came of a family of nine children four girls and five boys, and his father used to speak of having just enough for a quadrille set and a fiddler.
21The V. T. A. Library
23The cost of borrowing all the books in the Violin Teachers' Association reading course, has been reduced, to non-members, to five dollars and postage. For the list of book see page 15. Every violin player should know what is in these valuable books. V. T. A. members have the use of the library at the cost of postage only.
25AFTER A KNEISEL CONCERT
27Out of the vineyard, one rare cup of wine;
28Out of the forest, song of the wind and pine;
29Out of all music, the violin voice divine.
31—LUCILE DU PRE
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