The four members of the violin family have changed very little In hundreds of years. Recently, a group of musi- cians and scientists have constructed a "new" string family. 16 Founding a Family of Fiddles Carleen M. Hutchins An article from Physics Today, 1967. New measmement techniques combined with recent acoustics research enable us to make vioUn-type instruments in all frequency ranges with the properties built into the vioHn itself by the masters of three centuries ago. Thus for the first time we have a whole family of instruments made according to a consistent acoustical theory. Beyond a doubt they are musically successful by Carleen Maley Hutchins For three or folti centuries string stacles have stood in the way of practi- quartets as well as orchestras both cal accomplishment. That we can large and small, ha\e used violins, now routinely make fine violins in a violas, cellos and contrabasses of clas- variety of frequency ranges is the re- sical design. These wooden instru- siJt of a fortuitous combination: ments were brought to near perfec- violin acoustics research—showing a tion by violin makers of the 17th and resurgence after a lapse of 100 years— 18th centuries. Only recendy, though, and the new testing equipment capa- has testing equipment been good ble of responding to the sensitivities of enough to find out just how they work, wooden instruments. and only recently have scientific meth- As is shown in figure 1, oiu new in- ods of manufactiu-e been good enough struments are tuned in alternate inter- to produce consistently instruments vals of a musical fourth and fifth over with the qualities one wants to design the range of the piano keyboard. into them. Now, for the first time, Moreover each one has its two main we have eight instruments of the \ iolih resonances within a semitone of the family constructed on principles of tuning of its middle strings. The re- proper resonance for desired tone sult seems beyond a doubt successful quality. They represent the first suc- musically. Over and over again we cessful application of a consistent hear the comment, "One must hear the acoustical theorv- to a whole family of new instruments to believe such musical instruments. sounds are possible from strings." The idea for such a gamut of violins is not new. It can be found in Mi- chael Praetorius's Syntagma Musicum Catgut Acoustical Society published in 1619. But incomplete Groundwork in the scientific investiga- understanding and technological ob- tion of the violin was laid bv such men 233 as Marin Mersenne (1636), Ernst the pressure of heavy teaching and and violin makers, coordination of Chladni (1802), Felix Savart (1819) concert schedules. Nevertheless some much technical information from and Hemiann L. F. Helmholtz (1860). were able to find time for the testing, widely separated sources, and design, Savart, who can rightly be considered designing and craftsmanship needed construction and testing of experimen- the grandfather of violin research, in the development of experimental in- tal instruments. In 1937 Saunders re- used many ingenious devices to ex- struments. In 1963 about 30 persons portedi in the Journal of the Acousti- plore the vibrational characteristics of associated with Saunders in this proj- cal Society of America what later the violin. But he was unable to gain ect labeled themselves the "Catgut proved to be basic to the development sufficient knowledge of its complicat- Acoustical Society." This infonnal so- of the new violin family, namely the ed resonances to apply his ideas suc- ciety now has more than 100 members position of the main body resonance cessfully to development and construc- (see box on page 26), publishes a as well as the main cavity resonance tion of new instruments. Recent re- semiannual newsletter and holds one in a series of excellent violins. (The search that has led to our new fiddle or two meetings each year. Among its main body resonance is the lowest family is largely the work of Hermann members are acousticians, physicists, fundamental resonance of the wood Backhaus, Herman Meinel, Gioacchino chemists, engineers, instrument mak- structure; the cavity resonance is that Pasqualini, Ernst Rohloff, Werner Lot- ers, composers, performing musicians, of the air in the instrument cavity.) ternioser and Frieder Eggers in Eu- musicologists, patrons and others who But the necessary knowledge of liow rope and of the late Frederick A. believe that insufficient attention has to place these resonances with any de- Saunders, John C. Schelleng, William been paid to the inherent potentialities gree of predictability in instruments of Harvey Fletcher and myself in the of bowed string instruments. They good tone (jualit)' was not evolved and United States. are making a coordinated effort to dis- reported until 1960.2 The tonal effect Saunders, widely known for his cover and develop these potentialities of this placement of the two main work on Russell-Saunders coupling, pi- and are encouraged that many mem- resonances for each instrument and the oneered violin research on this side of bers of the violin fraternity share their necessar>' scaling theory was not re- the Atlantic. He was a former chair- aims. ported until 1962.3 man of the physics department of Har- Among other accomplishments of Between 1950 and 1958 Saunders vaid Uni\ersity, a fellow of the Na- our Catgut Acoustical Society is a con- and I undertook a long series of exper- tional Academy of Sciences and presi- cert played at Harvard last summer iments to test various features of violin dent of the Acoustical Society of during the meeting of the Acoustical construction one at a time. We deter- America. In his work on violin acous- Society of America. It was dedicated mined effect of variations in length, tics, Saunders gradually became as- to Saunders and the instruments were shape and placement of the f holes, sociated with colleagues who were our eight new fiddles, which are the position of the bass bar and sound highly competent in various scientific outgrowth of research he began. I post, significance of the inlay of pur- and musical disciplines. These associ- write about the concert and about the fling around the edges of top and back ates greatly furthered the development instruments as a member of the society plates and frequency of the ca\ity res- of his work and contributed valuable and as one who worked with Saunders onance as a function of rib height and technical knowledge, but they had lit- from 1948 until his death in 1963. f hole areas (see figure 2). Because tle time for experimentation. Some My activities include reconciliation of many of these experiments needed de- were skillful musicians living under the wisdom of experienced musicians finitive testing equipment not then available, most of the results are still unpublished in Saunders's notebooks. One sobering conclusion we reached was that with many alterations in such features as size and shape of f holes, position of the bass bar and sound post, the best tonal qualities resulted when conventional violin-making rules In addition to nur- W were followed. In other words, the turing her fiddle \ early violin makers, working empirical- family, the author ly b\' slow trial and error, had evoked shows interest in children. .After Krul- a s\stem that produced practically op- uatiiig from Come timal relationships in \iolin construc- she taiiKhl for IS tion. years in Now Yoik In 1958. during a long series of ex- schools, acquiring an periments to test the effect of moving M.\ from New York l'ni\crsity nican- \i()lin and viola resonances up and whilc. She also ,u- down scale, the composer in residence ^ ,#10^ i (piiii'il a clicmist hits- Ij ^''jT at Bennington College, Henry Brant, h.uul and two iliil- Ij ^^^M_ and the cellist. Sterling Hunkins, pro- (Iren, all of whom 1 '^HV^ posed development of eight violin- live MnnU'laiv. f^ ^^^u type instruments in a .scries of tunings I -Mm 234 Founding a Family of Fiddles D 293.7- E 329.6 C 261.6 F 349.2 B 246.9 G 392 ! A A A A A A 27.5 55 110 220 440 880 1760 3520 FREQUENCY (cycles/sec) iiiiiimmmiifniiimiiiniTff TREBLE (6-D-AE) lllllll1!ITimil!!!lllltHI!ll! SOPRANO ((>G-D-A) IIIIIIH!H!lllllt!lfllglTIIIIIT MEZZO (6-D-A-E) IIHHIf!ll!filirilllllfflltf ALTO (C-G-D-A) l!ll'll!!Hmi!l!IHIIHIiri[! TENOR (G-D-AE) lllll!l!H!ltl!ll!!lllll!!ll!!l! BARITOFtf (C-G-D-A) lllltltllfri!!ll!!lfflHII!lfim SMALL BASS (A-IW3-C) mMUMBM CONTRABASS (E-A-IVG) NEW INSTRUMENT TUNING spans the piano range with eight fiddles that range in size from 210-cm contrabass to a 27-cm treble. The conventional violin is the mezzo of the new scries. Colored keys show tuning of new in- struments and white dots that of conventional instruments. —FIG. 1 235 — and sizes to cover substantially the sion Saunders and I agreed that a seri- contrast to the conventional viola, cello whole pitch range used in written ous attempt would be made to de- and string bass. music; these instruments would start velop the set. The main problem with an oversize contrabass and go to would be to produce an instrument in Research and new fiddles a tiny instrument tuned an octave each of the eight frequency ranges The problem of applying basic re- above the violin. Their request was having the dynamics, the expressive search results to actual design and so closely related to our experimental qualities and overall power that are construction of new instruments now work that after half an hour's discus- characteristic of the violin itself, in faced us.