8:45 PM. 13.75 £ 46.45 9-20-64 Is $ 120.10)

November 1,196*+ NEWSLETTER N0. 2

THE CATGUT ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY / Since. the publication" of Newsletter No. l, May 1,1964, there has not, unfortunately, been a large" scale meeting devoted to technical matters-- such as the one reported at that time. However, there was an exciting general meeting of the Society,held May 24, 1964 at the home of Mr. and Mrs . J.Kellum Smith in New York City, and this newsletter will begin with minutes of that meeting. Attending were nearly fifty members and friends as follows: Mr . and Mrs .Lawrence Apgar Mr . Ronald . Naspo Dr.Virginia Apgar Mr. Carl Pancaldo Dr Alice T-Eaker Mr .Peter Pruyn Mr.Armand. Bartos Miss Patsy Rogers Mr .and -Mrs .Donald Blatter Mr.and Mrs. Peter Rosenfeld Mr.Henry Brant Mr. John Schelleng Dr William Cox 'Mr. Sanford Schwartz Mr..and Mrs .Donald Fletcher Mr.and Mrs .William Scott Dr.Mary white Hinckley "" Mr .and Mrs . J-.Kellum Smith Mr.Sterling Hunkins Miss Allison Smith Mr . and Mrs . Morton A . Hutchins' Mr.Timmy Smith Mr. William A. Hutchins Dr.Asher Treat Miss Caroline- Hutchins Mr.and Mrs. Charles Dodsley Walker Mr. and Mrs. Julius Levine Mr. and Mrs. Sam Zaslovsky Mr.and Mrs .William Kroll Mr. and Mrs .Lcuis Zerbe Mrs.Lila Kallman Miss Louise Fenn Mr. and Mrs. Otto Luening Mr. and Mrs .Peter Heller Mrs . Sonya Monos off

MINUTES OF THE MEETING— May 24,1964, IJI East 66th Street, New York City ..-diness meeting called to order by John C .Schelleng,vice-president, at 8:45 PM. Since the meeting of the TECHNICAL GROUP last May, we regi'et exceedingly to report the death of four members of the C.A.S. ->" Frederick A.Saunders president June,l96s Jean Da utrich — Sept-. ,1963 Rembert Wurlitzer 0ct.,1963 Louise Rood Feb., 1964 The Secretary mentioned a few excerpts from her full report which was published in Newsletter No.l. » -""- The Treasurer's report is summarized as follows: Income from seven contributors $>105.00 ■Expenditures: Certificates 18,80 Stationery,etc. 11.00 Postage 13.75 Reproduction costs 55.00 Lettering 15.00 $118.513 Balance 5-24-64 £ 46.45 ( ed: Since then, $100.00 has been received from eight contributors,and an expenditure of $26.35 made for stationery. Balance as of 9-20-64 is $ 120.10) President, John C. Schelleng Vice-president, Robert K. Fryxell Secretary, Carleen M.Hutchins Treasurer-,- Virginia Apgar "' Motion carried to elect the officers for a two year period. <***«t) Saunders the 2?&i^ * first honorary member of Motion r carried to elect the .following to membership: ' Mildred Mount Alleri,physicist,. Holyoke College,South Hadley toss ' m V EaSt «th St!, Yorfcity' U^L^fr^William Bishop, guitaro^ *t New maker' and player. 262 Nor+hf-^-M a„/ tt ± Edith W eSt n ~ Corliss,physiciSt, 2955 Albeniri' " °^^' ''"

No other new business. Business meeting adjourned. a famlly: toeble vioXin/ soprano ' iTicSlt^lf0 VI°^lin ContrabassSSSrSSo^tSSn^violin aeirVvel^ni^' h" *" f° Baritone v*olin, Bass violin 0 place ' S HUt^ '

violin,SîS^r?Konaxd liaspo,ContrabassI°^r—S-violin. Sol nHSi^Îjevlnen° Bass Soprano Henry Brant conductedconaucned. vocalist— Miss Louise Fenn ' me general consensus of the audience was that we had ,nn h new sounds; that the some excitwS End lntel>esting new instruments are measuring f° f* h1 * their full potential could P cxPecte*ions , but that notle realized ,^?S^ musiciansf? * practice on them for a period 1 ?t really had a chance to them. be finished on There was a generll of ■°* of for a long time tir IkT+'T "T^SeVSraX Sald*° that ted ""ing toêafLch soLds **' "^ *«> Pr eedi^- tfES^tSS iTS^d? °= **~ Pruyn too* photographs; a print and Kell and their -casl" ?IZ7J?l^£^ - «* fakly rade ,the r Respectfully submitted, Carleen M.Hutchins, Secretary.

(y0U to ed 0r -"end). Miss Jfctsy SS.SSa^ f 00 «»«" inftru^nts Sng "" *" P int *°f VleW the nsw Ringed opportunity So^d 5056^ an° LDO°»t - ' for homogeneous tone amli4 f * those present to C n ert 6n hl heaf?he instrL^s^ indS to arrangements of Haydn ,! of rausic;° H° to addition° " a "Barvton" T-io I!6ral5 h rt!*pieces Piece was by a long written for the B f work of his occ^sl^n HenlV° Braßt oonducted a short own ?ori or soprano voice and ftallf eight»< hff instruments.'*^ The results fulfilled the

■ (;>> JiOPCi-. and expectations of conoo-^c «

a ls o- vrpLj: ? . -' clear fro* this 1/ . r ?A: :XL/ " diagra- " /.'h;^——^ 9- -- - .:.. --: ~: i* 'rcr^-^-^o "i Jl_ r~——--'■■& :_.;.;... 66'". -: - Piccolo'"^soprano Ezzo Alto Teno~ C g^°'"|?'^^ ail are transposing instruct

soot striking, developments qUailty lower on any of th» -amily1°"?, this ra"eS is one„ single strinc is thO. °w of violins. m« ftiii^k 0:f the instrument' or that f the timbre o^ instruments,instru~!n " and **»* whstilerTl'^ on the <* Thus, the ootdm»- this° is tru=> «<■ *.. " sane J J 0 or--,less loud1han oS/w"391* W0W »c^£^° «»mttlo. as well. each stôf * ;-!f?- JS-STtSt^f?or soi re s zabir y iS^L" "- -t: h^rnd it°si c «*^^sr tional „i tsxt^-° Thus one easily ' instruments- 2" diffar of -he * is retained- but «ces of -f "° of the conven fr+f "*c tl ,e one cha"a-°^w on difi ---the wvin 6 of te= s ~° 'ersnt ocen rAVo iitT iWo 0 31 "*££?:. eliminated, v «a brings in *»*««*. toe pîblfpossible exception t^t, of voL^T"^volume vioii'n * * h»r* -~ *i. ana fullness-" v« ;-ass "> -* «-. .^sôrs.rs« ? i*or the composer s=sT -"-he n —

y leM 0 la^ conventional vaoXln, V ,9 **« s *> simultaneously viol^ viola,iL cello, and bass. ~ !^"customed to the ' a T^***" single concert ,t --, -, compositewftoErlor Ws hays instr"s -ere for tin as*«ll sc^ch-d th-°til= compositional mjf' f that has been hea^ o 609 ,. sur^ce in terms of 0th Renaissance. and"^for arrangements^ 1 3 "_ _ _^_°_ _ tlf^VoT^" * Another cc*"~-»nt * + '""""""*-----«--- -lused" ;;0o »« -":n^ 88ar hl second speeds « se a the record^G a good ££^*,a done in? t^oto-n^al^1 T." and 3.5 in, would ,Jfl Euc awyas* * to -,f" ?", 9\5 7-5 inches per f oU ldS '1 ' (c-xcludinglhe 3t the'" W*^» of " : played back at S.s a^ Contral boss). -»* smaxler instruments, subjective sneed a? Thore ~ va vors«s high pitch playiO.; "-^ Problems managed to ",?fguess y t*'-"■'" about the reasonably "«*""""« ,m i-^ h* , ri-oH- . w»1l " '"' musician was

■

i*.*,**,

>;^

t^ a

i 4 The activities of ranbf*»«s " technical matters,^ £"££ from Kw.&MinOcre. "I thank~ tll^t^fU" Ur Secretary the fo- ,'°M-,t "*°^* you all must know c'a?S -t k"^orary Kera° 'Der that I need no thanks fo- T *° -"- But do'^'u^'l "- see that everything that Andy (D-.S->u-,66°", tei do that to anyone °.^t shoulI « be who could use it to carry t^ ?! "T" "»***° available to*" especially glad to know wL ::ad sxarte1- Also of course I'm that John Sch^Uen- t ooa . Andys apparatus. lnS on damping measurements How happy that he can To\tgracefullyff with practical experimenting " combine mathematics and r f r you rS L° fine with us. Perhaps many of alSVLold "^0U -" from .the work' of *g* and s -oLtion" deal of other dT^^^^**** 6 fA°f] There haS be6n a publicity as well lar^Lvlar ely a«^'v, I' t ' " Breat Hutchins: ' S tributel to the accomplishments of Carleen (1) Television half by r-,n*- „ „ hour done alli rnla" Academy "The Science of Music" featuring *Z £ ° of Sciences, called L.and I.gerbe and Uy f instruments; B^sno JuJure & in.xne West, f?" played oy probably this autumn. -- S? with release° in tne East (2) A release by the United States I-fo-nation n 'Women of * 1964 titled Achievement,Ko.2t- &lxc ( , Carleen- -utc^^s-utch-s ;Liu.ixer (5 J Earlie--*r±ie- pmv^ releasesoi' .._ . ~ ~" r^v^ ana Research Scientist"dentist - which escaped the last newsletter. x-. -^ June 15^1902 New York Times, 0ct. 20,1963 Als h sohedule aa

already a ° " Sical "complishments which are infrequent, "* " Varled and our stings that most of us 'are not n t so attempt to fill ITT "*r ainder ' f this that void We hobe thu* Z Zisera *0 newsletter will a forum for reporting -^,0 "precedent, by°making this newsletter -r.a technical 10n and oriticism(both technical;, propound projects "- -:0 36f. o . musical := your re636 "^6J U J newsletter, and we hone "- °0. " s£sgg£S- This,then, will ;or i6n'-"o'^r~4i zo luture issues. This will st-iX,!." " , volunteer contributions o-eard L formal," ""and as of the nlan: ■'„ ■ Arthur Benade said when he -"ithout ri'Ul ay t0 kaep committing anyone to the" ri^rfn--WT^' 3' Pe°Pla informed of iSth century science!" PUOIl° PrintS ' and has a ve^ Pleasant 0 without further ado, here are contributions from several members.

;.'.anv wi,,-> «„„*

,^o4

a—-," ,rfi

„ss

v„ tt

llt; 5 NOTES ON HAIE TESTING AND VARIABLES ... Carleen Hutchins Tuning thy plates according to ou** t-.n +".. +- ~ result, both i„ my own work 3 0 SiVe B0 t Ind ?hat t Sv-rf iU Ca uoni 1G voriv in making violins and vic>.~ 6 . riTrn""6 "/' "sing it" to check his can -- w^ in tvu, cnts finish them. John Abbott of }Wo~£*\ (£U^H,t^^t^^J?a *?* bbc Tertis model lanini does over the factory fiddle." Ver-n 0^?!,,.!"" Vi U as the v? the viola in the white yesterday -0 ,' -° SaS Sayi : ° X ■*"">« the and it s^- B*—8 ' '"?l^fagain " violas I have made bafc-e T kLv ?t 6, v""^^f *— " as much tone as compares very, well with tive but the viola 9i v.-..iH~i.c.G^iUer x,±oI^o 05000^01°v.,000.00) rtnat'* oelongs to the In- . . *** school her-." thinning the wood of a ton a V—'. ■,„.,., , - or Cl Se a d oloser meker-s,approximate thickr.esLs for a -£n XT^n f " to the violin the tap tone test -3 instrument,° lam finding by means of that net on3v do- ca h late also when the wood is °? bcooae active/bu, thtrlned too^ruS- *£T?-^ 0° ? "« aecrecse. This " pJ" a°tivity begins to means that th- PT\6 i6''-h66"jiTOoa * maker's ears, can acti-11-60: '': 6' "rportent to the good violin top or °V °«cili°==°Pe' to roach back plate is carved to op,i„un **? its maximum as a wood ouality. dimensions for its particular contours and

a °les „ the way the to Produce 90^_—-fi^ wood of the plates can be carved Proving "„: instruments. Definitive Just at do^Vr^^LUe BB tests „ ' yeart: ahead but here are indications to or "1, '"** '° ' date: between haV the ia resonance of the back plate aOOVe tho strongest6 For S'.-ALLtlor^lrTT^^"^^Tv^.gOo! ,,.?■ resonance" of the top nlat- r " vioias^ 'ss ;°w"k eD to cc uite w X7. B^ toR^r\r strongest: °-peak of»«■**£:the back semitone below that of th° ton about a -u^f^i" I~aar to be giving Eood that the best ar^ngeUt — f the ass, I found a !%4£d to""^fC?* »". ° semitone below that of to top. **** fesonance f the back plate in &."£?' aS3 "J?thS ba is a ° than the ton with fine results ° ' °" semitone higher

quality. £ lflarkea To achieve a so-called "br^-n *" 7 ? , contl^st in tone the thickest area is about i 8flraduated S that the Le of a fiftylty 9nt Plate, with the wood * c«nt°^? Pxecs ln xhe ce >:act c^ter of° the thinner out vl-t ln all edges. (island contour t^ por a%--T dil^tions to the between the C bouts is IC*, J"* c whole center of the back k^t thick ?avay A iaj ninil^ 'Then just b^o-v ° . sto ° spending on wood duality, going doirn to 2. 5 or ?"^ Gn ru ot sol *o 35 inn and J *°^ J x n upper and/"IOTS1- * °outs.°^ entire area Cf tV Xl-r^ ~-X vl.^ T ° . ° ° - t Thus the is quite thick, (three^r^rtyo^r' ' "°' Whtt° be Ween the C b°UtS " ba « to a given (lj i-a in resonance cf t'-- bor-v 1U+, -, P 0 a ne aad a "~(2) Main resonance of semitone Mgher than the top th 6b-."°3 r^ 0 - J± " *°n a - d a (3) The island contou- 6-96666? ~.:*t " f ° ° " 'ltoilo lower than the top (4) *. -roe area^h^ — to^ T£^% f throug^\hTc^^of Dr°v,rv T'° °n tone Mty ara baia^ Panned of thfir WWBItJr ' Wh° toS °"01'ed tht USe

QtS ,io

Contra,

Ge,: m (6) " ' 0 THE E^CT 0? SHEAR ALoO 'ii,uu.,;lf3 EB-; " AhOUT VXOi.IfJ u rv. -' John Througu„.„. . """^*" C. Schelleng courtesy or our fpJJ ow ■ ,v»r m~ , on a loan ,asi>6 ne f ,-jiSj to6et *«*" s~rs apoa; Chnrl.s, has put .-^"v^'varû^ * °' me back i to the laboratory """***«»° and my son simple-minded tests on 1~£" yearS wood and a-ain """ "" ■**"* d iaS lea^ninf first "« Nature. Briefly, lan al *TT<.?hand the raariness of measuring the "internal friCZXOaJ"? ' Hotter° co.ifficier.ts, and also the rtll as expressed° by damping have elasticModuli Z Z entered into existing to d Whi h e«her of a «Z U.T**r">??**vhlch = sources supply. A memorandum "°indicate new Stringed "Relation nS tn ' f" ther° Instruments" has been written FaotOrs to Resonance in really v.i.ten, a f»vlew copies*"*on which are interested. * ° available to anyone The general ■-'- conclusion as to -. >■<"■=■ + ■ hardly 1- that while important in stringed "!?*i" certainly present, it is Sitta. spruce, tne rise it^^/" S eCleS V h V;Jjich J in9lamoin6.6tiff eO-sncy..^3 ? vtz' . Shear lowers the ■:-■■ e-c-O" 6 could not be"attributed to shear '" 3 dSSree in the ««^,^; """'^ ""the viol through ' consis^"t increase in *^^ the ».;", o.f"6he violin: "° damping as frequency ro. significant to our fraternity relates to the l^^Jt^Tc^t-t^Tl^X^grair.wise 0 of ast strip.;. -;"e3e ? tests has been with al/Z-'llll^J.:^L ""^^sserrs lik of wood losses, cr.osr.-âin »-*~>-Ul 6 " ely that from the vi-unoint losses may « '° ■ entatively exceed thoseti^^ra^ -f- it see.s that cro"in the.total losses in the * thab unose m During j.- ~ the ?"*top. *"*> ' zae year have «tT*jV«-« - consists primarily n a h of sS taorvV? ld^-° 0f tba a This of arch is to be sought. The **Wherein" the proper-°"measure- otner may be expected to be acousticallycw^^K^f^^*" one scaled f"m the area .-.eight to a6^-o--l 4 f^"*"*?' plate thickness -is relative arah " ratio of tne ratio: the saîfbothoti lalS xs. in height of arch toler-th o*- :w-fOO ° }\ contradistinction to ior similar timbre, one would " 1B eneral is "°t the same. Thus, m e»aot"a"^«o"vio^^? ? arch, 20% in arch height for 107 lUlre an accentuated increase expected inertlncrs e°lr0I instrument7 V for thickness of plate " length, since this is to be

v. _.^ v Louis Condax or sortie ten y'ôv*s ~ h^v^ +■■"»-* a a soundpost in s3c3 a 6,3y 6 tîv° by alterin the reducing its vertical , S °l length without in any* a str.-v.-ti-. "tO." W* ' wav multiple function, and d Ubt that the soundpost improves ln eStl\V° ° Ls the general receons. Sation is that the new post o" 9n" vie"i 3 - adaiJ tn,, tion, it also ccr.side.-.oiy....„. v, Olf .'i,;o,.;v : ■ 1 c^ or >.;i-....-o.v ;.;i6. cr ■■ -in"z:..,:.-,.f * . removes," rnxninizesminimizes ecale which a.-.o- '* - 00W:inS f certain ii/.w-or-Zv-Fo-"./""n '.-very v:-.o.'.in " ° notes in the tone The soundpost is directly r^ted +o**»*5 >n, a - ' , violin, -96, i, b s 0:-. and when a post is -..-,,. ri . ;;..; r :'.; ;.'^ installed on a '-■y the - - f location cf the bass bar \clZilvS bridGe iS inûenced respense to\*f2 v^lV^tIn° rderf° to realize out of a riv^n «^Mn h the to find the L^t e ° ri-;kt .po^ andW 'out w.'" Wria»ntatias is necessary -ttor that ctnyo,:, "ô oalnncef This is can do. It X <> ' not a simole tone, S experience but aVov. :;U vi.-:' P^y "'v J°?V and keen judgement of -^ itr/'co I*'.1 ci can follow to assure hi.-self wh-t^"" tCts-T *'. are certain rules which one trying to l0 ?has bc^" found, finger and bow the f .'ZS^ " °^ and that is by sightly d^Vui different place for *«» hich is s a certain rin:; and P° ls Properly adjusted,** ** there freedom of sound>ouna. ihio ...cans the best *** *"^place for the post has- been

■

.o,^ ARC;

>-.-- <■ S

l,6

n,,>w,~~

*" c-;-v-';* uv :0...;.^,,.

?,...

■ 7 found. The pressure,the contact of the two surfaces,the direction of the post,whether vertical or slightly it be slanted on one side, all play an important .part. It is for this reason that this job should be placed in the hands of an expert. Changes in the weather can so distort the contours of a violin that a post which was perfectly fitted for one condition .:ay show up to be out of line. That is, one or both of the contacting surfaces no longer fits, leaving a gap between it and the top or back. By slight tipping or readjusting, the difficulty may be corrected, but only to recur with another drastic weather change. This does not happen in the same degree to all instruments because it is related to the curves of the plates, the nature of the wood, and to the age of the instrument. Some of the high arched instruments suffer more from this problem. Hence,we have a variety of response usually associated with the post, which depends on the weather and to some extent to moisture absorption, localized - pressures,etc. For the very "sensitive violinist these variables are a constant annoyance and it appears from the experience gained at this point that the newly designed soundpost minimizes these variations considerably and definitely improves response, tone quality, and generaj. stability. * Heron-Allen mentions in his book Violiw Making As It Was And Is* 1, page 152 that some early workers had tried to improve" the post either by drilling a vertical hole through the center or by drilling longitudinal holes every half inch apart. Modern experimenters have tried to improve the post by facing the contact areas with cork or any other cushioning material but this only mutes the tone. The present design gives the post flexing ability in two directions to conform with the complex motions induced by the bridge in the top of the violin. Whether or not this is the proper -interpretation, this post has in fact improved every violin on which it was installed,— and the better the violin, the greater the effect. On many occasions I have installed posts of this type on instruments brought to me for minor repairs, the owners of which were friends and professional musicians. Without their knowledge that the post was replaced with a modern one, the moment the instrument was in their hands they exclaimed of its better tone. And when they were back in their own acoustical surroundings, they realized even more the vast improvement. This was always followed up with a phone call that the violin never sounded so well before, with an inquiry as to what I had done to bring it about. At least ten different designs were tried before the present illustrated one was adopted

THOUGHTS ON THE RESPONSE OF A VIOLIN —- iYaurice Hancock I have long been of the opinion that the differences between individual violins -- and others of the violin family — .were frequently much more noticeable to the player than to the listener, and were particularly apparent in the feel of response under 'the bow, and in the readiness with which transitions from one note to another took place. These effects of course produce a feedback which causes the player to have confidence - or lack of it - in his instrument, and in this way they reacc beneficially or otherwise on his performance, and so they influence ultimately what 'the listener hears, but they are primarily functions of the purely mechanical attributes of the instrument. These thoughts suggested that the mechanical driving impedance at the contact point between bow and string would be an interesting quantity to measure, and that if this were done, some interesting correlations between it and the quality of the instrument might be found. I originally thought just of measuring the damping.parameters, but obviously this is only one aspect of a broader problem, and in setting out to measure damping, it would require only a small extension of. the work to measure the mechanical input impedance completely. In principle there seems to be no difficulty about measuring these quantities if an electrically conducting string is driven by feeding it with the appropriate alternating current and the mechanical driving force is generated by applying a small permanent (8) magnet close to the string at the desired Blrml.+.* " possible to both find the driving forceand tte slaould be impedance. response produced* and hence *"» " " " the driving An obvious and interesting extension would *■- try power supplied then to +„ find« ut to the string actually end- un Th„\ where "the . from the driving in ? P°wer "»««W° be parameters, andlTa s^rvev of tb! Jf calculated anechoic chamber or in the open eld Was d air, wHouL sav whffn^P h^ "*« int c radlated aound a n f"the powel-* ** findSS tbfthe energy° *YeVlosses 'bsiSarrLSen? mi^tSht b°be neaessary***»« in the strini?- itself by *l?Z ?\? here to string ?imilar alone without the counling 'to » radLtL - ! drlvla8 experiment on the the difference between X thOUSht f radiatinând So^SS^^^*"^ d ° "n^T x=r tS- irha-UT^ instrument, _so 1 have_dLnitelf3££3 r^^^^- KOISTURS W THE B ra Wood «-« I«»«B -V«ooertR E. Fryxell ZT"V'can breathe in and* "», obert" I moisture on+ ac bUt " — ntW rayS toa a b i0 violin: !I. d --ina^^^ the-behavior **» ei°olin dimensional° changes,* 2.acoustical changes! and sound of a It is - well-known to wood technologists a<~ Sh aS 2^ % IS S W d are considerable SwellsSwelling m 1hotfhumid weather causes crossâin^Son^feXtrerae? °°veather changes, bnoge increfsed\ln£l changesI in and strings, and generally the who?! aroh:in^ the angle between It is less well-known instr affected, thft manlf shows a aair-^ swelling than somewêwha '" *greater tendency spruce, and althou-h this % ' " " towards*" such been recognized by many oS $£ respect probl^V0 eValUate to Problems of instrument adjustment.«*» ■" ' ConcerningS acoustical ch„" S resonan=e B f on causes a 4X"r^cSa;i^ sôdfT^ ° ** «"** —*«" decrease in resonance freauen" w" Soneral,increasing°moisture content identified specimens is sc^ty, aiXable formation on carefu^y this ITTor^l^T*'" gap in information in non-existent . I have attenpted the last LTI a tomi furnished by Mrs .Hutchins These in 1 5 »««*»» collection of ranging most J!"' T" r m saLaeT from Ito 50 years for maple boards ot to age, the andl tn b ° unvarnished samples in chambers " for SprUCe°"By storing I found weight of vaLL humiditieshu, L^ from/^ " changes as high as 15°/ w,t zero to 100% relative frequency changes wire also considerate viS S,? fnd Very molst - increased. For- maple, the results were very^sisW 111 aS ra *»««^«iStUre c atent for each percent "-^V* change in weight. !?',"? frequency" shift° of ° "ore, with Fo-snrucert individual varied, 0.7-0.6% shifts of 0.4-0. 7 for each strips considerably correlation % S * elgbt of this variation with !ge ° * ' There vaa no apparent Assuming *" that such shifts will occur- « „ is 16 +* r clear that a shift of nearly nance f a fialsha instrument, 107 coull S placeT for" ° Assuming" also that the "air reso?W> %t extreme weather* changes. is obvious that the optimum by weather talf octev lnterval°f"^^^ôted conditions affected by humidity between the two may be seriously spruce changes Als^ and ntlh and maple show slignUy im rtaat,is the fact that tone or £t£renl resoonsTtV^moisture+ *"> semitone difference between top „? changes. Thus, the optimum by weather and w!oac^ P^tes° may be changes. Al5 eps shift in significantly disturbed Place between dlffa the hu-,id sui"r and dry Sf? rence may well tê Hutchins, a indoor'wint" ndlti°ns. ' ■ 15 eps shift in theinterval be?we3.n n^V°°" And according to Mrs. between a good and a poor instrument PlateS sorae ti"os spells the difference -S'sx^r^^l^„--tr^

>, r (9) this criterion prevention -- rt " " . mont to the rrnkingand 2 f fre uea=y PrcservaUon'o"-!" ° shifts - is particularly » composition" 0f appLa^d a^^ * . So.-o of my ml^HJ*! experiments together with , ' vera submitted to STHAD magazine " 0 0 C Cnts havti bee SagS * » vrittei, up and'd for publication seâf"nth "âg0 but at has been receive* J ?° " this date no all our understanding re' Work of mature cts» T* ne^s be done entire^plates. *effect Particularly"°on varnished t^n^ f^ ' samples, and if postal BOW ' DESIGN FOR THEVIOLINH family , FAMILY" MaxwellM Kimball Sn eW — i nteôlîon fr^ ly « Sloped with theireâtdperformance Z£TSZZ£ "* a characteristicfdictate^r suggeT^^"* "d'corrected as In the past all sorts of designs wer» tri^ * - rr;:cr::: 1 8 -* arrf"-" ~'°- - - -

Scientific analysis of the action of +h , ,

at present. resents a character- Our designs are f+?77 ? Problem too complicated fn^!*

form to behave carefully adjusted well mechanically**v-«M,a.,y mis in wl u^lce and tonal nnnii+v «■*" . Thts doesdl^not?**oyniaTn +v.~ „ . baLnce- ana

aS ■""P°rtant as a good instrument. For ' those of you who +>,-,- „, Fletcher have r^d c - has spent era «*««. and your -anThoSftransl'infS tT significant°?! Donald editor hopes eventually ?o 3 writings" *° of Felix '

re partie,Titre Vi. Dcs Instruments de musique.

+-v 1 " " " I 0) " r-, tra°in S W^^i^rttne tooo^that **?* *° >"""* »»«*'* I smoother English garbled by met S oelng pothered S °lontstrSdIhV^ to not by, if even aware of, French-English. U^fx^t^sT safe to oe Ho" it is 1- "T* too literal. For example, on page 60 of Memoire, a pour usage de thf Savart says UW transmettro au fond les vibrations de la table ,«^' + , that 'l'arae'is here used 1 W tnout rea^-ing? _ to .mean7, 'sound postipost , thisu.ns would"fIA.be *L -"0 6 , ,t + + *« 4.v v i j.. translated; The souloux seryrveso

check with current understanding. instrument "I am rlad to have at least a verbal role in the work of the C.A.sl' Carleen Hutchins has offered the additional comments- l»r>nn*-M t?i*+„\, cent and dedicated Job of translating 811 1 to Sawt^moi^e OS9 aT sectlons pertaining violins from the COURSE IN EyPFR^^T'AT pttvqtpo 7 stve^^tions"*1 it "

■* these writings is that they !ol^ 1^ J** indicate that 150 years a*o 1 d SU h that relation be tSt if Serrations" or C £*££"#£" ' f" ° «-**

d> d Vl ln ou ht to satisfy „ °: S these two conditions: have plates giving f*^ !^ */°° toae and a raSS ozr air givin +b ?. S when blown upon j& v°Wtiontvibrations, xhellf^other dimensions' being those of Stradivarius ... * * o violins.. ihe sound 'MdD' iW the belly D3and r°p and toe^ack £Le„ "sL ?Tl^" ° alVayS a differen=c ' a whole tonef '' "-^ - between them"-of a half tone or "He then said that p'v-vs "one could awtruc ann-, excellent.,, i* 4. " "■ " making 'i*

«„.,....♦.

i,wt

■

i,-„ 11 "Savart recognized the main air resdnance of the violin at 512 eps (our 256 eps) which is very close to the open D string. He did not mention the main wood resonance a fifth higher near the open A string. Nor was he able to recognize the proper placement of the air resonance in the normal cello. Instead he apparently considered the strong resonance an octave below the main wood resonance to be the air resonance of the cello (which it is not) . In the concluding paragraph of the 1819 MEMOIRE Savart states what many of us consider to be the main purpose of this Catgut Acoustical Society: "it is 'to be presumed that we have arrived at a time when the efforts of scientists and those of artists are going to unite to bring to perfection an art which for so long a time has been limited to blind routine.

With this, your editor ends Newsletter N0. 2 and expresses the wish that readers offer suggestions and contributions for future issues. He thanks the members who,with their fine cooperation, have made this issue a pleasure to assemble. -

Robert E.Fryxell

As this goes to press, your editor hasleernid of another important translation which is in the making. Edith Corliss has undertaken to translate from the German several important articles by W. Lotter.noser which have been published. in recent years. These are concerned with the physics of the behavior of stringed instruments, and will be very useful to our technically minded members in an English version. Further information will be in another newsletter.

/ '3 ■o. > 12 %:

t~£ ! i

i 1 3 4 C

Pl6-**\ i--.-*«»

S»CU,