Violining, part two!

Four more days, guys. Just four more days. Hang in there, don't stress, and most importantly, keep up!




With that said, recall from last week how the tensions of both the bow and strings of a violin contribute to its sound. The tuning pegs or the bow's screw need to be adjusted precisely and carefully to produce the optimal sound. Now that the mechanics have been explained (somewhat...), we can move on to the finer aspects of violin: the sound itself!




We've learned in physics that a "repetitive vibration" causes a continuous, periodic, sinusoidal-shaped graph. But if violinists played with a "repetitive vibration," they would be limited to the same note, at the same pitch, with the same frequency. That would be boring! Much more often, we enjoy listening to varied notes, varying (or at least extremely quick) speeds, at different pitches. Here's David Garrett breaking the violin speed record!




There are other aesthetically pleasing things violinists can do to dazzle audiences, too. Vibrato is a vibration in the left hand that causes a pulsating change in pitch. It adds character to sound as opposed to just a flat note. A tremolo is the same concept, except with intentionally a much higher frequency to produce a "trembling" effect. Both take time and skill to develop, but are essential tools to violinists. Without these dramatic variations in frequency and pitch, violinists simply don't sound good, and consequently they wouldn't be successful in getting our money. Most importantly, though, we would lose doc! as one of the people who show up to Orchestra 5 concerts. People like Mozart and Bach and Beethoven would be nobodies. Many violin-makers would lose their jobs. The economy would thus undergo a huge recession. The stock market might explode and the world could end in 2012.


And so I end today with a fun fact: recall that a sound that is ten times as intense is only perceived by humans to be twice as loud. Essentially, a violinist needs to work ten times as hard for you to hear only a two-fold increase in volume. And the reverse must be true too: a violinist needs to work ten times as hard for you to sense a two-fold decrease in volume. Appreciate what we do for you, guys!

The Physics of Violin

The result of a very short weekend and some very substantial writer's block is this week's feature on my very good friend, the violin.

Before reading about harmonic motion and some introductory remarks on sound, it had never occurred to me that music was all about physics. And by next week, we'll know even more about sound. Well then! ....um, I'll cover that next time. Soooooo!

Since sixth grade, when I first picked up a violin, I had messed around with things like tension and friction to get a desirable sound. Granted, I probably used the wrong word there; calling it "desirable" would be extremely misleading. Oh well, as usual, it's Sunday night!

At any concert featuring any string player, the first and foremost requirement is properly tuned strings. A violin's four strings are affixed to four tuning pegs, which when turned clockwise, increases the tension on the string. Consequently, this increases the frequency of the sound produced by the string (the sound's pitch is "higher.") The opposite, of course, results when a violin is tuned counterclockwise. Since so many different tensions can be achieved with the tuning peg, strings can be tuned to whatever note is desired. On the same end, however, tuning is sometimes a difficult and frustrating task. Back when I really was clueless about tuning, I recall breaking a few strings when I increased the tension too much.




Aside from a properly tuned instrument, a violinist's bow must be appropriately groomed with sticky substance, and lots of it. Conventionally, the bow is made with horse hair and coated with rosin. Without rosin to increase the coefficient of friction on the bow, the sound produced is very weak or completely nonexistent. Using too much rosin, of course, results in a very harsh, sticky sound. Another amateur mistake I probably made in sixth grade.






Moreover, the force of tension applies for the bow, too. Turning the screw on the bow (clockwise) increases the tension on the hair. Just like the strings, the hair needs just the right tension to produce the optimal sound. Careful owners of bows always say to loosen the hair completely after playing, each and every time. I say forget it. I generally remember this only after putting my instrument away, zipping it up, and closing the buckle. At which point I refuse to unzip my case, unbuckle my buckle, and take my bow out again, because I just can't be bothered to do all that. How annoying.

And so with a properly tuned instrument, a properly tightened and rosin'd (yes, I make up cool words) bow, a good violinist can start playing and dazzling audiences. Well, not exactly. You can play with an untuned instrument, with an un-tightened bow, without any rosin. You'll survive. I did.