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The Hutchins–Schelleng Violin Octet After 50 Years

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Abstract

Scientifically speaking, the Hutchins–Schelleng violin octet is the most interesting of all the bowed string instruments. We refer specifically to those instruments resulting from the first application of physics to the design of bowed string instruments, viz., the scientific resonance scaling process developed by John Schelleng to dimension the violin – certainly the most “successful” and mature bowed string instrument – to cover a 3½ octave range.

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Acknowledgments

My contribution to violin octet research discussed here owes much to the active support of Carleen Hutchins who loaned me a complete octet for modal testing and the National Science Foundation who funded the materials-dynamics approach embodied in VIOCADEAS. I also want to acknowledge discussions with Robert Spear concerning the present and future status of the violin octet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Acoustics Laboratory, East Carolina University, Howell Science Complex, Room E208, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA

    George Bissinger

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  1. George Bissinger
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Correspondence to George Bissinger .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Computer Research in Music &, Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University, Stanford, 94305-8180, California, USA

    Thomas D. Rossing

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Bissinger, G. (2010). The Hutchins–Schelleng Violin Octet After 50 Years. In: Rossing, T. (eds) The Science of String Instruments. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7110-4_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7110-4_18

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-7109-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-7110-4

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