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Description of String Instruments for Classical Music

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Abstract

Musical instruments are cultural objects. Their study is as much a cultural study as it is about the physics, the acoustics and the materials used for their construction. The manufacturing of musical instruments, their shape, their decoration and their iconography is characteristic of the aesthetics of the musicians they serve and of the society in which the musicians lived. Illustrated are some aspects of the historical evolution of string instruments found in Western classical musical practice. These are the instruments of the symphony orchestra, namely those of the violin family, violin, viola, cello and double bass, the classical guitar, the concert harp and the grand concert piano. Three particular art forms used in the service of Baroque musical instrument representation were painting, intarsia and sculpture. These art forms were used to enhance their symbolic value and to emphasize the origins of these exceptional objects which are indispensable to the musical phenomenon. The fascinating sense of ornamentation of the craftsmen manufacturing these instruments was unsurpassed. The shape of the musical instruments was derived from three main considerations: acoustics, ergonomics and aesthetics. The manufacturing of musical instruments is described in terms of the principal operations required for their construction. In the last section of this chapter the directivity of string instruments is analysed. During the 20th century new instruments have been created using the scale principle and derived from the geometry of the violin and of the classical guitar, namely the Hutchins—Schelleng violin octet and the Caldersmith guitar quartet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Melbourne, Australia

    Voichita Bucur

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Appendices

Appendices

2.1.1 Appendix 1: Sizes of the Instruments from the Violin Family

figure afigure a

The sizes of the instruments from violin family (Data from Ron Pinkham-Woodsound Studio. http://woodsoundstudio.com/images/setup-charts/cello&bass-sizes.pdf. Access 28 April 2014

2.1.2 Appendix 2: Mass of Instruments from the Violin Family

Mass of instruments from the violin family

Maker

Location

Date

Description of fittings

Mass (g)

Violins

Andrea Amati

Cremona

1577

No chin rest, all else ebony

353

Carlo Bergonzi

Cremona

1732

“Tarisio” no chin rest, all else boxwood

355

Mateo Gofriller

Venice

1715

Complete, all boxwood

395

Jacob Steiner

Absam

1668

Original Baroque condition, no chin rest, ebony fittings

 

Antonio Stradivari

Cremona

1694

“Harrison”, no chin rest, rosewood pegs, ebony

319

Antonio Stradivari

Cremona

1704

“Betts” complete, all boxwood

429

J.B. Vuillaume

Paris

1871

No chin rest, all else boxwood

378

Contemporary

Usa

XXth century

Complete—all else boxwood

454

Contemporary

Usa

XXth century

Complete—all ebony

384

Contemporary

Usa

XXth century

Complete—all rosewood

457

Viola

Andrea Amati

Cremona

1577

No chin rest, all else ebony

576

Nicola Bergonzi

Cremona

1781

No chin rest, boxwood pegs, ebony

561

F. Gofriller

Venice

1730

No chin rest, all else rosewood

583

Jacob Steiner

Absam

1650

Original Baroque conditions, no chin rest, maple fingerboard &tailpiece

561

Contemporary

Usa

XXth century

Complete all ebony

615

Contemporary

Usa

XXth century

Complete all boxwood

666

Cello

N. Gagliano

Naples

1752

7/8 size, complete—steel endpin

2597

D. Montagnana

Venice

1735

Complete, rosewood pegs, steel endpin

3000

Contemporary

Usa

XXth century

Complete, steel endpin, rosewood pegs

2870

Contemporary

Usa

XXth century

Complete, all ebony, steel endpin

2610

2.1.3 Appendix 3: Bracing System for Classical Guitars

figure c

Different bracing systems (G Weigert http://gidsguitars.wordpress.com/how-to-build-a-guitar-part-1/. Access 10 April 2014)

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Bucur, V. (2016). Description of String Instruments for Classical Music. In: Handbook of Materials for String Musical Instruments. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32080-9_2

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