Violin Acoustics

• Introduction to violin acoustics

Some of our research on violin acoustics

• Articulation and vibrato on the violin and their importance to the violin sound(s).
• The research papers of John McLennan, PhD student in Music Acoustics at UNSW.
• A study of torsional waves in the bowed string, and how they are strongly coupled to the normal transverse waves during normal playing.
• How do violins change with playing and environmental changes over time?: a report after the first three years of a long-term study.

Some explanatory notes

• Strings and standing waves (a simple introduction to vibrating strings).
• Bows and strings (a simple introduction to that interaction).
• Chladni patterns (experimental results showing the vibration of the plates of violins).
• What is a sound spectrum?
• What is a decibel?
• Acoustics for violin and guitar makers by Erik Jansson.
• And finally, yes, we felt obliged to put on our FAQ some comments about that hoary old question "what was the Stradivarius secret?".