The secret of Stradivarius violins

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Posted by Magnetonium on Jul-07-2008 21:17:

The secret of Stradivarius violins

How about infusing some Stradivarius violins into your musical production?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...PStory/Business

quote:

Sound reasoning
Researchers using medical scanning equipment claim to have unlocked the secret of Stradivarius violins
BEN HIRSCHLER

Reuters

July 3, 2008

LONDON -- Researchers using a medical scanner have worked out why a Stradivarius violin sounds so good - it is because of the remarkably even density of the wood.

For the past 300 years, musicians and scientists have puzzled over the unparalleled quality of classical Cremonese violins made by Italian masters like Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu.

Now a Dutch doctor and a violin maker from Arkansas think they have cracked the mystery after comparing five classical and eight modern violins in a computed tomography (CT) scanner normally used to examine patients.

Using an adaptation of a computer program developed to calculate lung densities in people with emphysema, they were able to analyze the physical properties of violins without risking damage to instruments worth millions of dollars.

The researchers examined one of the key properties of the violins, the wood density, at the level of the wood's growth rings. While they found no significant differences between the median densities of the modern and the antique violins, they did discover far less variation between wood grains in the old ones.

Since differentials in wood density affect vibration and therefore sound quality, the discovery may well explain the superiority of the Cremonese violins, they reported yesterday in the online journal PLoS One.

So why is the maple and spruce wood in a Stradivarius so different?

Part of the reason may be that trees grow slightly differently today than in the past.

"Climate difference could explain part of it but treatment of the wood could be another explanation. A third answer could simply be the aging of the wood over the past 300 years," said Berend Stoel of the Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. "There is no way of knowing from this data; we've just shown there are density differences."

Still, Dr. Stoel and U.S. violin maker Terry Borman think the research may help modern instrument makers seeking to replicate the work of the Italian masters.

***

The master maker

Antonio Stradivari is generally recognized as the greatest violin maker in history. He was born in Italy in 1644 and worked for most of his life in Cremona.

He had the habit of inscribing his violins in Latin, so the instruments took on the Latinized version of his name - Stradivarius.

His violins are famous for their superb sound quality, beautiful resonance and rich, deep tone.

There have been various theories put forward over the years to explain the unique character of Stradivarius violins.

The quality of the wood has been cited as a factor as well as the precise shape of the instrument, the thickness of the wooden plates in the belly and the back of the violin, and the varnish.

Stradivari made more than 1,100 violins, 650 of which survive today.

He died in 1737, aged 93.

Posted by ReclusNdangrmnt on Jul-07-2008 21:36:

Verrry interesting... Thanks for sharing.

Posted by aNYthing on Jul-08-2008 01:04:

NEWSfuckingFLASH! Welcome to like 2003...

This has been known for ages!!! They even had a 2 or 3 year old discovery special about "mini ice age" and how it may have resulted in a "secret" quality of Stradivarius violins.

Here, look for yourself:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/scienc...rius.secret.ap/