Stradivarius Secret Found By Texas Chemist
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- čas přidán 10. 03. 2009
- Music lovers around the world sing the praises of certain violins and cellos that were made more than 300 years ago in the small city of Cremona in northern Italy. The instruments made by Antonio Stradivarius, in particular, are highly regarded and the few hundred that survive today command prices in the millions of dollars. For many years craftsmen and scientists have studied these violins to find their secret. Now, a chemist in Texas claims he has already found it -- not in the structure of the instruments, but in chemicals used to preserve the wood.
Why hate on a man that may have solved a 500+ yr old mystery. Bravo professor!!
Musicians are like children. They want to believe magic is real.
gantmj being a musician, this is so true of my fellow musicians hahaha!
People buy Stradivari violins for the legend as much as their actual capabilities. And the musicians who wield these instruments have much bravado and cache. Dealers and players stand to lose a lot if “the sound” can be distilled scientifically and controlled enough where it can be replicated at will.
He did not solve anything. Varnish take time to dry well. It’s all about time
@@henrypagan6657 he discovered the additional chemicals used to coat the violin body.
As an oil painter, I feel that this amazing discovery is what Stradivari would have wanted for all of us, his gift was not just his ingenuity, but his passion.
This isn't an amazing discovery. This man is wrong.
@@johnwattdotcawhy?
I love how you folks got right to the point without first giving us ten thousand Chemistry Professor academic credits.
... and how you don't bother to have your "stunning discoveries" peer-reviewed by the scientific community🤣.
The secret to wood is in the bottom of a cold lake. Felled trees on the bottom have the sap eventually replaced by the water. When pulled to surface and allowed to thoroughly dry, the wood becomes super resonate and beautiful. In Michigan a man got to retrieve timber on lake bottom from the days of rafting trees downstream to the mill. Many trees became embedded in lake bottom and remained there for over a century or two. His furniture work with this wood is incredible. I was taught that was Strads secret his grandfather taught him..?
I read an article about this chemist at A&M years ago, and his reported findings were that the old Italian master violin makers used wood that was more dense, because it came from Alpine regions from the Maunder Minimum, also known as the mini ice age in Europe, which saw drastically colder temperatures during the 1400, 1500 and 1600's. He also found that these makers sealed the pores of the wood with a mineral paste containing silica, alumina and gypsum.
I don't know why this wasn't reported in the video.
You're almost there. Stradivarius went around the country-side looking for old wood from old buildings.
Old wood has warped as much as its going to and makes a more stable medium to build a violin.
His violins are famous because they are still playable.
A few years ago, a street musician, dressed in ragged jeans, sneakers, and t-shirt, performed on the sidewalk using a worn violin, while people of New York City passed him by, barely giving him a glance. A few dropped some coins into his open violin case, but never really listened to what he performed. It was the children who seemed mesmerized by this man's exquisite performance.
What these people didn't know, was that this performer was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinists in America, who, the evening before, had performed a concert in Carnegie Hall, and those in attendance paid big bucks to hear his concert.
Oh, and by the way, his worn-out violin? A Stradivarius worth several million dollars.
There are vids of that on CZcams.
Which just shows most people are busy and can't tell the difference between a million dollar instrument and a thousand dollar one.
I've seen this video. Ya kinda just want to shake those people & yell "Don't you know what you're listening to?!?"
For REAL!!??
Geez, today, some druggie or loonie would have immediately mugged him & taken the money. He's lucky he hasn't been pushed in front of a train.
i love how people here try to judge the sound of an instrument over a youtube video.
And a poor quality video.
Yes your right, I’m a guitar clear finisher over 30 years, and now started varnish Violins. It’s al in the varnish that takes years to crystallize I have something I did that makes it sound like a 100 years old.
I love how ppl that watch CZcams turn around and discount the videos they watch without rational reasons
@@roywilliams8236 I did not discount the video at all, I just find it rather ambitious how people think they can appreciate the rather subtle differences in sound of different violins over any video. Do I really need to go into detail on why that is ridiculous?
@@Philipppppppppppppp 8 think with technology of phones, and certain ppl.have the innate ability from God to know the difference , that it's possible by simply being shown in a video. By everyone? No.
But the video of this guy's research seems to be the claim given here, and at least he has chemical basis to show there's a difference in construction by the finishing layers. :)
I tried to hear, not sure I could tell, because I don't play violin. But place a piano , guitar, trumpet, or like ukelele, on there, and I can easily tell. And have.
My personal piano gives off an incredible sound. Both it and my guitar get better with age. I think my guitar is like 50 years old or do. Piano probably the same.
Go listen to those new trumpets they are making the widen the ends toward the mouthpiece and slightly tinker with the shape of the horn. There a definite difference. Amazing, but too expensive for me to own. :).
I didn't learn to understand 4 part harmony prophet until I went to academy. Once, I was taught, I thought , wow, I've been living in a cave for my childhood. Now I sing a parts to songs she I drive down the road. :).
I think this professor is tryi g to teach us to hear and understand so we can , hear the difference.
They hate that he beat them to finding the real key to making a better violin, one their customers will want, instead of buying theirs. Hurray for Texas (my home state.)
There was blind test with world class musicians to see if they could tell the difference between a Strad and a newer violin. They tended to like the newer violins better blindfolded. What makes a Strad special is the history and lifespan of the instruments, not some mystical unobtainable lost secret.
His attempt to imitate the sound is the highest form of praise for it. WHY does that provoke such hostility?🤔
Money. Everything bad is about money .. or religions.. and Stradivarius is s bit of a "
Cult" as well. period
@@morbidmanmusic People do love bragging rights.
They are afraid that he might succeed. Then they would have much less of an excuse for remaining mediocre, not being able to blame their inability to afford buying a top-notch violin.
One thing is for sure: the treated wood of the Strads did it's job, and made it possible for the instruments to be preserved and playable to this day...with the added bonus of the magical sweetening of the tone due to the maturing of the wood itself over hundreds of years. Amazing how what would have been simply a practical step at the time, would turn out to be such an important part of this legendary instruments preservation and history.
Actually, it's not sure! It could very easily be a false equivocation fallacy! Nowhere did they give any scientific explanation of how the chemicals altered the sound, if at all, nor did they quantify it.
@@Bob-of-Zoid I agree with you Robert. The professor proved that preservative chemicals were used to make a strad, but the link between those chemicals and the "unique" sound of a Strad (if there really is one) remains unproven. For all we know right now, the preservatives may actually make the sound worse. The only way to know for sure is to make two identical violins, one with preservative and one without, and then play them to trained musicians in a series of independent blind tests.
@@BriteTap yes. After 300 years of solid playing we would have a workable hypothesis. Then with production runs of say 50 over another 300 years the hypothesis could be nailed.
Important point. It could be that the age of the wood and/or woods from violins from that era alone account for the sound (treated or not treated by chemicals) since those not treated no longer exist.
No. The secret of Stradivari is that he was a really, really good violin maker.
He was my next door neighbor when I was a kid. Very nice family. I was about his son Zoltan's age. He also had a very sweet daughter named Monique I believe. Very interesting. I remember him telling us about his discovery way back in the day.
bravo Prof. As a musician I admire your efforts in this great research.All the best Sir.
I see a wannabe musician using his chemistry and a worshipful attitude to Stradivarius as a way
to set himself up as being there, and using this publicity to get to play his violin in front of us.
That is the first movement of Tchaikovski's violin concerto! One of my favorites :D
Soaking the listener in good bourbon from old oak barrels also improves the sound quality.
That one always worked for me.
🤣
Gonna have to try the Bourbon soak...might help preserve me too.
Very interesting, informative and worthwhile video.
As a musician I love it. We need to keep doing this kind of innovation
I am happy that this man has found the chemicals representative of Syradavari violins. It would be interesting to know if Stradaveri applied a wetting agent to his violins, and at what stage of the build, and whether or not he immersed them in ashes, and/or salt, and if so, how long he left them in this solution.
How do you tell a real Strad from a copy?
The real one burns with a bright blue flame...
ozwzrd Congratulations, you’ve just answered yourself!😂
😂
a one time inspection skill 😂
Your comment made me cringe
This is underrated lol
My friend,who owns one of his violins, gave me permission to borrow his violins for my workshop at MANNES since my violin was in repair. His violin sounded beautiful. I was amazed how brilliant the tone is.
I hope you still read this. How does one find out about his violins?
@@TNungesser I believe from what I remember (since 12 years has passed), he purchased it from a reputable dealer in Vermont. There’s also a website that Nagyvary created if one searches it up, thought I’m not entirely sure if it has been updated regularly. I hope this helps.
May I also refer you to Zarelon who also is a luthier himself. He has several videos on CZcams if you search for him (Zarelon Bass bar or Zarelon Bow hair). He also makes violin from a rather modernistic approach. Also, perhaps ‘Con Anima’ sound posts as well as Mezzo Forte Carbon Fiber Violins might be of interest.
This video was very educated..I love how scientist works to find out why and how...
Music is about your ears and what sounds good. It's not a scientific process.
It's really rare to find a violin that sounds that good right off the bat.
Scientists say the wood he used were from trees that grew different because of odd weather which caused them to sound different. It was probably just the perfect combination the way that particular batch came together that makes them unique.
He treated one of my guitar in 1986, I wish I could hear it now.
first we had to dissolve 2 stradivarius into water acid solution.
😂
Excellent choice for an outro. I adore Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35.
Pretty Cool. I am fascinated.
That's Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto No.1 in D Major.
It's beautiful. :')
Yes and some Musicians are refusing to play it cos of Ukraine.
They must think he is still alive
3:46 "... showing that great music *can* come from chemistry." You don't say. 😏
It's the wood that gives it that sound, not the preservatives. They just keep it from rotting. The dense wood is the result of a 80-100 year cold spell in Europe at the time. Trees grew differently due to the change in weather and the wood is more dense.
The same is true for any instrument that uses wood as it casing. The literal science of sound.
Super! I heard about this before but I just saw this video. It is great news that the Stradivarius sound could be replicated.
Interesting stuff, and it seems quite plausible that Stradivari used preservatives, and that these affect the tone. That said, the idea that his instruments are somehow better than all other violins has more to do with our need to have one person who is the best at something, than anything about the sound.
Stradivari is perhaps unique in the number of very good instruments he made that still survive, but there are other violins that are just as good. For instance, I've listened to many Strads (I'm an instrumentmaker myself) but the very best violin I've ever heard was a Stainer.
I love Steiner. It is sad how many got butchered and scraped when Italian violins became the rage. I too played several strads and others, including a steiner, and if I had to pick one it would have to be Andreas Guarneri - the Ex Dancla. It had an inscription inside reading (in Latin) "Made Under the Direction of St. Teresa" I used to consider myself a matchmaker when I was in the business. There is no one supreme instrument. Every one has a personality, and some speak so much better in different hands. What a rabbit hole the violin world can be.
I doubt non-musicians can truly appreciate quality sounds from an excellent instrument of any kind. I do believe you have to be a classical musician and composer to truly appreciate a certain kind of music and instrument.
After looking at comments going back 4 years, only one of the commenters, Oneness100, noted that the wood used for Strad instruments was “soaked in water.” This concept was also pointed out on a NOVA program documenting a U of WI researcher who was investigating the construction these instruments. Acoustic string instruments are typically made of both a hard wood like maple for the back, sides and neck and a soft wood like spruce for the top. Maple is used for its strength. It’s the soft top wood that the strings vibrate against via the bridge. The critical thing about the Strad top wood was not what was “added,” it was what was removed, notably the resin. Storing the spruce in the water surrounding Venice for years prior to use was thought to be common practice. This practice served to “leach out” the wood resin so the wood became “more resonant.” Similar wood today would be “ mechanically dried” with the resin still in the wood cells leading to less resonant wood.
It's all about the craftsmanship, type of wood, and the age of the instrument. The older a well made instrument gets the better it sounds.
Well this video makes me feel pretty Good! I"m not a musician, not a luthier, or maker of anything. just a weekend woodworker from time to time. and Ive recently (past year or so been interested in Violin makers. and their expertise in the Contruction and building of them. and in watching and researching things had come to a conclusion that Stradivari must have concocted his own mixture of a wood preservative/treatment, that did just that in the wood of his violins. and besides his DeVine craftsmanship, and years of aging those two combinations created the masterpieces he built above all the rest.And this video kind of gives Creedance to my own neophyte conclusion. Thanks for sharing. ECF
Real Strads don't really exist anymore due to any restoration work performed over time. But, FRY had a much better explanation as to why Strads have the projection of tone that was overlooked by modern makers.
I just picked up a Stradivarius on sale at Guitar Center, these things play like a dream
It's amazing the Stradivarius sound was once attributed to the growing cycles of the wood he used being different than it is today. I guess no one will ever know for sure, but the musicians seem to know.
Until put in a double blind study, and then amazingly don't do any better than guessing which one is the strad.
What an amazing extreme effort for a passion for a hobby
@Stormdude100 haha i was actually talking about the one right at the end which i had later stumbled upon on my own to find that it was Tchaikovsky's violin concerto. but i listened to the Bruch concerto after you mentioned it to me and enjoyed it immensely... so thank you!
So here we are 12 years later, and it is still a dark alley. I personally still think it is the wood of the region at that ime of history.
Extremely interesting. Let’s hope he’s onto something here! 👏
The best musicians on Earth, when blind tested cannot distinguish Stradivarius from other violins. A percentage could but not better than random chance.
I'm not surprised. I have never understood the mystery surrounding Stradivarius. Thank you, Professor, for sharing this science.
I bet the same thing would happen with the fabled $300,000+ '59 Les Paul.
@@zeroatomfault That seems likely. Is there really hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of difference between a modern Les Paul and the fabled '59?
Show me the study.
@@Piccodon I posted a reply yesterday but it's gone now. Likely because it had a pair of links in it. Let me see if I can get around that...
Very cool!
Well, I'm pretty sure I can make a million-dollar Strad sound like a five-dollar fiddle.
I was under the impression that it was several items that Stradivarius used, like his selection of wood that had grown as trees during the last mini-Ice age throughout ''Europe prior, like the poplar logs that are holding up the old buildings build in swampland. Plus there would have been a secret wood finish applied to the wood that would have been a trade secret known only to those who worked for their master Stradivarius.
Maybe I should study on how to make violins and support this guy.
i saw Joseph Nagyvary's violin work in a documentary decades ago - he's much older now - but his throaty voice is unmistakable
i thought he included a special coating (verneer?) on the violin that included crushed crystals - but that isn't mentioned here - evidently he makes and sells violins using what he learned
Interesting video. Now I want to try to build a violin...
Wow, blew my mind.
I once saw a Nova and they thought the old Stradivarius violins may sound superior because the Earth was in a global cooling period back then causing the trees to be better for making violins. My father supported a string quartet and the violin player had a Stradivarius. That made him think he was a brilliant musician, but he was just arrogant.
Possibly a stradivarius sound resulted from an interaction of the wood available of that era, the chemical treatment, age and play in, Stadavarius' violin making skills, Jascha Heifez's playing skills and lots of hype.
Bravo Billy!
Recently tests were made that determined that newer violins that were high quality the sound was just as good as violins made by the old masters. Naturally if you had a violin that was a Strad you would want it to live up to its reputation. Keep the value as high as possible.
A Weather historian + botanist can give a more plausible explanation.
The wood was growing during the "little ice age". (Being the most severe/coldest between 1600 and 1700. Those would be the very trees grown back then and harvested for the violin makers) .Hence the rings are much narrower (little growth) and because of this, the wood is denser than in the 19th century and later.
Other factor: back then, wood was floated down on rivers from the mountains, sitting in the water often for months. Those waters were mineral-laden, water-logging the wood thoroughly during that in-the-water time. When the water evaporated during the many years of mandatory drying period, the minerals, salts were left behind in the wood's capillaries.
+Victor Song Where exactly to make the wood thick or thinner is also a factor. It could be that Antonio was just a genius. If it was so simple as varnish or chemicals why were his son's violins not as good?
Correct!!!!!!!! I glad you know about this
U also right about the water, but he never used wood already cutter or contaminated . This is probably a legend, and I am from Cremona, so, I grow up with Stardivari, ( never have a luck to touch one ) ...but legend said that he was used to cut the trees, and make the wood rolling to ear the sound. Also, the best instrument he did, is a Viola, you can find here in youtube, I forgot the Maestro played that instruments, but look for Adagio di Albinoni in sol minore, Viola e organo!!!!you will cry
I know, sorry, u named the Violocello, just Cello..... look that
Except we know the 'density' of the wood to a T and the 'little growth' was debunked wildly. We can replicate that yet for some reason it's STILL not right.
What a disastrous irony for the Stradavarius mystique : It wasn't the design or workmanship of the maker that created these masterpieces, it was the wood preservative, an afterthought!
This is also true in many cases of building/making a guitar. You can either get a good tone or something unique tone. 😁
You don't need to play them for 30,000 hours just put it in a sound chamber and play music at it to cause it to vibrate for a couple of years or more. Maybe less.
Any instrument could make the sound of the very best instrument in its class, or the worst instrument could be played by a master musician and sound like the best.
It isn't any one thing that makes an instrument sound good, but a culmination of many things that make it sound good!
But the main thing is, when a musician is introduced as the best, and he is playing the best instrument in the world, and everyone in attendance is attentive and respectful. While an unknown man, playing in the street is passed by, by the majority of people, too busy to stop and listen.
Preserved wood can develop characteristics that would otherwise not occur in untreated wood. I have a couple of pressure treated 2 x 4s that kept their shape, but dehydrated to become like styrofoam in mass. The porosity of the wood used in Stradivarius instruments is what supposedly enhances the tone. This has been thought to be a result of the conditions under which the trees originally grew, but based on the professor's findings one could postulate that the structure of the wood has resulted from how the preservatives have affected the aging process of the wood.
I've worked on (set up) and played a Nagvary violin, which is actually just a modern violin made by a Chinese guy to which have been applied washes and treatments using Nagvary's various patented solutions, sealers, etc. The violin sounded ok, relatively pleasing to the ear, no harshness anywhere, but not particularly powerful or captivating in it's tone. In fact, it just sounded like an average decent violin in the "under 5000" range. Lacked grit, power and intensity. Plus, the varnish was the most bland affair imaginable, though fairly decent wood was used.
Would not pay more than 3 grand for such an instrument, though this is arguably a subjective determination.
I can see where some strad/antique instrument enthusiasts would be bummed out to find that a simple preservative was responsible for the mysterious tone of their favorite instrument
but I have a feeling theres more to the story...there are countless variables when it comes to the tone of an instrument...however special the wood treatment, there were probably many using something similar, yet the strafivarius name stands out to this day
I use colron wood dye on my fiddle and banjo bridges !. It gives a rich tone. Beeswax and shellac on the bodies and nourish the wood with olive oil.
This guy didnt find the secret, the comment section of this video did.
From what I hear of professor Note. His violins do indeed have a beautiful ring. If there is any boron present it may be from glass used to scrape the plates of the violin when being made. Just a theory. I think k professor N. Is on to something! If I had the funds I would consider buying one of his violins. All I can say is three cheers for professor N. Thank you sir!
@ShadowChess1 For real. The same thing goes with guitars. I don't know if it's orthodox to think of it this way, but you really do break in the wood which leads to a very rich and loud bass.
It's like watching the magician explain how he does his magic trick
There is no substitute for or process that simulates age and having been played for thousands of hours. An acoustic wooden instrument, being 400 or so years old, still in good condition and playable due in large part to the preservatives in its wood can not be matched by any newer such instrument.
This is not necessarily so for electric guitars as none of them are old enough nor constructed in such a manner as to have taken on the kind of intrinsic tone that a Stradivari violin has.
Eric Clapton is thought to have created the ultimate electric blues guitar tone in 1966 when he recorded as a member of John Mayall's band. His 1960 Les Paul Standard was only six years old at the time, virtually a new guitar.
Amazing story
Wow, you said a whole lot without saying anything at all.. Well done.
@arielstitt first he played Bruch violin concerto in g minor, then he played the beginning of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto in D Major.
the pith was removed from the violins by fermentation of the wood used in a vat of wine which gave them there lightness in weight and wonderful color ,the color was a secret too ,there sound came from the pith being fermented out of the wood leaving it honey combed ,there's no bugs because of the alcohol,if you did your research you would have found this was discovered years ago by someone else who quit there 6 figure job to make a fortune selling his own violins using this method...
Sulfer was probably do to the wide use of wood and coal burning at the time. Boron also can be present in atmosphere. At the time of early violin makers the wood in Cremona was stored in the open rafters of the workshops and homes to age. Might account for some of the elements.
Even with new music instruments as synthesizers there are a lot of people who prefer the vintage ones over new technically enhanced ones.
I think Eddie Van Halen put his solid body electric guitar in a paint shaker to emulate continuous use. There ought to be enough braintrust out there to find a gentle way to pull an already awesome sounding fiddlebox like these behind your car on a chain to get the same effect without wearing the varnish off.
I know an amateur violin maker who showed his instrument to a music professor. The professor said he did a good job but the instrument had a slight harshness to the tone that would disappear with use. He recommended leaving the violin on a piano so the vibrations when the piano was being played would mellow the violin. You might get the same effect by putting the violin on a speaker cabinet while playing violin music.
@@mrdanforth3744 I'm really getting into this now: How 'bout we put seeds inside, mount a stick to the endpin and give it to a Mariachi Band for a couple months?
I have played, built and repaired lots of violins over many years. They have "patched" and restored those fiddles for 300 years. They be cooked as far as a useful instrument anymore. Strictly a collectable now. You see wood deteoriates with time. It is a very slow form of dry rot. These violins have to be kept in absolute controlled enviornments or they will turn to dust! No longer are they "daily players". I noticed years ago that fiddles made in the 1840s and before will "Belly out" meaning that the string preasure on the bridge will waver the tuning as the top is no longer stiff and bends under string preasure and playing preasure. They make good displays or wall hangings but their fiddle days are over! I have an 1823 Stainer hanging in the living room now for just this reason. Since it takes about 30 years to play a violin "in". Most great fiddles are between 50 and 75 years old. I currently play a Kirt Brycha made in New York in 1961. It will crack glass :) If your hunting a great violin, study the masters that were building between 1930 and 1980 and play those until you find one that suits you. Older is not better as spruce has a shelf life :) Here is another hint. It is easier to find a great fiddle than a great bow!!!!!
What is the song the man in the blazer was playing? I always hear it in videos and they never leave what the song is called.
Who is so generous to offer his valuable collection for scientific experiment ?
I would like to buy a violin handcrafted and treated by this man, where can I contact him?
nelson there aresitesi believecan tell you what the letters indicate sometimes its year o f production ,varnish type etc maybe what grove harvested wood from i dont know for sure but maybe worth checking out
i would have it appraised also
The Texas A&M University school newspaper ran an article of him and his theory in the late 1980s.
That means that violin shops really disliked this video 😀😂😄😄🎼🎼🎵🎵🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻
Well, as I remember, except deep understanding of acoustics of violin and such, those Italian masters tried to learn how joining diffetent types of wood result in sound, and the main thing was the secret of varnish - according to some statements that was the main thing that made it sing like no other violoin. Well, if a guy like Strad simply knew how sound was changing depending of changing the sideline and chose the best variant, and that could be copied exactly, and yet even in his life they were sold at high price, it mearly not only acoustics and the name that count.
A brilliant man.
Very impressive reserve engineering!
One theory was that Stradivarius made his own lacquer by getting ground non jewel class gemstones and mixing with clear lacquer. This was to get the right color, but had the side effect of treating the wood.
Strad discoverer number 4372 :D
I wonder, if these geniuses are aware and could even hear, that there are no two Strads who sound equal and the difference between certain instruments (take the "San Lorenzo" and the "Seefried" - Wolfgang Schneiderhahn played them - as examples, the San Lorenzo with a full booming sound on the G string and sweet and mellow in the upper registers, the Seefried a bright Soprano like a silver bell with an astounding overhead of harmonics on the G string) is more than surprising.
Nice entertainment, but not more :)
It is hard to explain. I know exactly what you mean. They are like human voices, with their own character and temperament. Since you have a very discerning ear, I entreat you to listen to my work on Andreas Guarneri's "Ex Dancla" and a host of more obscure instruments. I am obsessive about finding instruments with very unique voices and writing music especially for them and recording the results. I have played the 1718 Firebird Ex St. Exupery, works by Steiner, Amati, Bergonzi, Gaspar del Sol, Viullaume, del Jesu, etc etc etc and they are as individual to me as people. Some are easy to play, some are difficult, some play me. The link I send you is to a collection of songs that I compiled during my time in the violin business. They are the ones that spontaneously emerged from the voices of instruments and did not match the style of my usual compositions. czcams.com/play/PLbmMj5D6o55rHNp8oRHd-KJZHoOlUuUjw.html
If you like the work drop me a line and I will send you more. I have compiled quite a few examples of the phenomena I call "The Whispering in the Wood" Cheers! Glad to know the whole world isn't deaf.
New scientist, an authoritative publication, reported several years back on an experiment where several top violinists played various, mostly modern violins but were uable to identify the million dollar ones. Waiting how they sound after 30 thousand hours, doesn't cut it. They might be able to buy hundred great violins over that time.
It might not even have been his technique. They said it was common in northern Italy, must have been a local thing that the luthiers knew in that region to protect against wood worms.
In addition the wood used was more dense because of the hard winters at the time.
You know stradivarius was a genius when his works needs thousands of scientists to uncover his mystery
Or just one scientist who knows how to use an X-ray diffraction machine
@@scorellis Stradivari didn't use x-rays.
@@aachoocrony5754 I was referring to the “thousands of scientists”, not to Stradivarius. Does anyone on the internet pay attention?
@@scorellis ah sorry didn't see the context. Knew I was missing something. Lol
@@aachoocrony5754 certainly nobody apologies, so thank you! Brilliant!
I would think that the sound of any stringed instrument depends upon the thickness of the body ,density of the wood used, surface coatings used, and size of the sound hole to release the volume after the sound is made by the instrument,also the shape of the body of the instrument will determine the reverberation created , people experimenting with carbon fiber were they can make a strong yet thin body that may develope a more resoness tone ? Just a thought ?
I want one of the professor's violins! 🥰
Stradivarius violins are better than ordinary ones in one important respect, I had read: their resonant points are in the right places to help them play in tune. But back when they were made, A was 427 Hz and not 440 Hz, so being able to make violins of similar quality today would be extremely useful.
Please, don't be scientific about acoustic instruments. They change their sound and tuning with
the environment, air pressure, temperature, and the confines of the rooms they are played in.
When you hear a symphony sit down at the beginning, and start to play notes to see how they sound,
everyone together, and try to tune all their instruments together, does that sound scientific to you?
Preservatives would hardly change the tone. Just another form of magical thinking. The wood is the main factor here and off course how the instrument was constructed.
There are only about 600 Stradivari violins in existence. Something tells me their market value will not be affected
What about the work of Jack Fry? He applied physics to the problem of string driven vibrating boxes and deduced the reasons for a lot of what Stradivari did to tune his violins.
@MarkusGronroos isnt that the one that Joshua Bell has?
yeah like adverts of some new tv models "look how many colors it can reproduce!" like you dont see it in your own tv that displays only the ways it's able to.