THE yiOLI N HOW TO MHKE IT. BY 7? Mkster of the Instrument- BOSTON : Published by e©,. |5Q TRgMONT ST., BOSTON. DANCLA’S CELEBRATED OL Easy and Very Progressive, IN TWO VOLUMES. This superb work in its complete form will be warmly welcomed by students of the king of instruments, and by teachers who have been hampered by imperfect text books. It is generally acknowledged to be one of the best methods for teachers and beginners Contains a thorough and systematic arrangement of easy, pleasing and VERY PRO¬ GRESSIVE studies, arranged in the form of melodious and entertaining duets for master and Pupil. The Complete Work contains 168 Large Size Pages of Music. The character of the work may fairly be judged by its CONTENTS. Vol. I.—Preface. Remarks. Position of the body. Position of Violin and the bow Tuning. Metronome. Tuning of the Violin. Value of notes. Preparatory exercise. Trip¬ lets. Major Scales. Rests. Keeping time. On the dot. Accidentals. Twelve melodic exercises. Exercises on the slur. Syncopation. Regular and Broken. Clear intonation. Intervals. Crossing fingers. Scale in C major. Scale in A minor. Expansion. Chromatic scale. Half chromatic tone. Half diatonic tone. Twenty short exercises. On expres¬ sion. Position of the hand. Double stops. Two easy duets. Explanation of the signs for down and up bow. Three easy studies. Vol. 2.—Division of the Bow. Staccato bowing. Two Studies. The twenty-four scales. Martelato bowing. Exercise. Exercise in triads. Broad staccato. Thirty-six pieces. Caprices. Study in the 3d position. Vibrations, sustaining tones. Study in the 2d position. Uniting the five different positions. Bounding staccato. Exercise in thirds. The trill. Ex¬ ercise on trill. Syncopation. Long and short notes. Study in the 3d position. Appoggia- tura or grace note. Fingering. Abbreviations. Close bowing. Organ Point. Hold. Groups of notes. Embellishments. Thrown staccato. Character of the four strings of Vio¬ lin. Trill and grace notes. Staccato. Staccato down bow. Study. Double stop. Study. Staccato and dot. Change of tones fingered and those of the open strings. Study. Study of the bounding staccato. Half position. Drawn tones. Study for the drawn tone and the hold. Arpeggios. Study. Octaves Study. Quality of tone. Sordine. Study for the 2d position. Enharmonic tones. Tremolants. Varieties in tuning theViolin. Triple stop (chords). Preludes. Shifting the position of hand. Chromatic scales. Pizzicato. Har¬ monics. Price: Vol. I, $ 1.00; Vol. II, $2.00; Two Volumes bound in one, complete, $3.00. Mailed, Postpaid, upon receipt of marked Price. 0, W. STORY, 26 Central St., Boston, Mass. THE HOW TO MMKE IT. + BY + 7X 7VYkste F2 Ore THE I NSTRUMENT- BOSTON t Published by oaw ER ©TP9®NaOO,. I BO TREMONT ST., BOSTON. PREFACE. That this modest volume challenges no criticism, is plain, from the fact that the author is not in search of fame, but aims only to produce a work written in language so plain as to be readily understood by all lovers of the violin, high or low; a book free from ambiguities, and that kind of language which conceals ideas. Its merit, if it be acknowledged, will be based not upon its character as a literary work, but because its contents are of a useful and practical nature. The author’s information has been derived mainly from his own experience, corroborated by the communications and opinions of many others of such standing as to give high value to their authority. He feels, therefore, that he is justified in placing it, with modest confidence, before those who are in a condition to require it, without any hazard of leading them astray, and with an earnest desire that it may prove useful. That this little work may enable the inexperienced mechanical ama¬ teur to understand the construction of the instrument in a general sense, and that it may also convey such practical information as will render the unskilled purchaser capable of judging intelligently and independently of the merits and demerits of instruments, is the author’s fervent wish. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Getty Research Institute % https://archive.org/details/violinhowtomakeiOOmast THE VIOLIN. HOW TO MAKE IT. CHAPTER I. THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE INSTRUMENT. Bow-instruments exist from a very early date, some of which approximate closely in form to our modern Violin, whilst others are of the rudest description, but still possess one important distinction from other stringed instruments, viz., that of being played upon by a bow, as those truly possess a character and quality essentially their own. Among such instruments may be ranked the following, although a great many more might be enumerated: — The Ravanstron of India and Ceylon ; the Rouana of the same countries ; the Urh-heen, or Fiddle of China ; the Omerti and Kemangeh-a-gous of Arabia and Persia ; the Rebab, also an Arabian instrument; the Goudok of Russia ; the Soorunga and Tarau, or Thro, of the Burmese Empire ; the Koba of Tartary ; the single-stringed Violin, or Mono¬ chord, of Egypt; the Fidla. Langspel, and Sumphion of the Icelanders ; the Gue of the Shetlanders ; the Guhue of Africa ; the Crouther, Crwth, or Crowd, of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales ; the Linterculus ; and lastly, the Viol species, which bear the nearest resemblance to the Violin proper. Let us rapidly glance over some of the foregoing instru¬ ments, whereby we may trace a slight similitude to that of ( 3 ) THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 4 the Violin. The Ravanastron and Rouana are constructed almost precisely similar, both being formed of a wooden cylinder, over one end of which a piece of skin or thin wood is fixed, serving as a sounding-board, upon which is olaced a small bridge, whilst attached crosswise to the wooden tube is a handle containing two pegs for retaining the two strings of this primitive instrument. The Urh-heen, or Chinese fiddle, is constructed with a cylindrical body, over which is stretched a piece of snake’s skin, upon which rests a bridge, over which four strings are stretched, terminating in the pegs, which are inserted in a line in the longitudinal and cylindrical hand of the instrument. The four strings have the bow attached to them instead of being held free in the hand of the player. The Omerti is a somewhat similarly constructed instrument; but having a body formed from the shell of the cocoa-nut, part of which is removed and re¬ placed by skin or wood to form the belly of the instrument, whilst holes of fantastic shape are cut through the body of the shell, forming a communication with the internal air. This, also, is a two-stringed instrument, as well as the Kemangeh- a-gous of the Arabs, which is of the same form and construc¬ tion. The Rebab and Goudok are somewhat similar, but each having four sides, upon the under and upper edges of which pieces of skin are stretched to form the back and breast. The Goudok is of a more advanced construction than the Rebab, possessing a curved head, tail-piece, finger¬ board, and sounding holes in the breast, whilst the body of this instrument is better adapted for volume of tone. The Soorunga is a three-stringed instrument, having the body and neck formed from a solid block of wood. The back of this instrument is very convex, being almost a semicircle, and is exquisitely hollowed out, whilst the neck is of a some¬ what similar pattern to that of the violin, but instead of a scroll there are generally carvings of birds, etc., below which are the pegs. The front of this instrument is entirely hollow, except near to the extreme end, where a small piece of parchment is stretched which forms the belly, upon which is placed the bridge sustaining the three strings which are united to a tail-piece as in the ordinary violin. Part of the convex sides are cut away in graceful curves, whilst upon the surface of the back a few variegated figures are carved. The Tarau, or Thro, of the same country, is of an elongated THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 5 form somewhat resembling the common violin, having three strings and a finger-board carved in wood or ivory. The Koba is an instrument somewhat analogous to the former, and having two horsehair strings. The Monochord, or single stringed violin, is common throughout Egypt, but the ancient Egyptians appear to have been acquainted with a two-stringed instrument at a very early date, as Graham, in his account of the first Edinburgh Musical Festival, relates, that upon an Egyptian obelisk brought to Rome by Augustus, and which was supposed to have been originally erected at Heliopolis by Sesostris, four centuries previous to the Trojan war, is a representation of an instrument twenty- one inches in length, having a neck and two strings, and an outline resembling a guitar, but which may certainly be excluded from the violin species, as there is every proba¬ bility for supposing that no bow-instrument was known in Egypt at such an early period. The Fidla of the Icelanders was a rudely fashioned instrument, having six wires or strings of brass or copper, whilst the Langspel and Sum- phion were of a similar construction, the former having four and sometimes five brass or copper strings, with a fretted finger-board beneath. All those instruments were in use in Iceland from an early date, but are now almost extinct. The Gue was an early musical instrument in use amongst the Shetlanders, along with another species of violin having two horsehair strings, which probably was derived from Iceland or Norway, and which w r as performed upon in a manner resembling that of the violoncello. The Guhue is an instrument of rude construction used in Africa, having five hair string's. This instrument is sometimes used as a guitar, and at other times played upon by a bowq as custom or fancy may dictate. Another instrument, somewhat sim¬ ilar in form to the Guhue, is also used in some parts of Africa, having a large single string formed from a number of twisted hairs, and having two holes cut in the breast, which is a piece of skin stretched over part of the instrument. Such are a few of the earliest bow-instruments, some of which are supposed to have been in use from a very remote period, as the Ravanstron of India has been traditionally ascribed to have been known there several thousands of years anterior to the birth of Christ. We now arrive at what is supposed to be a more modern 6 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. European instrument, although certainly very old — the Crwth, or Crowd. Some learned authors are of opinion that those two names do not imply a synonymous instru¬ ment, but this must be left to those deeply versed in anti¬ quarian lore. This instrument at an early date was very common throughout Wales and the Scottish Highlands, as well as in other parts of Europe. The earliest mention made of the Crwth is in the poems of Venantius Fortunatus (Book V.), who was Bishop of Poitou, where, in an address to Lupus, Duke of Champagne, he states — “ Plaudat tibi Barbarus harpa, Chrotta Britanna canat.” “ Let the barbarian praise thee with the harp, Let the British Crwth sing.” This reverend poet wrote about the year 560, but it is generally supposed the Crwth is of a much anterior date to this; but at the same time it must be particularly observed that this writer who thus mentions the Bi'itisJi Crwth was an Italian, as also, that one essential and impor¬ tant distinguishing feature used by him to designate the style of music belonging to the Crwth, is in using the word canat , sing, thereby implying a quality in the instrument somewhat synonymous to the human voice. The word appears to be of Celtic origin, although we find a remarkable resemblance between the word Crwth and the ancient and modern Irish term emit , signifying a harp. The distinction between those ancient musical instruments is one of the utmost diffi¬ culty, as most of the sculptured representations are much defaced, and little care bestowed sometimes in the cutting of them. From decayed relics, monumental sculptures, ancient manuscripts, and other documents, w r e learn the form and construction of the ancient Crwth. In the writ¬ ings of Montfaufon, a picture is given of a five-stringed Violin, which is represented in the hands of a player, this drawing having been copied from a monumental statue upon the church of Notre Dame in Paris. This statue is supposed to have been sculptured about the same period as that in which Venantius Fortunatus wrote, but this is doubtful. Of the Crwth there have been different kinds, the most ancient having had three strings, whilst the num¬ ber subsequently was increased to six. One distinguishing feature between the Crw'th and Viol, is in the almost equal THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 7 prolongation of that part of the instrument through which the openings are cut for the admission of the fingers whilst playing. It will be seen from the following that this instru¬ ment, although of the same class, is widely different from the Violin, but is nevertheless an early though primitive type of the same family. From dimensions taken from several specimens of the British Crwth, the following meas¬ urements may be taken as a mean: — Length 20I to 22I inches; breadth at bottom, ojk to 10; breadth at top, 8 ; depth, 2 ; length of finger-board, 10 to 10I inches. The back and breast were generally made of maple, the breast sometimes containing only two circular sound-holes at the bottom, about 1? inches in diameter, but some other instru¬ ments of the same type had two additional round holes cut through the lower or opposite end. The bridge was made of a peculiar form, having one foot much longer than the other, which passed through one of the sounding-holes, and rested on the inner surface of the back, whilst the shorter foot rested upon the breast as in the Violin, being placed near to one of the circular openings. Two elongated open¬ ings were cut through the narrow end of the instrument parallel with the sides, to allow the thumb and lingers of the player to pass, whilst the solid piece left in the centre served as a hand, upon which was placed a finger-board. Six vertical holes were cut for the pegs near to the extremity of the instrument, and in a line with the outer edge, whilst the tail-piece was often made of different patterns, and attached in various ways to the breast. The bridge sup¬ porting the six strings was placed diagonally across the breast, four strings passing over the finger-board, whilst the remaining two were placed at some distance from the others, to the left of the finger-board, and were intended to be played by the thumb. There were several methods of tuning the instrument, amongst which the two following may be mentioned : — STRINGS. 1st 1st 4th 2nd 3rd 9 -— --- 1 - t - -- _ 1 _ ( s N, , V 7 r- .... H . _ ^ ^ " 'S'- 5th — l - 2 nd 3rd ^ 4th 5th 6th EARLIER METHOD. LATER METHOD. 8 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. The Honorable Dailies Barrington, in an interesting paper on the Crwth, presented to the London Antiquarian Society, states that he heard the instrument played upon by John Morgan in Anglesea, about 1770, and even at that period, he observes, the instrument was almost extinct; but we learn from another authority, who had frequently heard the instrument, that it was in use at a period thirty years later amongst some of the old Welsh peasantry. The Crwth is stated by some authors to be of British origin, whilst others fancy it belongs originally to France, and from thence passed to Britain. The next instrument claiming attention is the Viol, which was also known at a very early date, and was in common use throughout Britain during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Its origin is attributed to one, Alcuin or Albinus, who lived in the eighth century. The earliest Viols appear to have had three strings, but the number was changed at later periods to four, five, and six. Viols were made of all sizes and shapes, from the diminutive three-stringed favor¬ ite, to the voluminous Violone, and were a highly esteemed class of instruments, inasmuch as in every household of the wealthier classes a chest of Viols formed an indispen¬ sable requisite. The accompanying illustration of the Viol, as used in Scot¬ land in the fifteenth century, will con¬ vey to the mind of the reader a better idea of the appearance of this instru¬ ment than the most detailed written description. The chest or quartet of Viols bore a similar analogy to our quartet of Violins, viz., two treble, two tenor, and two bass-Viols, which important combination arose from forming a set of instruments approaching in harmony to the various grades of the human voice, viz., Soprano, Con¬ tralto, Tenor, and Bass. At a period subsequent to this, the bass variety was distinguished by the name of Viol di Gamba, from its position between the legs when played upon, whilst finally the terms Violone or Contre-Basso, Violoncello, Viola, and Violin comprised the distinctive titles of the Viol family in its perfected state. The finger- THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 9 board of the viol was fretted for the proper stopping of the strings, as in the guitar, whilst various methods of tuning were adopted, but the most prevalent system in Britain, at least, appears to have been that by Fourths. So great was the supremacy of this instrument amongst our ancestors, that for several years after the Violin had been introduced, the Viol always held the preference, until the former became more widely known, and its qualities truly appreciated. The Viol, although a pleasing, was a soft instrument, the sounds possessing little loudness or intensity. For a period of many years afterthe Violin began to be first introduced, and thus to supplant the Viol, we learn from a contemporary writer the struggles it had to encounter ere it attained priority. In allusion to a concert of various instruments, the author remarks — “ The scoulding Violins will out-top them all and whilst he is willing to admit a couple of Violins amongst the other instruments adapted for a “ merry-making,” he takes the precaution to have also a u a -pair of lusty , well- sized theorboes — the reason being that the Violins “ may not outcry the rest of the musick , the basses especially .” Violers, or performers on the Viol, were quite numerous throughout Britain during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and even formed a part of the Royal Household. They wore red bonnets, were clothed in livery, and received a small gratuity. The terms fiddle and fiddler , so fre¬ quently mentioned by some of the early authors, sometimes certainly refer to the Viol and Violer as well as to the Violin and Violinist, as those words have been, by many ancient historians and poets, used without any due regard to proper distinction. The Viol was in universal use throughout Scotland in the seventeenth century; but at this period it must not be supposed that the Violin was un¬ known, as frequent reference is made to it several centuries earlier. From ancient documents we learn that four Violers played at the Cross in Edinburgh on the day of the Corona¬ tion of Charles II., 1660 ; and many more quotations might be c-ited, verifying the common use of the Viol in Edinburgh and other Scottish towns. In concluding the few preceding remarks upon the Viol, it may not be out of place here to include, also, a species of Viol which ranked as a par¬ ticular favorite throughout Britain, about the commence- IO THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT . men! of the eightheenth century, and which was known under the name of the Viol d’Amour. It was a delicate and sweet-toned instrument, and had five strings formed of wire, although latterly a good many modifications in the form of the instrument took place. It appears, also, to have erroneously passed under the name of the Psalter, to which it certainly bore no resemblance, and was publicly used in Lon¬ don about 1720 ; and in Edinburgh, mention is made of it in 1750. In 1752, Passerini, a teacher of music in Edinburgh, is mentioned as having been an excellent player upon the Viol d’Amour ; and a few years later, another Italian per¬ former, Pasquali, gave a concert, in which this instrument took a prominent position. About 1800 it was almost dis¬ used, as there is but little reference made to it in public concerts after this time, neither is there mention made of any celebrated performer. We now arrive at the most perfect instrument of all, and which has aptly been denominated “ the king of instru¬ ments ” — the Violin. At what time this elegant instru¬ ment came first into use, or emerged from the workshop, it is impossible to mention; but it must be universally admitted that to Italy it derives its progress, about the middle of the sixteenth century, although it is to India we must look for not only the origin of the Violin, but for being the birth-place of all the arts and sciences. Long anterior to the days of the + amous Greek architect Archimedes, did the ancient Brahmans discover hydrostatics and the proper¬ ties attribiited to the Grecian, viz., that every body plunged in water loses of its own weight a weight equal to the voL ume displaced. They also calculated the velocity of light, and from the writings of Surya — Sidhartha — we learn they knew and calculated the force of steam. They formed the most marvellous language in the world, — the Sanscrit, —• from which the greater part of the idioms of the Orient, and Indo-European countries are derived. They invented the gamut with its difference of tones and semitones long before Gui d’Arezzo. The Llindu scale runs thus: — Sa , 7 ?/, GG, Ma, Pa , Da , A 7 , Sa. Let the truthful, unbiassed, and earnest student search where he may through the archives of history, and he will find that there is not a fragment of modern philosophy, whether Newtonian, Cartesian, Huxleyian, or any other, but what THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 11 has been dug from the Oriental mines. There are strange analogies in Nature which modern scientists despise to recognize. The Rosicrucian theory, that the whole uni¬ verse is a musical instrument, which is the Pythagorean doctrine of the Music of the Spheres, may be not so foolish after all, for sounds and colors are spiritual numerals ; and as the seven prismatic rays proceed from one spot in heaven, so the seven powers of Nature, each a number, are the seven radiations of the Unity, the Central Sun of all. In the god Pleptaktis — so hideously and malevolently mis¬ represented by our ignorant missionaries — the seven rays of *he Solar Spectrum are represented concretely. The Seven epitomized into Three primary rays, viz., Red, Blue, and Yellow, form the Solar Trinity, typifying respec¬ tively Spirit, Matter, and Spirit-Essence. Science of late has reduced the seven rays to three primary ones, and thus corroborates the scientific conception of the ancients of at least one of the visible manifestations of the invisible Deity, and the seven divided into a quaternary and a trinity. The seventh ray of the prismatic spectrum — the blue-violet — which is the most powerfully chemical and magnetic of all, corresponds with the highest note in the musical scale, and like this scale the chemical rays increase in power as you ascend the spectrum from the red to the violet. Experiments made by that delicate acoustic re-agent, the sensitive flame, prove the analogy between the same notes of a gamut and the sympathy among individual colors in the spectrum. An incandescent body that produces a par¬ ticular bright band in the rear of the spectrum, will, when in a gaseous state, absorb light and cause a dark band in exactly the same part of the scale. As all the complex music of an orchestra is the result of a few simple notes variously combined, so all the tints of a picture are the results of a few simple colors varied. The musical scale asserts the complex notes in one case^ the spectrum asserts the complex colors in the other. It we express the wave¬ lengths of the notes by relative measurements, adopting List¬ ing’s determinations of wave-lengths, and take C as ioo, then all the other notes have this wave-lengths expressed in per centages. Similarly, Red is taken at ioo, and the wave¬ lengths of other colors are expressed in per centages. Upon THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. I 2 comparison, D and Orange are each 89 ; E and Yellow, 80 ; F and Green, 75 ; G and the average of the Blues, 67 ; A and Violet, 6c ; B and Ultra-Violet, 53 ; C and the obscure rays (Black), 54. « Further, the comparison of harmonies comes out in an interesting manner. Low C and upper C sound well together, so Red and Black go well together. Red and Green, and C and F harmonize well; but Red and Orange no lady would wear, and C and D make a combination by no means pleasant. Red and Blue, or C and G, also go well together. Sounds which harmonize to the ear produce regular acoustic figures to the eye ; as, for example, segments of the circle, ellipses, ovals, circles, or straight lines; but if the sounds do not harmonize, the figures are confused, un¬ steady, and complicated, presenting an appearance as if the wave-lines were contending with each other. Again, mathematically speaking, the relations of musical notes are, that regular simple forms being produced by combinations of these notes which result from vibrations bearing a differ¬ ent ratio to each other, while irregular and unsteady figures are caused by notes which have no such ratios. The pri¬ mary colors are Red, Yellow, and Blue, corresponding to the primary sounds C, E, G. Every two produce a color, and the three produce white, making Seven as in the dia¬ tonic scale ; and as white light may be decomposed into three colors, so every sound is a component of three tones. There are deep, then, within the affinities of Nature, singular and mysterious alliances between color and sound : for there are Seven pure tones in the diatonic scale, because the harmonic octave is on the margin, or border, or rhyth¬ mic point of the first and seventh, like the chemical dark rays on the margin of the solar spectrum. Red is the deep bass or slowest vibration of ether, whilst violet or purple is the high treble vibration like the upper C in music. Dur¬ ing spring-time, as photographers well know, we have this ray most in abundance, and under this ray both animal and vegetable life manifest an inordinate development. Musi¬ cal tones even have a wonderful effect upon the growth of vegetation. It may be herein observed, that to the real and profound student of Nature the allegory of the seven-rayed rainbow to Noah has a rather deeper meaning than that so THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. r 3 generally and childishly believed in, viz., to refresh the memory of the Jewish Jehovah with the Patriarch and people. Another strange 44 freak of Nature” is this : In Southern California there are certain places on the sea-shore where the sand, on being disturbed, produces a loud musical ring. This is known as the 44 Musical Sand.” The Editor of Marco Polo’s travels thus observes : — 44 The sound of mu¬ sical instruments, chiefly of drums, is a phenomenon of another class, and is really produced in certain situations among sandhills when the sand is disturbed.” From Re- musat’s 44 Histoire du Khotan ” I quote the following: — “A very striking account of a phenomenon of this kind, regarded as supernatural, is given by Friar Odoric, whose experience I have traced to the Reg Ruwan, or flowing sand, north of Kabul. Besides this celebrated example, I have noted that equally well-known one of the Jibal Nakics, or 4 Hill of the Bell,’ in the Sinai desert; Gibal-ul-Thabul, or 4 Hill of the Drums.’ A Chinese narrator of the tenth century mentions the phenomenon as known near Kwachau, on the eastern border of the Fop desert, under the name of 4 Singing Sands.’ ” o o But not to digress further, by a comparison between the instruments now in use in India and those played upon by the ancient Europeans, it can be easily demonstrated that the Indo-Celtic races must have transported the original models Westward from the East. The different sizes of this type, Violin, Viola, Violoncello, and Double Bass, have supplanted the whole host of Viols, whilst, from an identity of form, along with perfect intonation, a simi¬ larity of quality has been attained which renders this class of instruments to approximate closer to the human voice than any other. This excellency in the Violin arises chiefly from its power, quality, and flexibility, due chiefly to its outline, material, and proportions, greater thickness, with smaller number and increased tension of the strings, as well as to the improved form and greater strength of the bow used with the instrument. Rude approximations to the Violin are to be found decorating monumental tablets and illumi¬ nated manuscripts throughout Britain and the Continent at an early date, but those illustrations chiefly represent the Rebec with one, tw*o, and three strings, although some 14 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. representations certainly possess a close analogy of parts, as incurvatures of sides, bridge, tail-piece, finger-board, and extended hand. The earliest representation known of any instrument truly approximating to the Fiddle or Violin, is contained in the “ L)e Cantu et Musica Sacra ” of the Abbot Gerbert, and is assigned to the eighth century. In this figure the instrument has but one string, but possesses a bridge and tail-piece, two sound-holes, and something like a finger¬ board, whilst a bow rests on the string, and a portion of the right hand shows that it was held as the Violin. A somewhat similar instrument, having four strings, with two circular sounding-holes near the top, illustrates an ancient illuminated manuscript—“Liber Psalmorum ”— assigned to the Anglo-Saxons of the tenth century. This illustration represents David with a harp upon his knee, a dove descending, around which are inscribed the words, “ Spiritus Sanctus,” whilst upon each side is a figure ; one an ancient juggler performing a favorite feat of tossing up knives, while the other is playing upon this rudimentary Violin. In “ Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes” is to be found a somewhat similar illustration. Another illustration graces the cover of an ancient Scriptural manuscript known as St. Jerome’s Bible, formed of the finest vellum, not to be pro¬ cured at the present day. Certain stains partially deface it, which are ascribed to the aspersion of the Holy, or Con¬ secrated Oil, used in the ceremonies pertaining to the Church. This picture contains three figures, the centre one being an acrobat, standing head downwards — one upon the left is represented as playing upon a two-stringed Fiddle or Rebec ; the other figure, upon the right, appears to be performing on a Tambourine. This copy is ascribed to the thirteenth century and is supposed to have originally belonged to the Abbey of Dunfermline. Amongst the orna¬ mental bas-reliefs upon the Abbey of Melrose, there is a representation of an instrument supposed by some to be of the true Violin type, by others, the Crwth. This venerable structure was the work of a Parisian architect, and was founded in 1136. Dauney in his work, “Ancient Scot¬ tish Melodies,” concludes that no such instruments as the Violin prevailed in Scotland about this time, as Giraldus Cambrensis, who wrote in 1187, only speaks of the Harp, the Tabour, and the Bagpipe, in use‘amongst the Scots, THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 15 but from other sources, we are inclined to think different •— but this is a matter more suitable to the researches of the antiquarian, than to the general reading of the Violin amateur. Many other ancient representations of the Violin species might be enumerated, of which the following must suffice for the present :—Upon one of the stained glass windows of Dronfield Church, Derbyshire ; of Staple Church, Kent; St. Denis, near Paris ; also upon the carved seats of the choir in Worcester Cathedral ; in the Musurgia of Lucinius; on the fa5ade of Amiens Cathedral ; — all the foregoing being ascribed to a pretty early period. As previously remarked, the term “ Fiddler ” cannot be accepted to signify “Vio¬ linist ” at all times, although it was evidently used by many ancient writers to designate a player on the Violin ; yet in numerous cases, where early mention is made of the word, it is impossible that it can be classed as Violinist. The term Vidulator, for Fiddler ; Violer, or player on the Viol; Crowder, or Crouther, all appear in a single document of the year 1306. In the Song of the Nibelungen, which is considered the most ancient of all the Teutonic poetical, ronrances which have been preserved entire, we find the following: — “ Folker knight of courage, bold by his side sat he; A sharp and mighty fiddle-stick held the hero free; ” again, “ Raging like a savage bear; a fiddler mad is he ; Praised be my luck that from the fiend safely I could flee* — where thus the fiddle-stick is made to represent the sword of the warrior. This poem is ascribed to the eleventh cen¬ tury ; and again, in the following century, in the life of St. Christopher, mention is made of “ the fithele and of song.” Fiddlers also formed a part of the Royal Household in the fifteenth century, — their number about this time having been limited to three, and in the same century mention is made of several throughout Scotland, as “ the jidelar of Dunbar,” “ the brokin-bakkit Jithelar in Sanct Androws,” whilst at the commencement of the following century every Scottish town possessed a “ Jithelar ,” as various ancient documents testify. 16 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. In 1505 a “ hielan Jithelar ” is spoken of as having received gratuities in Perth. The Violin appears to have been one of the many instruments used about this time in accompanying the marriage-guests to the church, as from a work in 1543, we read, “ Such folks also do come to the church with all manner of pompe and pride, gorgiousness of rayment and jewels. They come with a great noise of harpes, lutes, kyttes , basens and drommes, wherwyth they trouble the whole church,” etc. Upon the return of Queen Mary to Scotland in 1560, Violins and Rebecs were used in Edinburgh to celebrate her arrival; and in the following year we have mention of Violins being used to accompany the plays in the Court of Queen Eliza¬ beth, and a few years later a Violin is described belonging to this Queen, with a hole cut through the hand for admit¬ ting the thumb of the player. In a rare tract, written dur¬ ing the reign of this sovereign, the author, referring to the ancient Morris-dancers, observes. “ Footing the Morris about the May-pole, and he not hearing the minstrelsie for the Jidling , the tune for the sound, nor the pipe for the noise of the tabor, bluntly demanded if they were not all beside themselves, that they so lip’d and skip’d without any occasion,” from which it may be presumed that the “ fiddlers ” in those ancient times sometimes combined to render their playing a work of “ strength.” In the records of Orkney is a passage referring to the execution of a murderer in 1616, who had killed “ ane, David Sandie, jidler, with ane durk;” and about this time the Violin was also well known in the Shetland Islands. From a quaint author in 1634, we cite the fol¬ lowing referring to country wakes:—“They hate the laurell, which is the reason they have no poets amongst them, so as if there be any that seeme to have a smatch in that generous science, he arrives no higher than the style of a ballet, wherein they have a reasonable facultie, especially at a wake, when they assemble themselves together at a towne greene, for then they sing their ballets and lay out such throats as the country jidlers cannot be heard.” A con¬ temporary author relates the following on marriage-feasts : — “ Some cannot be merrie without the noise of Jlddlcrs , who scrape acquaintance at the first sight; nor sing, unless the divell himself come in for a part,” etc. And from another THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. [7 author,about the same date, we learn the following : — “Next morning come the jidlers , and scrape him a wicked reveib lez. The drums rattle, the shaumers tote, the trumpets sound ton ta ra, ra, ra, and the whole street rings with the benedictions and good wishes of jidlers , pipers, and trum- petters.” Shirley, in his Lady of Pleasure, written about 1635, makes one of the characters say : — “ The case is alter’d since we lived i’ the country; We do not now invite the poor o’ the parish To dinner, keep a table for the tenants; Our kitchen does not smell of beef; the cellar Defies the price of malt and hops; the footmen And coach-drivers may be drunk, like gentlemen, With wine ; nor will three Fiddlers upon holidays, With aid of bagpipes, that called in the country To dance and plough the hall up with their hobnails, Now make my lady merry.” The Violin about this time was used as a military musical instrument in France, Spain, and several other parts of the Continent, as well as in Britain. In the Memoirs of Count Grammont, a description is given of the siege of Lerida in 1647, by the Prince de Conde, who “ ordered the trenches to be mounted at noonday by his own regiment, at the head of which marched four and twenty Fiddlers. Night approaching, we were all in high spirits, our Violins were playing soft airs, and we were comfortably regaling our¬ selves,” he thus pleasantly goes on ; whilst in the British army there was also a complement of Violinists, and who at this time were spoken of as being anything but a “ tee¬ total society.” Twenty-four was the number employed in the royal household of King Charles II., as w r ell as in that of Henry IV. of France. In a letter of King Charles to his aunt, the Queen of Bohemia, written at Cologne, he complains of “ the want of good Fiddlers , and of some capable of teaching new dances”; and this sovereign, adopting the French fashion, “ would have twenty-four Violins playing before him while he was at meals, as being more airie and brisk than Viols.” In France, almost every one of the wealthier classes had Violinists attached to their household, and from an authoress who wrote about this time, we learn the following particulars relative to King Charles: — “At his second visit, he begged of me to let 18 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. him hear my band of Violinists which was reckoned par¬ ticularly good.” The Violin about this period must have been quite common throughout Britain, as even toy Fiddles formed a part of the wares disposed of in the fairs, as in a pamphlet dated 1641, the author, after describing several of the characters, states, “Amongst these, you shall see a gray goose-cap (as wise as the rest) with a 4 what do ye lacke ’ in his mouth, stand in his boothe, shaking a rattle, or scraping 071 a Fiddle , with which children are so taken, that they presentlie cry out for these fopperies.” We also find about this period a letter from Lord Lothian to Lord Ancrum, whilst with the Scottish army at Newark, in 1641, which contains the following : — 44 I cannot out of manie furnish you with a sober Fidler . There is a fellow here plays exceeding well, but he is intollerably given to drink.” The few following remarks from the amusing Pepys, relative to the coronation day, may prove somewhat interesting : — 44 A great pleasure it was to see the Abbey raised in the middle, all covered with red, and a throne (that is a chair) and footstool on the top of it, and all the officers of all kinds, so much as the very Fiddlers , in red vests. ... I took a great deal of pleasure to go up and down, and look upon the ladies, and to hear the music of all sorts, but above all, the twe?ity-four Violins.” And in reference to the improvements of the stage a few years later, 1666, the same author observes, 44 Now wax candles and many of them ; then not above three lbs. of tallow ; now all things civil, no rudeness anywhere ; then as in a bear-garden ; then two or three fiddlers , now nine or tc 7 t of the best; then nothing but rushes upon the ground, and everything else mean, now all otherwise. 4 Hermitt Poore ’ and 4 Chevy Chase ’ was all the music we had ; and yet no ordinary Fiddlers get so much money as ours do here, which speaks our rudeness still. That he hath gathered our Italians from several courts in Christendom, to come to make a concert for the King, which he do give £ 200 a-year a piece to.” Amongst the common customs prevalent previous to, and during the reign of this merry monarch, may be mentioned the follow¬ ing one from an author in 1659, where, speaking of taverns, he says, 44 Your L. wi 1 not believe me that the ladies of the greatest quality suffer themselves to be treated in one of these taverns, but you will be more astonisht when TIIE VIOLIN: MOW TO MAKE IT. I assure you that they drink their crowned cups roundly, strain healths through their smocks, dance after the Fiddle , kiss freely, and term it an honorable treat;” and amongst the numerous odd devices used on tavern signboards, the Violin formed one, as in a work in 1665, treating of “ fanatic reformers,” the author observes, 1,4 Such ridiculous work they make of their reformation, and so zealous are they against all mirth and jollity, as they would pluck down the sign of the Cat and Fiddle too, if it durst but play so loud as they must hear it.” The art of playing by the different shifts appears to have been introduced into Britain during the reign of this sovereign, by Thomas Baltzar, a native of Lubeck, and leader of the Royal band of Violinists, whose performances are graphically depicted in the amusing works of Anthony Wood. We may now consider the Violin as a standard and com¬ mon instrument throughout Britain about this period ; and a few years afterwards, mention is made of it as being used in the H ighlands of Scotland at the lyke-wakes, where a melancholy ball, attended with dancing and greeting, pre¬ ceded the wails and ejaculations of the mourning-women in attendance. About the commencement of the following cen¬ tury, the supreme merits of the Cremona Violin were ap¬ preciated in our Northern metropolis, for in 170S mention is made of ^ two Cremona Violi?is , along with a parcel of fine music books,” to be sold. Pasquali, who arrived here in 1752, had u some Cremona' 1 '’ and other Violins for sale, and about the same period several other Cremo?ias were advertised for sale in the same city. Numerous have been the various so-called improvements in the Violin by some of our modern makers and repairers, but in reality few of them are of any essential importance, as assuredly no artist by means of any different proportions or combination of parts dissimilar to those used by the chief Cremona makers, has reached anything like the same perfection. Doubtless Violins have been made closely approximating in character to our Cremonas, but those have been formed upon a similar system, without any extra additions or pecu¬ liar chansres of construction. A few of those fantastic and diversified changes may be herein enumerated. The first, and perhaps the most ridiculous of all, is the following, as related of J. J. Hawkins, the inventor of the 30 THE VIOLIN: HOIV TO MAKE IT. Claviol, or Keyed Violin. In 1800 this gentleman patented an invention applicable to pianofortes and other stringed instruments, including the Violin, whereby the belly of the Violin was exposed on both sides, the instrument having no back, but a firm wooden rib or bar placed under the breast, and a spring underneath the sound-post, for the purpose of resisting the tension of the strings. Such was the enthusiasm of the inventor, that he actually carried this process into execution upon a Stradivarius Violin, by removing the back and substituting the forego¬ ing contrivances, and with what result may be easily imag¬ ined, as the instrument was rendered utterly worthless so far as quality of tone was concerned, although the mere loudness was little diminished. In 17S8, C. Claggat patents an invention, whereby the tail-piece of the Violin may be brought to any desired angle, and as a consequence, a di¬ minished pressure on the breast of the instrument may be produced, with greater facility of fixing and altering the sound-post. Another invention for keeping the strings of the Violin and other musical instruments always in tune, was patented during the same year by Peter Litherland ; whilst an invention for a somewhat analogous purpose was patented by Jubb in 1S05. Perhaps the strangest of English bow-instruments was that of Mr. Edwards, announced in 1823 as the “ Semi- Lujici, and yielding a fine tone without the aid of wind or strings.” Nothing could scarcely have been more simple. A number of short iron pins, or stout wires, are set on the edge of a half moon, or curve, which curve forms the exte¬ rior of the half transverse section of a hollow cylinder, to which a bow is applied which produced a feeble tone from each. In 1835, T. Howell claims certain improvements in the construction of the Violin, Violoncello, and Double-Bass, by increasing the length of the neck for greater facility of fingering, whilst the upper ends of the instrument are pro¬ portionally shortened, and two years afterwards an inven¬ tion is patented by J. F. Grosjean. consisting in the application of vitreous or crystallized substances to the sur¬ faces of stringed instruments, including the Violin. In 1852, R. H. Brooman patents an improvement in the Violin and other similar instruments by a contrivance for THE VIOLIN: HOIV TO MAKE IT. 2 I lengthening or shortening the strings, by a double finger¬ board and keys, whilst in 1854, W. E. Newton claims an improvement of tone in the Violin by the insertion of a horn or trumpet into the body of the instrument; whilst an invention for attaining a similar efiect is claimed by G. Jacque in 1856, by placing a box, containing a number of strings, in the interior of the Violin. A Violin, in which a small frame is inserted between the back and breast, as a substitute for a sound-post, by which means the sound of the instrument can be modified, was invented and claimed provisional protection in 1857, by De Laphaleque, whilst an improvement for increasing the volume and rich¬ ness of tone, by grooving the back and breast, was patented in 1S5S by John Robertson ; and on December 9, H. Bell has a specification for the improvement of the Violin, by the insertion of a glass elliptical chamber into the body of the instrument; and a modification of the above by the same gentleman is specified in 1866. About the commencement of the present century, a Violin-maker in the south of Scotland (Sinclair) exhibited a number of Violins, or rather boxes, of his own produc¬ tion, having extraordinary peculiarities of construction. Some were of the ordinary size, but the outline almost tri¬ angular, others of smaller dimensions; one had twelve vibrating wires stretched across it, and tuned to correspond to the tones and semitones of the scale ; in addition to the ordinary strings for the purpose of augmenting the tone of the bowed strings by vibration, whilst another had two bridges, one being so much higher than the other as to allow a free passage for the bow to pass, and play upon either set of string's. Other fanciful artists have doubled o each string, and tuned in unison, or in octaves, purposing thereby to augment and enrich the tone. Another Scottish maker a few years later, formed an¬ other fantastic “ double-breasted ” instrument with com¬ mon sides and two necks, separated by an opening for the hand of the player, with a duplicate set of strings, but hav¬ ing only a single enlarged back which corresponded with both breasts, somewhat resembling a double Violin. This Violin, as might be expected, produced loudness of tone, consequent from its increased area and number of strings. An eminent Scottish amateur purchased a fine Stradivarius 22 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. Violin for one hundred guineas , but considering it of too large a pattern, he purposed lessening its dimensions, and, at the suggestion of the celebrated performer, J. P. Salomon (who died in iSicj), he practically carried out this experi¬ ment, and as a result, the instrument was irrecoverably injured, and was sold a few years afterwards for fifty-six pounds , a sum which was given perhaps more for the mere purpose of obtaining a Stradivarius, than from the changed and deteriorated quality of the instrument. CHAPTER II. THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION. In the Violin the theory of construction, according to acoustical laws, is understood in a less degree than any other musical instrument. In a purely elementary work like the present, space will not permit of entering into all the scientific details which have been at various times set forth, as tending to clear up this difficulty, neither would some of them be of much benefit; but those experiments of a leading character, and which are now known to be of the most advantage, those alone will the reader find the most generally useful. To susceptible and highly cultivated na¬ tures, music is capable of awakening every emotion of the human soul, from the most rapt devotion to the mildest exhilaration, from the most passionate grief to the excess of mirthfulness. The opinions upon music of that remark¬ able Association — the Rosicrucian Brotherhood — defined in such obscure language, are, to say the least of it, strange , but perhaps not so foolish as superficial thinkers may im¬ agine. The following are a few fragments culled from the philosophy of this sect, and which are only varied modes of expression of the opinions of the Kabalists, Gnostics, Pythagoreans, and Platonists : — “ The whole world is a musical instrument, a chromatic, sensible instrument; life a chromatic and diatonic scale of musical tones. The axis or pole of the celestial world is intersected by the spiritual Sun, or centre of sentient being, and from thence stream forth rays of light, which, divided. THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. form color, which, by motion, give off tones of music, filling the universe with celestial sound. Every man has a spark, or microcosmic sun in his own being, and thus microcosmically diffuses rays of light, and tones, broken by the incoherencies of matter, ’tis true, but still, in essence, musical tones. Earthly music is the faintest tradition of the angelic state. It remains in the mind of man as the dream of a lost Paradise. “Music is yet master of man’s emotions, and therefore of man. Heavenly music is produced from impact upon the paths of planets, which stand as chords or strings to the rays of the Sun ; hence, light and heat, travelling between solar centres and circumferences, waken tones, notes, chords, the sum of which is ethereal music. . . . Thus is earthly music a relic, a dream, a memory of heaven, an efflux from the motion of planetary bodies, a celestial speech, whose dim echoes are heard and imitated on earth, and thus are light and tone, colors and music, inextricably combined by one producing cause.” Now, all this unusual speculation, contradictory to com¬ mon sense as it may appear, may be nevertheless true when we examine it carefully, and, as it were, dive deep into our own soul-depths, with the wondering effort, if possible, to find it, suspecting that there may be something after all in these views, and in the re-iteration of a relic of a Paradisai¬ cal and possibly lost music, lost at least to us. As Profes¬ sor Leslie well observes: — “The doctrine of sound is unquestionably the most subtle and abstruse in the whole range of physical science ; ” indeed, so much so, that we might almost expect to find it classed under the “ Occult Sciences,” instead of in the rank assigned it among the secondary mechanical sciences; but the vast and illimitable Universe itself is based upon principles of harmony, for — There’s not the smallest orb that thou behold’st, But in his motion like an angel sings. Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubim ; Such harmony is in immortal sounds! But whilst this muddy vesture of decay Doth grossly close us in, we cannot hear it. One of the chief requisites in Violin-making is to have in our mind a theory of what we are about, of the accord- 24 THE VIOLIN: IIOW TO MAKE IT. ance of action with design. Other makers who achieved results that we value sought out the method by asking of Nature how she linked cause and effect; they approached seeking to know, with open eyes and open mind, and by thinking of the “why and wherefore” of the phenomena presented them in many and multiform variety of changes they became masters of the open secret of Nature. The pathway is open to others as to them — as the fine fancy of the old Greek religion symbolized it — that Nature demands us to go barefooted to her Temple, not in other men’s shoes. We must think and make experiments to verify the truth of our thinking, and then found other thinkings upon the connection of our observations upon the experimentings. What if we go seventy times wrong, if once we gain the path cf one thread to the labyrinth whose centre we seek. Let us take up the finest Violin the world possesses and what will it tell us? — only how far old Strad went in his pursuit of the beautiful in the world of tones— not how he arrived thereat. W hat a man has done that is excellent, it little profits us blindly by rule of thumb to copy ; the value to us is in showing us what may be accomplished, and exciting our emulation to equal, or excel — making us dis¬ satisfied with lesser attainments. Only mediocrity copies — the grtist originates, and excellence, like beauty, is not limited to stereotyped patterns. Nature is not sterile; every day new beauties greet us ; we see faces and sunsets like no others that have gene before. Art has the same prerogative. Demosthenes did not exhaust eloquence, nor Titian impoverish the sources of color. W r e must believe in new re-creations of genius and industry, and as relates to the Violin, we should ask ourselves not, What are the measurements to be by rule and callipers? — no; but we should ask, Why are such and such proportions good? — what is it renders them necessary? Step by step we should feel the artist had a purpose in view, that he sought to cul¬ ture his material into a shape suited to a certain perception of aim — that aim being to cause an equilibrium or har¬ mony of vibration in the mass of wood, that it should give a clear, sonorous tone without jar or roughness. W 7 e should, therefore, try what difference is perceptible in a rough plate of wood, and with jagged edges, as distinguished from one rounded and thinned away at various places—just as the THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MALE IT. 2 5 blade of an oar is thinned away and a flexibility given it to damp the jar of its stroke. I he floor of a room weighted with furniture does not vibrate as when devoid of weight, the sound of the foot is fuller in it, music in the room has a steadier qual¬ ity than when it is empty, and thus we can reason that this graduated thickness of wood in the Violin prevents an uncer¬ tainty and shivering, under the variety of forms of vibration which course through it — it steadies the tone_therefore we can work with this aim in view and rely on our touch and ear, without dependence upon the callipers of another man. We would thus discover how our wood attains a well- balanced sonority. Then we have to consider how the parts have to be related to each other. The belly is con¬ nected with the back by the sides, through which the vibra¬ tions pass, and then both back and belly simultaneously excite the resonance of the enclosed body of air. Any ama¬ teur can easily prove by experiment that a smooth interior surface aids much in the clearness of sound from a pipe or cavity, for a ragged or spongy interior influences the tone emitted — it makes it dingy and foggy. A story is told of an American who once observed that a Violin accidentally injured was much improved after repairs, and better than it had been in its original con¬ dition. He attributed this in a great measure to the amount of surface covered with glue, and, acting on the impulse of the moment, he determined on making an instrument entirely of glue. The Violin thus fash¬ ioned proved of marvellously fine tone, and showed the sonorous properties of the material to be of no medi¬ ocre quality. It was too costly and troublesome a fancy probably to be repeated, and too fragile a mode of con¬ struction to be adopted for manufacture. The foregoing must be taken, however, cum grano salis , as barometric changes would in all probability be an insurmountable impediment, causing variations in resonance with every change of weather; but be this as it may, we know that hard gutta¬ percha and vulcanite make flutes of the purest quality of tone. Numerous scientific experiments unmistakably indi¬ cate the value of a smooth surface in aiding the production of a clear, free tone. Rankins foremost amongst all the learned men who thus investigated the theoretical construction of the Violin, and 26 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. who also combined his theory with practice, was the learned French philosopher, M. Savart, born in i 79r, who, for a period of 20 years, ardently and thoughtfully studied those laws of construction, from which laws have been attained the most pre-eminent practical results. To avoid the parrot repetitions, or stereotyped teaching and unme¬ thodical system of books upon this subject, based upon the shallowness that rests content with assertions, leaving causes uninvestigated, I merely refer the reader to the rough translation of Savart’s lectures, as given in the fol¬ lowing Chapter, for therein will the student find much valuable matter, both interesting and instructive. For the present, I shall merely glance over a few other particulars, several of which are not included in the lectures above re¬ ferred to. The Violins of Stradivarius were chiefly those which Savart experimented upon ; but ere he made those important discoveries, afterwards detailed, he had recourse to almost innumerable trials, in every manner which his keen and learned mind suggested. Taking the Violin as a whole, we find, from Savart’s re¬ searches, that every element of the instrument was beauti¬ fully and skilfully made in a proportionate degree, to maintain the necessary sonority and vibration. In a few, but indeed very few, of the Violins of the Cremonese mak¬ ers, we find some of those rules have been a little departed from ; but assuredly, the more they deviate from those well- known facts, the worse they are in quality, and even in those few which have been found dissimilar, it has been always to attain some required peculiarity of tone, which the maker wished his instrument to possess. Referring to the woods chiefly used in the formation of the instrument, we find that if we make two equal-sized rods, one of pine and the other of maple, with the grain running similar in each, and nip one end of each in a vice, by drawing a well-rosined Violin bow across the upper end, we put each in vibration alternately, — we will find that the pine rod gives a more acute sound than the maple one, and consequently possesses the highest normal tone. The number of vibrations given by a vibrating plate is in direct proportion to its thickness — thus, a plate twice the thick¬ ness of another, other conditions being similar, will give twice the number of vibrations. Previous to the com- THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 2 7 mencementof forming a back or breast, a rod ought always to be cut from them of standard size, as a sample, and its tone found, when the woods giving the highest tone are always the finest for Violin-making. This method may be adopted : —Cut an elongated, rec¬ tangular piece of the wood, having two sides parallel to the fibres, with the edges cut perpendicular to them, and find its centre ; after which obtain a small piece of cork, anu place it near to the edge of a bench or table, to allow the Vio lin-bow to freely pass the cork ; then place the wooden plate exactly at its centre, upon the cork, and press with the finger to keep it firm, and draw the Violin-bow across the edge of the wood at any of the angles, when the sound thus obtained is the lowest that the plate can produce, and is consequently its normal tone ; — or we may obtain the same result by a simpler method, viz. :—Merely hold the centre of the plate between the finger and thumb, and draw the bow across one of the corners of the plate edgewise, when it will give the same sound. We may obtain various sounds from the same plate, by changing the position of the damping, and place of bow, but the foregoing is quite sufficient for our purpose. If the reader wishes for infor¬ mation upon the sounds of plates, I refer him to either Chladni or Professor Tyndall’s works upon sound, the latter being a recent work of much interest. We can easily observe for ourselves that the old makers made a difference in the sound of back and breast. If I hold with my fingers the back of the Violin at the part where the sound-post would be, and strike it as a bell, it will give forth a tone ; if I do the same with the belly, it will also give forth a tone — but a tone different. Now, this is as it should be ; the portion first conveying the vibra¬ tion has the initiatory advantage, and rules the next por¬ tion, compelling it to accept its vibrations, and deliver faithfully the message, merely modifying the quality of tone in which it is uttered — husband and wife ; — For woman is not undevelopt man, But diverse; could we make her as the man Sweet love were slain, whose dearest bond is this; Not like to like, but like in difference. If we make both parts of the Violin of same wood and same normal tone, we get the dull quality ; but bv making 28 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. a judicious difference in wood and tone, we attain to just that tinge of variation and blending of reciprocation as would be more agreeable to the ear — not overfresh, but ripe and quickening. We know that perfect octaves are imperfectly satisfying, just as we know that the moment fruit is fully ripe it begins to part with its flavor—perfec¬ tion palls on humanity, — it is the u little less than per¬ fect” that pleases us, that makes us content, yet with eagerness for more ; and I may herein remark, that perfect octaves in unison, always swallow one another up. In organs, if we make two pipes precisely similar, and place them together, one could not tell whether one or both were sounding, except that, if anything, two would not sound so powerful, and carry so far as one ; consequently, the scale of every rank of pipes is varied, and as the quality varies, so the combining sounds become a more perceptible amal¬ gamation, and reinforce the waves of vibration. It is all in vain for us to be mere copyists, for were we to guage every thickness of a reputed perfect instrument with the exactitude of a micrometer, and make one of precisely the same measurements, the result would be but very medi¬ ocre in quality, and in no way to be compared with the original instrument; for as no two faces are fully alike, or two trees exact counterparts of one another, so neither are two pieces of wood innately the same, nor tw’o Violins by the same artist precisely alike. We would therefore learn that the artist worked freely and according to the disposi¬ tion of the material he had to fashion ; thus w 7 e must modify the thickness according to the quality of the wood, its reso¬ nant properties, etc. We again may ask ourselves, why is the wood of the back and belly cut so as to have the grain parallel, and per¬ pendicular to its position on the instrument? If we take a small cube of pine, place it upon a table, and try its con¬ ducting power by placing on it a vibrating tuning-fork, we find its resonant powers vary with the three difierent posi¬ tions in which we may place it, proving to us the three different velocities of sound through it—ist, the quickest along the fibres ; 2nd, slower across the fibres, and across the layers which mark the growth of the tree ; and, 3d, slowest of all across the fibres and along the layers : and in acoustics we have a law of the transmission of vibrations THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 29 at right angles, perhaps analogous to the law of magnetic currents crossing at right angles to the currents of elec¬ tricity ; or of the undulations of the waves which produce light, and which are so constituted that the vibrations hap¬ pen at right angles to the rays. Some may object to the preceding remarks, as certainly we find some of the old Violins with the back cut slabways, with the grain running from side to side, parallel to the centre of the tree, and those made, too, by Maggini, as well as several of the Amati family, but let us take into due con¬ sideration their properties—fine, mellow, and silvery tone, but of no great power or intensity ; and a few years afterwards, we find the illustrious Stradivarius changing his method of working, by cutting the backs and sides with the grain ver¬ tical, the plate of wood being a section cut from the centre to the outside of the tree, with the woody fibre running in straight lines from end to end, f as seen on the surface. We find his Violins thus changed in quality, still possessing their former ethereal purity and sweetness of tone, but now having also the required brilliancy and intensity cf sound, which seems to penetrate into every corner of the largest music-hall. Such are the valuable acquisitions which the Violins of Stradivarius possess — power, along with bril¬ liancy of tone. When the air is put into a state of sonorous vibration, by any means, as by a note sounded on the Violin, by draw¬ ing the bow across a string, a series of concussions are pro¬ duced causing vibration of the string, which accumulate at the part resting on the bridge, these become transmuted, sending down vibrations through the bridge to the surface of the Violin, thence slightly through the sound-post and more so through the sides, which, acting like so many tuning-forks, transmit them to the back, and the whole body of air within increases the sound, by taking up the simultaneous vibrations in resistless impulse, and spreads them in innumerable spheres of motion, and thus the original note is therebv strengthened in intensity. From beginning to end, concussion and oscillation repeated and re repeated; and these, as we know, are rhythmic or periodic, and reproducing their impulses on the tympanum, vibrate the nerves of the ear and are then made audible to us as music. As subsequently stated, we find in the best 3° THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MALE IT. instruments of the Cremonese makers, the contained mass of air equal to C of 512 vibrations, the back and breast being formed to correspond, so as to produce the tone of difference. According as the wood is thick or thin, so must the mass of air be ordered for reaction in simulta¬ neous vibration. If we have got too much air, it will be slow in resonance, weakening the notes on the bass side of the instrument, whilst the treble notes will be thin ; if too little air, the quickness will be detrimental, and mingle dissonantly successive sounds, causing a coarseness in the lower notes of the instrument, whilst the sounds of the first string lose all brilliancy. The air should be absolutely and implicitly obedient — it has merely to carry out commands, not to join in executing a given task ; but the wood is active, and both portions are engaged in completing one act, and all Violins more or less carry out the design of their construction — in convey- inga tone from the string to the bridge, to the belly, through the sound-post to the back and to the mass of air within. Yet there is a vast difference in Violins, and this differ¬ ence we call quality; pitch may be unerring, but one will give harsh quality, another dull, another mellow, another bright. Evidently the quality is referable to the construc¬ tion, and to that nicety of regulation, which is analogous to the voicing of wind instruments. What is that ethereal quality that makes us prize the Violins of the great makers, a quality that seems to us as if each tone was tinted with other colors, rich in blended beauty as a sea-shell with its rainbow hues, luscious as the peach, sweet yet acid, lovely as summer eves with their soft and balmy breezes? Merely from the exact relationship of all the parts of construction, whilst the finest woods were employed in the formation of those cherished instruments. The artist devoted his life¬ time to his labors; he found the shape and thickness he designed in ripened experience gave him the desired excel¬ lence, and imprisoned in willing captivity the beauty he sought and won. If we hold a vibrating tuning-fork over the f holes of the Violin, as we pass it over the hole, we will hear the tone swell louder from the resonance of the mass of air within ; and if we use three forks, as C, G, A, one or other will be more reinforced, it ought to be C of course, next to that G strongest, and A least, and so on THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 3 1 with the other notes ; or if we use pitch pipes, we merely have to blow across or into the holes. The Violoncello responds best to F, so that from the instrument the tones nearest related to the F, as tonic, would always sound the fullest; same with all instruments, certain notes have a predominance of brightness or of sonority. In testing the resonant mass of air in the Violin, we may either adopt the method employed by Savart, viz., the conical tube, or by the following method : —Professor Helmholtz has invented a series of glass tubes which are made to correspond to every note of the scale. They consist of glass globes, or very wide glass tubes, with an opening at each end, one being smaller than the other. The smaller opening is to be covered with heated wax, and an impression of the ear taken whilst the wax is soft, when by this means the tube will be found to fit the ear very accurately. They possess the property of intensifying and resounding the same sounds as are derived by blowing across the widest open¬ ing, being the note to which they correspond. When one of these instruments, say answering to C (512), is applied to the ear, and the other ear closed, then if the air contained in the Violin thus to be experimented upon gives C, we have merely to blow with the mouth over one of the f holes, w hen the resonant sound will strike loudly upon the ear wherein we have placed the instrument. By having a scale of those tubes, w r e can easily ascertain what tone the air in our Violin wdll give ; they are sold under the name of “ Flelm- holtz's Resonators.” In the instruments of the ancient masters, it is surprising how carefully every element of the instrument has been stud¬ ied, from which arose their vast superiority. In reference to the breast of the Violin, I shall detail the following experi¬ ment, which will be found worthy of the amateur’s notice. Having procured a piece of well-seasoned and sonorous pine, a breast w r as formed out of it in the usual manner, adopting the plan of thickness according to the method used by Stradivarius. This plate, when thus finished — they* holes not as yet being cut — gave the note C. Subse¬ quently they* holes were cut of the usual size and pattern, when the sound was found to be lowered a tone, being now B. A bass-bar having afterwards been glued on of a some¬ what larger size than commonly employed, the plate gave 3 3 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. the note D, but the bar having been reduced to its proper dimensions, the sound was lowered, and now the breast gave the same tone as originally, viz., C. We can now easily perceive that the bar perfectly compensates for the difference of tone arising from the cutting of the f holes, but at the same time we can raise or lower the tone very considerably, by altering the dimensions of the bar; foi the stronger the bar the higher the tone, the sound lower¬ ing as the bar is decreased in dimensions, but the breast, when properly reduced, will originally give the note C- sharp; and if the other parts, as the f holes and bar have been proportionally and correctly formed, then will the breast give forth the same tone as previously, and those combined elements will thus harmoniously act as a whole. CHAPTER III. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES UPON THE THEORY OF VIOLIN CONSTRUCTION, BY THE ILLUSTRIOUS SAVART, AS GIVEN IN THE FRENCH PAPER “ L’lNSTITUT.” The most beautiful of all instruments is the Violin ; it has been termed the king of instruments. It is composed of two plates or tables, the upper one of those is always of deal, strengthened by a longitudinal bar, the lower one, always composed of a different wood from the upper, is called the back. They are united round their edges by thin plates called the sides, strengthened by thin strips of wood termed the linings. There are also in the angles formed by the different parts of the sides small pieces of wood, destined to give solidity to the instrument, called corner-blocks. To the body of the instrument is attached, as every one is aware, a neck, at the end of which are placed the pegs, upon which the strings are wound. The form and dimen¬ sions of the neck are of great importance in the construc¬ tion of Violins. Lastly, between the two tables, and near the piece which supports the strings, and which is called the bridge, is found a small cylinder of wood, which puts the two tables in communication, and is called the sound- post. This small moveable piece plays a very remarkable THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 33 part in a Violin, for without this piece it gives only feeble and poor sounds. It is to its influence upon the intensity of the sounds that this piece owes its name — Tame , or the soul. We can hardly admit that it serves only to propa¬ gate the movements of vibration from one table to the other, since they are in communication by the sides and corner-blocks. The sound-post has functions far more im¬ portant, which we shall examine with care. Maupertuis has given a theory of the Violin, which is nothing more than a grave error, and which at present we must reject. He assumed that all stringed musical instru¬ ments ought to be composed of fibres of different lengths, in order that the number of vibrations given by the strings, might be reproduced by some one of these fibres vibrating in unison with the string, and would thus reinforce the sound. Arguing thus, he maintained the idea (which has become a prejudice still existing), that by breaking a Vio¬ lin and mending it again,the instrument was improved, for in doing this the number of fibres of different lengths w r as greatly increased. But it is easy to see that this explana¬ tion of the reinforcement of the strings produced by the body of the instrument is false. The tw 7 o tables vibrate in the whole of their length, which can be proved by sprink¬ ling sand over their surfaces, and a body which has been broken and re-glued, vibrates before and after its rupture in precisely the same manner; it produces still the same nodal figures with the sand, as one can prove with discs oi wood, metal, or rock-crystal, etc. It is also a natural result of the law's of the propagation of vibratory move¬ ments. A Violin presents upon both its upper and lower surfaces, nodes and ventral segments, where we see the sand strongly agitated. The tables then are composed as plates and not of fibres vibrating separately. A Violin is composed of a great number of elements, each having its proper function, and which we shall now enumerate successively. Let us first examine the part played by the sound-post. If w'e take away this piece the sound loses its intensity and quality, and becomes poor. It regains its strength and purity as soon as we restore this important element. We cannot suppose that the sound-post acts as a conductor of the sound, or serves only to propagate the movement, for 34 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT we can place this piece, not in the Violin itself, but upon it, and its action remains the same ; its influence is not changed. We place upon the Violin a kind of arch of wood, glued upon the corner-blocks, and we place the sound-post be¬ tween this arch and the belly of the instrument; the effect produced is the same as in ordinary circumstances, when the post is in its place inside the Violin. The arch is formed of two uprights glued over the corner-blocks and supporting-bar, at right angles to them. Instead of the post, a screw is fitted to this bar, which can be made to press more or less upon the belly. The eflectof the sound- post is strongly produced when we apply the pressure of this screw. We now place a similar arch between the Violin, and pierce a small hole in the back, to allow the screw to pass, so as to impinge upon the belly without touching the back at all. On applying the pressure of the screw the same result will be obtained, as if the post were in its place. Still more, if we simply place upon a Vio¬ lin, without a post, a heavy body, the Violin resounds as though the post were there, provided the weight surpasses a certain limit. The exact proper weight can be found by means of a small cup containing a greater or lesser quantity of mercury. The effect of the sound-post is above all rel¬ ative to the belly of the instrument, for the effect can be produced in a Violin without a back, by causing a screw to press upon the single table of the instrument. The post does not play a part similar to that of the bridge in the marine-trumpet, for if we glue it in its place the effect is not altered. We arrive at the same results either by press¬ ing the post against the belly by means of the arch already described, or by pressing the table upon it in a damn. The function of the post is to render the vibrations of the two tables normal. To prove this, let us take a disc upon which reposes a bridge destined to sustain a string. When we cause this string to vibrate in a direction parallel to the disc, the sound has little intensity, but it gains con¬ siderable power when the vibrations of the string are nor¬ mal to the disc. We take a Violin, of which the tables are pierced so as to allow the passage of a bow, and we remove the post. If we now excite the strings parallel to the sur¬ face of the tables the sound is very weak, but if, passing the bow through the Violin, we cause the strings to vibrate THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. 35 perpendicularly to the tables, the sound is considerably strengthened, and as good as with a post. Let us now replace the post, and we shall find that there is no change in whatever way we cause the strings to vibrate. Again, let us take a Violin having the form of a trapezoid, and instead of having the strings upon the top, let them be placed upon the side. The strings will now vibrate per¬ pendicularly to the belly, and we find that a post makes no difference in such an instrument. It is evident that the role of the post is to render the vibrations normal to the belly, and that it does not produce an effect of beatings as is the case with the left foot of the trompette-marine bridge, nor an effect of communication between the two tables. We can prove by a decisive experiment that the role of the post is to render the vibrations of the tables normal. We have made a cylindrical Violin, containing very nearly the same mass of air as ordinary Violins. Now we know that a cylindrical vase always divides itself into several vibrating parts, which vibrate normally, and in the case of the cylindrical Violin we have the same conditions. If in such an instrument we place a post, the sound is stifled, and has less intensity than without, the post in this case only tending to check the vibration. But how is it that the post renders normal a movement which in appearance ought to be tangential? To explain this, let us revert to an experiment already cited. Taking a rod vibrating longitudinallv, we touch it with another rod at right angles. Now, under certain circumstances, this second rod will vibrate longitudinally also, instead of normally as it should, in conformity with the general laws of the communications of vibrations already stated. We have shown, in fact, that in a rod which is the seat of lon¬ gitudinal vibrations, there are contractions and dilations which give rise to semi-transversal vibrations, having the same duration as the longitudinal vibrations. Conse¬ quently, if we touch with another rod a vibrating segment of the rod which vibrates tangentially, the contractions and dilations will be communicated to the perpendicular rod, which will also become the seat of longitudinal vibrations. The same phenomenon is produced in the V iolin. The transversal oscillations of the tables produce in the post a 3 6 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. longitudinal movement, which, reacting upon the move¬ ments of the tables, determines in them a normal move¬ ment. It is an exception, as we have seen, to the general laws of the communication of vibrations. The post acts as a kind of bow with regard to the tables. If the original exciting cause was only instantaneous, as in the guitar, the effect of the post would be to stifle the sound ; but in the Violin the originating cause is continuous, and it is the sum of very small movements which produces in the end an effect very intense and pronounced. The post acts like the bow, and produces a shock correspond¬ ing to each vibration produced by the latter. It is to be noted that the nature of the deal renders the transverse flex¬ ions of the belly more easy. In fact, if care is taken to place all the fibres of the wood parallel to the greatest length of the instrument, vibrations, whose direction is at right angles to these fibres, will produce more decided flex¬ ions than if it were in any other direction, for in this direc¬ tion the elasticity of the wood is the smallest. It is necessary, therefore, that the fibres of the deal should be placed par¬ allel to the length of the instrument. The post has other properties besides that we have just attributed to it. It is not placed inside the Violin to sustain the belly, since we can place it outside the instrument; besides, so slender a rod of dry wood would be of little use for strengthening purposes. It plays a very important part, which proves the necessity of giving to the bridge a certain definite form. It is always placed behind the right foot of the bridge, which has the effect of sustaining this foot in a state of al¬ most perfect rest , in order that the left foot may, as in the marine-trumpet, communicate its movements to the bar of the instrument. In all Violins there is beneath the belly a bar intended to give the belly resistance, at the same time that it determines in the whole length of the instru¬ ment the movement communicated to it. This bar is to the left of the instrument, and ought to receive the shocks produced by the left foot of the bridge. We proceed to cite experiments in support of what we advance. We take a Violin, and pierce the belly at the point directly over the extremity of the post, so that the right foot of the bridge rests on this extremity without touching the belly at all; the sound is a little dull, but the effect of the post THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 37 is produced. In another Violin we isolate the left foot of the bridge, the bar being in the middle, the effect of the post is still manifested. To do this, we cut out a piece of the belly, and without allowing it to touch the belly of the in¬ strument, maintain it in its place by a special contrivance ; it supports the left foot of the bridge, which communicates in no manner with the belly. The effect of the bar is to produce throughout the Violin the movement communi¬ cated to it by the bridge. It vibrates as a whole ; there is no division in its length, nor in that of the belly. Thus, to resume, we see that the post has three functions, ist, It communicates the movement from table to table ; 2nd, It renders the vibrations of the table normal ; 3d, It renders the right foot of the bridge immovable. The post vibrates the belly as a whole, and whatever the original direction of the vibration is, it renders it normal in the two tables. Let us examine now the part played by the body of the instrument, which is composed of the belly, the back, the sides, and the corner-blocks. The back is always composed of beech or maple, as well as the sides ; the belty of deal. Maple is preferable to beech for the back. We will now consider the body first in its simplest form. Let 11s suppose it to be rectangular, and we will then ex¬ amine the role of each piece as we build them up. If we take a thin plate of wood by itself, it will render a cer¬ tain sound — fa 3 for example ; to its two extremities we now glue, at right angles, two small blocks. If we now cause the first plate to vibrate again, we shall find that the sound is lower than before for the same nodal division — say, si 4 ; next glueing another rod or plate to the blocks of the same dimensions as the first, and parallel to it, we find the sound given by the system to be — say, sol 4 ; the nodal divisions presented by both plates being the same as when the first vibrated alone. We have chosen the two par¬ allel plates so as to be perfectly in unison, that they may produce exactly the same mode of division, and being united, whichever one we excite, both will produce the same nodal figure. If now we diminish the thickness of one of the plates, the nodal lines will be displaced — they will no longer correspond upon the two plates ; the nodes on the thinner one will approach nearer together, but never¬ theless the sound of the two plates will still be the same, THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. whichever one be excited. We can understand easily that, the thinner plate being compelled to vibrate in unison with the other, the nodes must be nearer together, since the ven¬ tral segments must be smaller to give the same number of vibrations. We perceive the same phenomenon in the body of a Violin. Separately, the back and belly will not give the same number of vibrations ; united , they render the same sound. To prove this, let us operate with closed rectangular cases, pierced in the centre of their larger sur¬ faces with a circular hole, to allow the passage of some rosined horsehair, and also with the apertures correspond¬ ing to the f holes of a Violin, to give the air contained in the case freedom to vibrate. If now we cause the case to vibrate, by means of the horsehair, a nodal line will be produced round its edges, and the sound will be the same whichever surface of the case we vibrate. If the two plates are of the same thickness, and identical in form, the nodal lines are the same in each, and this is a method of proving the equality of the two plates. If they are not of the same thickness, the sound of both will still agree, but the nodal division will no longer agree in each. In the thicker one, the nodal lines will retreat from one another, while in the thinner one they will approach more closely together. It is evident from this that the back and belly of a Vio¬ lin vibrate always in unison. Let us examine now the part played by the air contained in the case of the instru¬ ment. We take a case formed of two plates, rectangular in shape, of the same wood, the same thickness, and giving the same sound for the same mode of division. They are united by sides also rectangular, pierced with two holes, analogous to the f holes of stringed instruments. The tables are pierced with holes to allow the passage of a skein of horsehair to put them in vibration. To make the col¬ umn of air resound, we employ a slightly conical brass tube, flattened at the larger end, so as to present only a narrow rectangular orifice for the passage of the air. This apparatus is very convenient for the purpose of vibrating any column of air. In the present case, we place the flat end upon one edge of one of the lateral openings, so as to blow upon the other edge, and, after a few trials, we shall soon obtain the required sound. Then we remark THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 39 a very important fact, viz., that the sound of the contained air is exactly the same as that rendered by the instrument when we vibrate either one, or the other of the tables. If we reduce the thickness of one of the tables, the sound given by the air will be changed, as well as the sound ren¬ dered by the tables, but the two sounds will still be the same. The air and the two tables then form a vibrating s} stem, and vibrate as a whole. This is true, however, within certain limits ; for if we reduce the thickness of one of the tables, so as to make it render a sound an octave below the other, the two will no longer vibrate in unison, nor will the air any longer give the same sound as either of the tables. If we close one of the lateral openings, the sound of the air will be lowered at the same time, and the sounds will still be in unison. This reaction of the air upon the tables is a very curious and instructive phenom¬ enon — a reaction which determines the number of vibrations in both. The tw r o tables of a Violin give the same results, that is to say, the sound given by them is ex¬ actly that of the mass of air contained by the instrument, as one can prove by means of the brass tube described above. To prove this phenomenon, and vibrate the tables in a direct manner, we attach perpendicularly to the back and belly with a little sealing-wax, rods of glass, which we cause to vibrate longitudinally, the tables will enter into vibration, and will give the same sound as that produced by means of the tube applied to one of the f holes. Whatever be the size or form of the instrument, this result is always the same. We have tried with Violins with flat surfaces and of a rectangular shape, with excellent Stradivari uses and Guarneriuses, and resulting always in a confirmation of this principle ; that the air and the tables always vibrate in unison, and as a system, of which all the parts react one upon another. There is, as we have seen, a great difference between a Violin which possesses a post and one without. In the first case the sound of the air is higher than in the second. It is the same with the sound of the tables. There is always a complete identity between the two sounds. Take a Violin and vibrate the air and the tables, you will have a certain sound ; take away the post, and the sound will be lower both for the air and for the tables. One fact is to be 4° THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. noticed from this of moment — it is, that in the instruments of Stradivarius we have tried, the sound of the air is inva¬ riably the same. We will give the value of this fact presently. The intensity of the sounds rendered by a Violin depends upon the mass of air which it encloses, and which ought always to be in a certain proportion with the other elements of the instrument. It is easy to determine it. To prove this relation, we have made a flat rectangular Violin, be¬ neath which was fitted a rectangular case, furnished with a piston, which permitted the mass of air to be augmented or diminished at pleasure. If we cause the strings of this instrument to vibrate, while we adjust the mass of air by raising or depressing the piston, we find that in a certain position of this piston the sound has the greatest intensity and sweetness. If the volume is too great, the lower sounds are feeble and hollow, and the higher sounds bad and poor ; if it is too small, the lower sounds are thin, and the higher sounds less pure. If we determine the sound of the air, (by the means al¬ ready described) when we find the sound of the strings to be at their best, we find that it rests within certain limits, which depend upon the form and other elements of the instrument. In experimenting thus with instruments of Stradivarius, we have found that the air always gave the do-natural of natural philosophers, corresponding to 512 vibrations per second, that is 512 single vibrations, or 256 double vibrations — the French philosophers always count single vibrations ; the English and Germans, dou¬ ble vibrations, or the do-Jlat of the present scale. Now, it is to be noted that at the beginning of the eighteenth century, when Stradivarius constructed his instruments, the pitch was half a note lower than at present. All the instruments, therefore, of this great master were in do. Several musicians have found that in tuning their instruments in do-Jlat , the tone was better. In examining a great number of excellent Violins of Stradivarius, we have always found this condition to be fulfilled. Here, then, is a fact acquired by industry and science ; without this condition, a Violin leaves much to be desired. If the air gives the sound do-sharp , the low sounds are bad ; if it gives the si or la below, the high sounds lose THE VIOLIN: HO IV TO MAKE IT. 4 1 their power, and are more difficult of emission, while the grave sounds resemble those of the Tenor. In many Stradivarius Violins the air gives exactly 512 vibrations per second. It is easy to assure one’s self if this condition is fulfilled, without which a Violin has little value ; it suffices to put the air in vibration by means of the conical tube described previously. Although one of the most important points in the construction of the Violin is that which we have just examined, there are others to which we must have regard, and which we shall proceed to point out, per¬ suaded that, by operating according to the conditions indi¬ cated, we shall be sure of obtaining in all cases, and at once, good instruments. What relation ought there to exist between the sounds ot the two tables before being united? Ought they to give sounds in unison, or an octave apart, or what? We have constructed a Violin of which both plates were of deal, and perfectly in unison when made to vibrate separately. The sound of this instrument was feeble, and of very ordi¬ nary quality. A back of maple was substituted for the deal one, but still in unison with the belly ; the instrument was bad, and very feeble. Thus we see already that the two tables ought not to be in unison. And besides, if they were perfectly in unison at first, they would soon differ a little, .and then we should have beats, and a very bad effect would be produced. It is necessary, therefore, to avoid the unison, and even to be a certain distance from it, so as to avoid the possibility of beats occurring. To determine the exact distance between the sounds of back and belly there was only one means, and that was to have recourse to direct experiment. It was necessary to study the best Violins, to dissect them, and examine all their parts. We have dissected several Stradivarius and Guarnerius Violins of great value, and we have determined directly the sounds of the two tables. To obtain these sounds, we clamp the tables at a point wheie two nodal lines cross one another, the one transversal and the othei longitudinal, so that the elasticity of the wood in both directions, is called into play. The nodal system being the same on each plate, we find ci tone difference ; nearer to the unison we shall have beats, more than a tone difference, the difficulty the plates have in vibrating in unison increases. TIIE VIOLIN: IIOW TO MAKE IT. 42 Thus we must consider as positive that a good Violin must satisfy these tw r o conditions, to have the tables such that they give sounds a tone apart, and a mass of air giving, by blowing in at one of they* holes the do-flat , or the do of the fourth string, 512 vibrations per second, in round and exact numbers, the other dimensions being the same as those of Stradivarius. For the nodal division indicated, we find that in the good Violins the sound varied between do-sharf 3 and re 3 for the belly, and for the back between re 3 and re-sharp *, so that there is always a semitone, or a tone difference between the tw r o. Why is deal preferred for the construction of musical in¬ struments to any other description of wood? The nature of deal, its feeble density, and, above all, its elasticity, causes it to be preferred to any other substance. Its resist¬ ance to flexion is greater than that of any other wood, and also than a great number of other substances, even metal¬ lic ; it is equal to that of glass and steel. Thus, with a very feeble mass, we possess in deal, a substance having elasticity as great as that of glass or steel. Sound is propagated in deal with the same velocity as in these substances. If we take three rods of glass, steel, and deal, cut in the direction of the fibres, all three having the same dimensions, and cause them to vibrate longitudinally or transversely, so as to produce the same nodal division in each, we shall see that the sounds given by the three sen¬ sibly approximate. Thus, the volocity of sound in deal is as great as in glass, or steel, or as great as in any solid substance. The deal then offers the incontestable advan¬ tage of presenting a large surface with little mass, and possesses a great elasticity. A Violin with tables of glass or steel, would be worth nothing, on account of its great mass, and the difficulty that would be experienced in caus¬ ing it to vibrate. Violins have been constructed in glass, steel, brass, silver, etc. The sounds of such instruments were always found to be feeble and bad. In maple, the propagation of sound is much less rapid than in deal; it varies between 10 and 12 in the direction of the fibres, that in air being 1. Perpendicularly (to the fibres) it is between 4 and 5. In deal, the rapidity of propagation is 15 to 16I times as great as in air, transversely it is much less, be¬ tween 2 and 4, according as the fibres are wide or narrow ; THE VIOLIN: HO IV TO MAKE IT. 43 it never reaches 5. This difference of elasticity in two directions, at right angles, is again an advantage not found in homogeneous substances like glass and metals. This feeble power of propagation in a direction perpendicular to the fibres, determines greater contractions, dilations, and transversal deflections, which act upon the post with great energy, which would not be the case except for the fibrous nature of the substance. The deal owes to its fibrous structure other advantages which it is important to note. We have stated previously that the tables of a Violin vibrated in the same manner as plates, and caused the formation of nodal lines exactly as surfaces put into vibration, so that the fibres appeared to play no particular part; nevertheless, it is not to be doubted that the fibres facilitate their being put into a state of vibra¬ tion. We may conceive that, being disposed to vibrate in unison with the sounds produced, they enter immediately into vibration, and communicate the movement to the tables, just as the strings of a guitar, in unison with sounds produced in the same apartment, enter into vibration, and communicate their movement to the entire mass of the in¬ strument. The fibrous nature of the deal appears then to play a very important part in the structure of the Violin, and becomes a powerful motive to prefer it to any other substance. One can find in these facts the explanation of several phenomena connected with the human ear. The disposition of the drum, its fibrous nature, which has already given rise to several theories of audition, would play the same role in the ear as we have attributed to the fibres of the deal, to facilitate the vibration of several parts of this organ. Here is an experiment among several others which we could cite, to justify our assertion. We take sev¬ eral parallel rods of unequal length forming a surface upon which we glue some parchment. By producing sounds varying in pitch beneath this body, we shall see that the vibratory movement always commences in the rod nearest in unison with the sound produced, and then communicates itself to the whole system, causing the parchment to vibrate as a plate. The Violin is, then, an instrument consisting of strings, plates, and a mass of air; all these elements vibrate in unison, and the mass of air ought to give the sound do = 44 THE VIOLIN: IIOVV TO MAKE IT. * 512 vibrations for the construction generally admitted. The position of the bridge, the place occupied by the post, and its pressure upon the tables of the instrument, have great influence upon the sound. The player ought to pay great attention to the relative position of the various parts of his instrument. The fundamental sound of the air can be influenced by a bad disposition of the post, and render more or less bad an instrument otherwise having all the qualities essential to a good instrument. The pressure of the post upon the tables can modify the sound of the air, and of the tables, by rendering them lower, or higher; if it is too short the sound will be too low, and the lower sounds of the Violin will be favored ; if it is too long the pressure upon the tables will be too great, and the acute sounds of the instrument, those of the E string, will gain in brilliancy, to the detriment of the low sounds of the fourth string. In a word, if the pressure is too feeble, it is equiv¬ alent to decreasing the thickness of the tables; if the post is too long, the same effect is produced as if the tables were increased in thickness. It is necessary, then, to cal¬ culate the dimensions of the post, the position of the bridge, and above all, to try at every change if the sound of the air contained in the case corresponds with the funda¬ mental sound we have already indicated, supposing all the other conditions fulfilled in the instruments. As the mak¬ ers of instruments must necessarily try their tables before glueing them, it will be useful to enter into some details as to the method of determining the sounds they give. If we take a square plate of deal, having two of its sides parallel to the fibres, and if we make it vibrate normally so as to produce two nodal lines parallel to the direction of the fibres, w r e shall produce a certain sound ; if we now turn it and cause it to vibrate so as to produce two parallel nodal lines at right angles to the fibres, the sound will be different, although the mode of division is the same. In one case the plate is deflected in the direction of the fibres, and in the other perpendicularly, or rather at right angles to this direction. The resistance to flexion being different in these two directions, the sound must change. But we can make the plate produce a nodal figure, consisting of two nodal lines at right angles to one another, and in this case the sound is always the same, as the elasticity in both THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. 45 directions is called into play simultaneously. To obtain this division, it is necessary to clamp the plate where the lines cross one another. In the tables of a Violin we can obtain one longitudinal line in the direction of the fibres, and two at right angles to it. If we produce the longitu¬ dinal lines, or the transversal ones separately, we shall have different sounds, because the flexions of the tables will be either parallel or at right angles to the fibres. By clamp¬ ing the table at a point where one of the transverse lines crosses the longitudinal one, we shall divide the belly or back into six vibrating segments, which will oscillate syn¬ chronously, and produce the sound it is necessary to deter¬ mine. The maker who wishes to try his tables will take a wooden clamp, and between two corks, cone-shaped, or two wooden cones covered with leather, will clamp the table and make it vibrate by means of the bow, after having spread over its surface a little of the sand used in offices for drying ink. He will see the nodal lines form, and after a few trials w'ill be able to press the table where two lines at right angles cross one another, and he will then have the required sound. It is necessary to use great care in choos¬ ing the wood. It should be dry, the fibres exactly parallel to the length of the instrument, and perfectly symmetrical in shape. He will be able to assure himself of the good construction of his tables by means of the nodal lines, which ought to be perfectly symmetrical, and divide the two halves of the tables in exactly the same manner. He will be sure of producing a good instrument by these means, and science, in conducing to this result, will have rendered an immense sendee to industry. As all the different kinds of deal are not equally good, we must give a simple method of determining the sorts we should prefer, on account of their greater elasticity. We have said that deal and maple present great differences in the velocities with which sound is propagated in them lon¬ gitudinally and transversely. To discover if two substan¬ ces offer the same resistance to flexion, we cut rods of the same dimensions from each substance, and cause those rods to vibrate longitudinally. In the case of wood it is neces¬ sary to cut these rods parallel to the fibres or transversely, according to the direction in which we wish to test the velocity of propogation. Care must be taken to cause the 4 6 THE VIOLIN: HO IV TO MAKE IT. rods to give the same nodal division. The velocity of the propagation will be in proportion to the acuteness of the sounds produced. The higher the sound produced by a rod, the greater the velocity of propagation in that rod. By these means we shall be enabled to keep rods serving as types, and test the quality of the wood we use, by comparing it with these rods. The Bridge. —The bridge plays afar more important part than is generally attributed to it. Its incisions and form have a great influence upon the quality ot the instru¬ ment. It merits, therefore, all our attention. If we take a piece of wood, cut like a bridge, and glue it upon a Vio¬ lin, the instrument nearly looses its sound. It gets a little better if we form feet to the bridge ; if we make lateral incisions in it, the sound improves, which improvement increases gradually until the bridge assumes the ordinary form. It is an astonishing thing that by trial we gradually arrive at the form of bridge usually adopted, and which appears to be better than any other. A multitude of trials have been made before this important piece arrived at per¬ fection. Everything has led to this result, that we cannot depart from the established form without detracting greatlv from the quality of the instrument. Bridges have been made of deal with their fibres perpendicular and parallel to the belly, but the sound was found to be altered. The size and shape of the openings have been altered, but the beauty of the instrument has always been impaired. Let us examine the movement of the molecules of the bridge. If we take a plain bridge with two feet and a single string, the movement is tangential, parallel to the face of the bridge. If we make two incisions in it, the nature of the movement changes, and the sand is seen to move in several directions at once, while the bridge itself experiences movements of oscillation, and its molecules appear to exe¬ cute vibrations in a direction normal to the bellv. The m/ effect appears to be to confirm the normal movements of the tables. The bar to which these oscillations are im¬ parted, produces in the belly a similar movement over its entire surface, and prevents it from dividing into ventral segments by transversal nodal lines. All the parts of the instrument enter at once into vibration. Let us see how we can modify the effects of the bridge, by interfering a THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. 47 little with its oscillations. By placing a mute on the bridge the sound is almost null, and the bridge seems no longer to vibrate. It even appears to arrest the vibrations of the other parts of the instrument. The mute arrests its oscil¬ lations, and no longer produces the vibration of the belly. If we clamp the right foot of the bridge, the sound is weakened, but not to so great an extent as with a mute. On the other hand, if we repeat the experiment with the left foot, which ought to communicate its movement to the bar , the sound is incomparably weaker. It is evident that the left foot of the bridge produces the shocks which occa¬ sion the movement of the bar and of the belly. The right foot, as we have seen, is rendered immovable by the post. Neck. —The form of the neck and the nature of the wood employed have great influence upon the quality of a Violin. If the wood is too hard or too soft, the quality of the sounds is considerably changed. Perrot states in his treatise on singing, that if the strings of a lute are at¬ tached to a support, the sounds loose greatly in power. We must remark, however, that this would have less influ¬ ence in the Violin, where the action of the bow is constant, and not instantaneous, as in lutes and guitars. Neverthe¬ less', let us examine the species of modification that the sound of a Violin will undergo if the neck is detached, and rendered independent of the body of the instrument. A Violin is fixed in a vice, and the neck is separated from it, as well as the part to which the strings are attached ; the bridge rests on the body of the instrument, but the points to which the strings are attached have no communication with it. The apparatus is now put into vibration, and the sound is still found to have considerable intensity ; but if we put the neck again in communication with the case, the intensity will be greatly increased. It is easy, then, to see from the preceding, the part played by the neck in a stringed instrument played on by a bow. In fact, in excit¬ ing the strings with a bow, at a short distance from the bridge, we cause the string to be deflected at the point where the bow is applied, and the curve thus produced is not symmetrical in the two halves of the length of the string, but the greatest deflection is at the point where the bow is applied, and this deflection is propagated as a wave 4 8 THE VIOLIN: HO IV TO MAKE IT. along the string, and is reflected on arriving at the nut, returning to the bridge upon the opposite side of the axis of the string. These waves are continued without cessation at each oscillation of the string, and impinging upon the bridge cause therein a transversal movement. We can easily be assured of this fact, by using a long monochord, having a plate disposed as a bridge, upon which sand is strewed. There are then three different sorts of movements in a Violin ; one in the direction of the length of the strings, one normal to the belly, and the third tangential; these three movements force the instrument to execute the great¬ est possible amount of oscillation. An experiment of M. Cagniard Latour confirms the explanation we have given of the movement propagated from end to end of the strings. We take a small rectangu¬ lar piece of paper ; by making two parallel cuts with a penknife in this paper, we can pass it along one of the strings. If we place this paper near the bridge, it will fol¬ low the direction of the bow, but if we place it near the nut, its motion will be contrary to that of the bow. This phenomenon proves that the curve in the half of the string, nearest the nut, makes an angle in the opposite direction to that produced by the bow at the point of attack. The weight necessary to stretch a Violin string is as nearly as possible 20 lbs. The first string often requires 22 lbs. to bring it up to pitch ; for the second 20 lbs. are required, and a little less for the third and fourth. Let us take a first string, having exactly the length given to it on a Violin, and making it sound E, by stretching it by the appropriate weight. We will now see what part of the weight is supported by the belly when the whole tension of the four strings amounts to So lbs. To this E string, stretched horizontally, we will suspend a weight, at the exact point where the bridge would be, sufficient to cause the string to make at that point the same angle it makes when stretched over the bridge, which angle is about 155 0 ; the string will then give the sound F. If we examine the weight we find it to be 6 lbs. 2 oz. Thus the table would support about 24 lbs. for the four strings. After establishing the conditions in which the best Violins of Guarnerius and Stradivarius were constructed, THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. 49 and having proved that they contain a mass of air giving do — 512 vibrations, and having also stated that musicians should adopt this diapason in order to get the best possible tone from their instruments, we shall finish by saying, that we shall be able to construct excellent Violins on any other tone, by constructing them precisely similar to those of Stradivarius, and being careful to have all the parts in inverse proportion to those of Stradivarius, as the tone we take as the basis bears to do= 512 vibrations. Thus, if we construct a Violin in do-flat , the dimensions must be to the dimensions of a Stradivarius, as 512 is to the number of vibrations given bv the mass of air in the Violin. After having studied the Violins of the best masters, and determined the role of each part, we have indicated the means of constructing excellent instruments, resembling in everything the most perfect ones of Stradivarius. The principles we have deduced from numerous experiments permit us to state the question in a general sense and not as a particular case. The construction of Violins is a problem susceptible of several solutions. Several of these being unknown, they are so related the one to the other, that one being determined it is easv to determine the others. We can, for example, vary the form and dimen¬ sions of the tables, but we must at the same time vary their thicknesses and the height of the sides, so that the air shall still give the sound do — ^12 vibrations. The dimen¬ sions of the f holes have great influence upon the sound of the mass of air. We have already said, that if we cover one of these with paper the sound of the air is lowered. Con¬ sequently, if they are too large, the sound of the air is too high, and vice versa. This is the reason why we often find Violins of large pattern giving a higher sound than ^<9=512 vibra¬ tions, while from their size it should be lower. Such are the Violins of Maggini, at least those which we have exam¬ ined, the sound of the air being re instead of do, on account of the f holes of these instruments being larger than those of Stradivarius. It is possible, then, to construct Violins of any form and thickness, provided we keep within the conditions indicated. The problem being indeterminate admits, as we have seen, of an infinity of solutions. It must be noted, however, that if we substitute flat tables for arched ones, or tables more- 5 ° THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. or less arched, the timbre of the sound will be modified. We shall obtain greater purity as the tables approach being flat, but at the same time the sound will lose in brilliancy. Violoncello. —What we have said with regard to the Violin, leaves little to be added regarding this instrument. The Violoncellos now made are generally good, and we can always arrive at good results by following the same principles as those enumerated with regard to the Violin, and by taking the dimensions in proportion to the sound taken as a basis, with the exception that we must give the instrument greater proportional depth, otherwise they would be too long and very unwieldy. If exactly pro- portiomd to a Violin in all parts, the length of a Bass wouldfjse 35 in. by 20 in breadth, instead of which they are constructed of 26 to 27 in. in length, by 15 or 16 in breadth, but instead of being only 3 in. in depth they are made 4 in. The sounds of the Violoncello being an octave and a fifth below those of a Violin, the sound of the mass of air should be lower in the same proportion, that is to say, J'a = i h jO'66 vibrations. This sound is arrived at by di¬ minishing the surface of the tables, and increasing the depth of the instrument as stated above. To determine the sound of the air in the body of a Violoncello, it is only necessary to produce a succession of low notes near one of the f holes. Among these sounds one will be found to be reinforced to a greater extent than any of the others, and this will be the note required, or we may make use of the brass tube pre¬ viously described in speaking of the Violin. We frequently observe that the fa , fa-sharp or fa-fat on the fourth string of a Violoncello has a hollow, rumbling sound, and can scarcely be obtained with purity. This remarkable peculiarity has never been properly explained. It is evi¬ dent from what we have just said, that the sound of the mass of air is in most cases somewhere in the neighborhood of this fa, and this effect is produced from the mass of air not being exactly in unison with the fa of the fourth string, and beats are the result; or if the fa itself is exactly in unison with the air, the neighboring sounds fa-fat ox fa- sharp will suffer instead. The Tenor. — The mass of air*!n a Tenor should ren¬ der a sound a fifth below that of the Violin, and con¬ sequently an octave above that of the Violoncello, say THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 5 1 fa = 341-33. Instead, however, of producing this xiote, most of the Tenors made now, give the sound = 512 vibrations, like the Violins. The result of this is, that the low sounds are feeble, hollow, and difficult of production, and the instrument has not the quality it ought to have. Formerly Tenors were made of large pattern, and ap¬ proached more nearly to the veritable conditions of the theory. It is much to be desired that the makers should give their attention to the matter, so as to place the con¬ struction of these instruments in harmony with the Violins and Basses. Contre-Bass. — The foregoing observations will apply also to the Contre-Bass, the construction of which has hitherto been altogether arbitrary. The Contre-Bass gives sounds an octave below those of the Violoncello, and the mass of air should therefore be the fa below that of the ’Cello. CHAPTER IV. REMARKS UPON THE FOREGOING THEORIES OF SAVART RELATIVE TO THE VIOLIN. The reader having carefully perused the preceding pages, let us examine how much positive instruction is to be derived from them. We must carefull} 7 take into ac¬ count, however, that the papers in “ L’Institut ” are merely reports of what Savart stated verbally in his lectures, and it must be understood that the matter would have been stated far more clearly had the papers received his revision, or proceeded from the pen of the philosopher himself. For my own part I cannot regard the universally received idea, that the sound-post is intended as a means of communica¬ tion between back and belly, otherwise than a popular error, and the more I think of it, the more it seems to me that the points of the back and belly touched by the sound- post, are the points of least vibration. In the rendering of the vibration of back and belly normal by the sound-post, we must clearly understand in what sense Savart uses the term normal. In his paper upon ‘‘The Vibrations of Solid Bodies considered in general,” he defined the terms he 5 3 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. should afterwards make use of in speaking of various modes of vibration. By normal he means vibrations executed per¬ pendicularly to the surface of the vibrating body, or what in English acoustics is termed transverse vibrations; by tangential vibration he means movements parallel to the surface. From the series of interesting experiments upon the sound-post, he deduces the following results : — i st. That the deflections of the belly produce in the post a longitudinal movement, which, reacting upon the move¬ ments of the belly, determines therein a normal movement instead of an oblique one. 2nd. That the post holds the right foot of the bridge in a state of complete rigidity. 3rd. That the post communicates the vibration from belly to back. Now, as regards the first of these deductions, it is true that the general law ruling the communication of vibrations is, that all the vibrations of a vibrating system are executed in the same direction as the exciting cause. For example, suppose ab, in the accompanying Fig., to be a rod of wood, h c . . > f • u y cr Fig. 2. and c another rod glued to it perpendicularly at^\ Now, if c be made to vibrate transversely in the direction e J~, a b will vibrate longitudinally, provided they are rigidly con¬ nected at g. But if this joint is imperfect the same result will not follow. Again, by exciting c at an angle of about 40° with the original direction, as h z, the second rod, a < 5 , will vibrate transversely instead of longitudinally. It is obviously unnecessary, therefore, to make the case of the Violin-post an exception to this general law, since neither the post nor the bridge are rigidly connected with the belly. Again, in his “ Mbmoire sur les Communications des Vibrations,” Savart himself states the following case, THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 53 among many others: — “If a rod falls perpendicularly upon another rod at a point in this latter, held in a state of rest by a rigid obstacle, the first being caused to vibrate transversely, the second will also vibrate transversely,” as in the following Fig. a Let a be the first rod falling perpendicularly upon the second rod 3 3 , at a point c in this latter, held immovable by the obstacle d. If a be made to vibrate transversely, 3 will also vibrate transversely, as indicated by the dotted lines. This appears to be the real state of the case in the Violin, where a would represent the right foot of the bridge vibrating under the influence of the strings from right to left, 3 the belly and d the sound-post. Again, Savart in the same Memoire stated that it was found impossible to cause a rod to vibrate longitudinally when one of its ends was rigidly fixed. How, then, can the post be the seat of longitudinal vibrations, if one end of it is employed in maintaining the right foot of the bridge in a state of rest ? The second deduction of Savart’s, then, seems to be the true one, and is in perfect accordance with the remarks I have made above. A noticeable fact, deduced from Savart’s experiments on the sound-post which seems to confirm this, is, that the pressure of the post is only required to be ex¬ erted on the belly. The third deduction of Savart’s seems to be of little importance, for, if the second be true, the communication between the tables must be principally effected by the sides. Savart then proceeds to examine the mutual reaction that the tables and the contained mass of air exert, the one upon the other. This section contains the cream of the matter, and the experiments cited are of the greatest interest. Let us briefly recapitulate what Savart puts forward in this section. He proves by experiments that the tables and air, within 54 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. certain limits, always vibrate synchronously, that the sounds of an instrument are at their best when the air con¬ tained by the case has a certain volume, which volume depends upon the other elements of the instrument, that the sound of this mass of air in the Violins of Stradivarius was always found to be the do of 512 vibrations, and that the sounds of the bellies and backs of the good Violins were found to give about the sounds do-sharp 3 and re¬ sharp 2, respectively, when caused to vibrate independently, and in such a manner as to form one nodal line in the direction of their length, cut by two other lines at right angles to the first. In other words, the sound of the belly vibrating under such conditions, gave a tone equal to the mass of air in the completed instrument, and the back a note higher. ( This small index number 3 , printed over the notes in this and the preceding chapter, is meant to indi¬ cate the position of the sound above the lowest, ‘‘32 feet” C of the organist,— thus do-sharp 3 represents 2 feet, or middle C.) But to these data he adds that the dimensions of the in¬ strument should be the same as in Stradivarius instruments, and this is the weak point in the theory, for without know¬ ing the exact dimensions in question, it is obvious that we could satisfy all the conditions of Savart, in a multitude of different ways, by varying these dimensions. For instance, suppose we had an instrument satisfying all the conditions required by Savart — that is to say, the belly giving the sound do, the back re vibrating independ¬ ently, and the mass of air in the complete instrument do = 512 vibrations. Now, by increasing the area of the tables, and at the same time their thickness in proper pro¬ portions, it is very easy to see that we could preserve the same sounds while the dimensions would vary considerably. At the same time, we could preserve the sound of the mass of air constant, by decreasing the height of the sides, and the result would be a Violin of entirely different dimensions, and yet satisfying all the conditions Savart insists upon. Again, without varying the area of the tables, we could obtain the required tones for back and belly in a variety of ways by simply adjusting the thicknesses. For instance, let the accompanying Fig. represent one of the tables, and let a a, b b b b , be the nodal lines obtained THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 55 in testing the tone. Let it, in the first in¬ stance, be supposed to give the required tone & and be of equal thickness throughout. Now, by increasing the thickness along the nodal lines, and also, gradually, and to a greater ex¬ tent outwards towards the rim of the table, so that the rim or edge would become thicker b than the centre, the same sound could be pre¬ served, for we should be increasing the elas¬ ticity along the nodal lines, the effect of which would be to increase the number of Fl S- 4 - vibrations ; but this effect would be neutralized by the in¬ creased weight of the ventral segments c c c c. The same result would be produced by the reverse of this pro¬ ceeding— that is, by diminishing the thickness along the nodal lines, and also to a greater extent that of the flanks, so that the greatest thickness would then be in the centre. Now, not only according to Lupot, but actual ex¬ perience, all these three systems of thicknesses were applied to the bellies of the Cremona instruments of various makers, the first by Stradivari us ; the second by Joseph Guarnerius ; and the third by the Amatis ; but all agreed in having the backs thickest in the centre, the respective qualities of the three classes of instruments being, power and mellowness, great power and brilliance with less mellowness, and sweet¬ ness but little power. Now, which is right? Tradition and prejudice are in favor of the last, the Amatis style ; but eventually will the student find his favorite method to be equal thickness throughout the belly. Is it not remarkable that there should be so close a paral¬ lel between the respective qualities of the three classes of instruments and the three systems of thicknesses? The Joseph Guarnerius, on the one hand, with the greatest thickness round the edge, has the greatest power; while, on the other hand, the Amatis with the greatest thickness in the centre, have comparatively little power, but great sweetness. Against these two extremes we have the Stra¬ divari us instruments, with equal thickness throughout, combining the good qualities of both. In an article of Savart’s, published in the 44 Annales de Chimie,” entitled, 44 Recherches sur les Vibrations de l’Air,” he states cer¬ tain facts which throw considerable light upon what ought a b 5,6 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. to be the form of the mass of air contained in a Violin. If we take a long, narrow vibrating column of air, as an organ pipe, for instance, it will give a certain sound, which, with its harmonics, are the only sounds that can be derived from the pipe, and it will resound to no other vibrating body except such as may be in perfect unison with one of its sounds. Thus, if we have an organ pipe giving the sound C, and a tuning-fork exactly in unison with it, the pipe can be made to sound by simply holding the vibrating fork near its mouth, but no such effect is observed if the fork gives any other sound than that of the pipe itself. This phenomenon is called resonance. Now, Savart states in the article referred to above, that if the vibrating column of air is gradually reduced in length and increased in diameter, this power of resonace is no longer confined to sounds exactly in unison with the mass of air itself; but if the diameter be considerable in comparison with the length of the column, almost any sound within certain limits will be reinforced to a greater or lesser extent. This power of reinforcing a number of sounds, increases as the diameter increases in proportion to the length, and the mass of air in a Violin may be regarded as such a column whose diameter greatly exceeds its length. There appears, therefore, to be good reason for obtaining the requisite mass of air in an instrument by lateral expansion, rather than by increasing the height of sides, or the arch¬ ing of the back and belly, and a scientific explanation is at once given of the causes that led Stradivarius to extend his model, at the same time that he reduced the arching of his instruments. Savart’s explanation why there should be a tone of difference between the two tables appears some¬ what doubtful. He alleges that a nearer approach to unison would cause beats, but this accords very imperfectly with his previous statement: that within certain limits, whatever be the sound of the two tables when vibrating independently, they always vibrate synchronously when united. The limit is a very narrow one when anything more or less than a tone destroys their power of vibrating in unison. It appears certain that the sounds of a Violin proceed principally from the mass of air contained in the instrument, as no sounds of so great an intensity could be produced from vibrating plates equal in area to the tables THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 57 of a Violin, while there are other musical instruments whose sounds we know are produced by aerial vibrations, which, although containing a mass of air much less than that of a Violin, produce sounds of equal intensity, such, for instance, as the Flute, Clarionet, or the Reed pipe of an organ. The last is a very instructive example, and may tend to an explanation of the point in question. A reed pipe consists of a free or fixed reed in communication with a column of air above it. Now, it is not absolutely neces¬ sary that the reed should be perfectly in unison with the mass of air above, within certain limits they will accom¬ modate themselves the one to the other; but one remark¬ able fact is to be noticed, viz., the stiffer the reed the greater power it will have in forcing the air above to vibrate in unison with it. This appears to be the role of the tables of a Violin, that is to force the vibrations of the aii to accommodate themselves to the vibrations of the tables, and the ratios given by Savart as existing between the back, belly, and contained mass of air in the good Violins he experimented upon, are no doubt such as to give the two tables sufficient stiffness to bring the mass of air into com- plete subjection. If this stiffness be decreased the air will have a tendency to vibrate after its own mode — that is, to sound its fundamental note or its harmonics; but, on the other hand, if the stiffness of the tables be too great, greater difficulty will be experienced in putting the instrument into vibration. When we consider that the sound given by a vibrating solid is an exact index to its elasticity or stiffness, this ex¬ planation appears extremely propable. Savart’s remarks upon the bridge and the neck seem perfectly just. Unfor¬ tunately he bestows but little attention to the bar, which is perhaps the least understood element of the instrument. Upon the paragraphs relating to the other instruments of the class, Tenor, ’Cello, and Double-bass, I make no remark, considering it sufficient for the present to confine my attention to the Violin, for let the true principle of the perfect construction of this instrument be once clearly laid down, the rest will become very easy. THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 53 CHAPTER V. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE INSTRUMENT. To many the above head-line, no doubt, will suggest such thoughts as these:—What utility can there possibly be in describing the construction of an instrument which one can purchase at the most trifling expense, an instru¬ ment which, with its appendage the bow, we can obtain for a few shillings — yea, a full-sized, veritable Violin, stained in scarlet hues, and anointed with turpentine var¬ nish, mated with a colored bow of beechwood, which only awaits an attack upon the strings of its feeble and deformed neighbor, to arouse “discordant sounds,” which by no mel¬ lifluous charm favor the scions of Apollo ? The following must, however, forcibly strike the minds of such persons. Violins appear to possess the widest range of prices, perhaps over any other article of such original cost, as whilst we can obtain the one for two or three shillings, we find we cannot possess some of the finest of the Cremonese instruments for several hundreds of pounds; and when such is the case, curiosity must impress the most careless and superficial reader as to the cause of such apparently mad expenditure. Fifteen hundred acres of Cincinatti land were at one time given for a Stainer Violin, and as the city of Pittsburg now stands upon that land, it may be safely stated that this is perhaps the heaviest price that was ever paid for a Violin. It is not the mere varnish, wood, and stain that we purchase in those fine old instruments, it is the intu¬ itional inspiration of the artistic genius, the harmonic soul introduced into such apparent trifles, the maximum expe¬ rience of multiform lives concentrated into a few wooden elements — a small, thin, wooden shell — which constitute almost a living thing of immortality. Time, although capable of tracing lines and spots upon its surface, has but 59 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT\ little effect upon its anointed fabric, and, like the myste¬ rious alchemical sages of romance, it onty begins to grow old with ages of perpetual youth, and never loses its essen¬ tial qualities of sweetness and resonance. It lives with a vigorous “ forgotten-bv-death ” consciousness, singularly contrasting with the generations of humanity and familiar objects which disappear around it, and although its ele¬ ments may have been for centuries widely diffused through¬ out the world, yet its 44 back,” or 44 breast,” which may be the only single original element of its compostion, faith¬ fully proclaims its individuality and life of metempsychosis. Thus its life is in a manner dual, human in its pathos and sympathy, but superhuman in its imperishable materiality, for it reigns truly the prince of all instruments, and sings over the grave of many generations, only awaiting the mas¬ ter-touches of a Paganini, or Joachim, to still remain the joy and wonder of a civilized world. The Joan Kerlino Viola is over three centuries old, the Violins of Stradivarius are over two centuries, several of which having survived a thousand calamities, still remain in their diaphanous varnish without a flaw or scratch. Does a Pag or Wilhelmj draw ravishing tones from its melodious recesses? — they work as all gifted artists must work, guided by the sensitiveness of the fine nerve-power of touch as an individual endowment, and strenuously endeavoring, by days and nights of restless devotion, to render palpable the thought that possesses them. Whether in the sacred Symphonies of Mozart and Handel, or in the secular Strathspeys of Gow and Marshall, its capabilities of expression under the hands of a master proclaim its pre-eminence, and bravely has it maintained its royal supremacy, though surrounded by numerous other instru¬ ments of more complexity, of greater size, and of far greater volume of sound. But the 44 still small voice that sings of purity and love belongs eminently to the Violin. As music is cultivated amongst the masses, and its refining influence improves their better nature, softens their pas¬ sions and elevates their tastes, so will the Violin be corres¬ pondingly appreciated. 6o THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. “ By the sweet muse of music I could vow I do believe it smiles upon me; See it full of unuttered music, like a bird, Rich in invisible treasures, like a bud Of unborn sweets and thick about the heart With ripe and rosy beauty — full to trembling : I love it like a sister. Talk to me, Lovely one ! answer me, thou beauty.” In former times when Stradivarius, Amati, and Guar- nerius flourished, along with many other celebrated makers, the making of such musical instruments was purely an art, for truly such makers were genuine artists; whilst at the present time Violin-makers, generally speaking, are only traders in it, and instruments, as a consequence, are now ostensibly made for the furtherance of this art, and are thus sent wholesale into the world, faulty and careless in construction ; crude, immature, and harsh in quality. The Violin is a favorite, and ever will be, and in view of this alone we shall try to investigate, to the best of our frail ability, its mechanical structure, its workmanship, and its known acoustical principles. The Violin is, as a general rule, composed of seventy different parts, but this is not essential as we find many of the Cremona instruments had no such number, the back being often in one piece and technically termed a “ whole ” back, in contradistinction to that formed from two separate plates, or pieces, united. At other times we find the cor¬ ner-blocks omitted, and the backs made from wood cut slab wise, as in the instruments of Andrew Amati, who never deviated from this method. The proper selection of wood of the finest acoustical qualities was a matter of the utmost importance with the ancient artists. In many of the old Cremona instruments the backs, as well as breasts, have been formed, or “ pieced,” from quite a number of different parts, all united with the most skilful care and workmanship, and plainly demonstrating, that sonority was the sine qua non , as in Ttalv there was little or no difficulty in obtaining wood in sufficient quantity , although not at all times of sufficient quality. The following table will show distinctly the different parts, along with those which are sometimes omitted : — THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT 61 NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT PIECES USED. PARTS. Generally. Sometimes. Belly or Breast. 2 I Back. 2 I Sides . 6 4 Neck or Hand. I 1 Pegs. 4 4 Finger-board. i 1 Nut. i 1 Bridge. i 1 Tail-piece. r 1 Button for do. i 1 String for do. i 1 Guard for Tail-piece String . . i 1 Side-Linings * . 12 8 End-blocks. 2 2 Corner-do *. 4 0 Sound-post. i 1 Bass-Bar. i 1 Indenting or Purfling * . 2 4 12 Strings. 4 4 Total. * Sometimes omitted. 70 46 Some instruments have a series of rectangular thin pieces of wood glued across the joints of the back and breast, inside the instrument, to keep the joint secure, as well as to give greater rigidity to the plates. Violins are made of the following woods : — Breast, bass- bar, sound-post, and side-linings, of Swiss pine, lemon- tree, and ash ; back, sides, and neck, of curled plane, or bird’s-eye maple ; blocks of sallow, or pine ; finger-board 62 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. and tail-piece, of ebony. Those are the woods which have been usually employed by the best makers, but in the com¬ mon Violin we find beech used for the back, neck, and sides ; whilst in others we find the back made of pear, or cherry-tree, the side-linings of sallow, blocks of lime-tree, etc. ; but, from the true construction of the instrument, it is evident maple and pine ought alone to be used for the for¬ mation of the back and breast. Stradivarius made several Violoncellos and Tenors with the backs formed of poplar and pear-tree, but his best in¬ struments have always had backs made from maple. A species of wood — the Azarol — common in the Tyrol, is believed to have been used by some of the Cremonese makers in preference to the Swiss pine, and that only the south side of the tree was used. The wood of which the instrument is formed is a matter of pre-eminent importance, as it must be thoroughly sea¬ soned, and possess good resonant properties. If the wood of the back and breast is perfectly baked by exposing it for a length of time near a fire, the instrument made from it certainly acquires a crispness and intensity of tone. Many modern makers adopt this method, but along with intensity there is always a harshness in the sound of the instrument, as the form of the wood-cells is changed by the heat, and after a few months the tone of the instrument gradually deteriorates. The firmness and sonority of wood is somewhat improved by steam-drying, and we find many of the pieces for Violin backs and breasts sold by the musical-instrument dealers have gone through this process, whilst others again have undergone an acetous purification. The following method of wood-drying is adopted by several of the Continental firms who supply prepared wood for the fabrication of musical instruments. The wood is kept for some hours under boiling water, whereby all its soluble parts are withdrawn. It is next left to dry, and then boiled for some time in a solution of borax, which causes the albumen to become soluble, and to escape from the pores. After this proceeding, the wood is placed in stoves heated by steam, and in three days after the commencement of this series ot operations, it has become quite dry, and to all appearance well seasoned. THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. 63 In a recent report by Monsieur Violctte upon some ex¬ periments in which he has lately been engaged, he states that steam of a temperature of 480° Fahr. is capable of taking up a considerable quantity of water. In his experi¬ ments he exposed several kinds of wood for two hours to the action of a current of steam at 7? lbs. pressure per square inch, and having a temperature of 482°. The wood having been weighed before and after exposure to the steam, it was found that oak and elm decreased in weight i, walnut and ash f, and pine i, the wood having also be¬ come stronger, with an increased power of resisting fracture. The increase of strength in oak was f, walnut i, pine f, and elm j. By this process the fibres of the wood were drawn closer together, the color became darker, and maple and pine treated by steam at a temperature of 4S7 0 , were ren¬ dered far more valuable for musical instruments than by airy process heretofore known. About 1S35, Mackintosh of Dublin, it is said, discovered a process by which he cleansed the wood of its resinous particles, etc., without deteriorating the fibre, but his secret he never made known. There can be no doubt that a lengthened seasoning is the most efficient method for the present purpose, as it gives greater toughness, elasticity, and resonance to the wood than by any artificial means that can be adopted. The celebrated Parisian maker, Vuillaume, even went personally through Italy and Switzerland in order to ob¬ tain his time-worn wood. In many cottages of the peas¬ antry and others, the furniture and woodwork of the houses are composed of pine of a very fine quality, which has perhaps been standing there for hundreds of years, and which consequently possesses the necessary resonant prop¬ erties. This valuable material was what Vuillaume pur¬ chased, and as a result, some of the instruments produced from it, by a few months’ usage, approximate to the old Cremonas. Wood which grows in rocky and exposed situations possesses much sonority. No wood, under at least four or five years’ seasoning, ought to be used for Violin- making, and not even then, unless it has been known that the tree was ripe when cut. The wood of the entire tree previous to maturity may be divided into two portions, the outer called sapwood, which 6 4 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. is soft, weak, and less compact than the inner portion called heartwood, which is the most solid. It is through this outer portion, or sapwood, that the sap chiefly ascends, and from its thus abounding more in saccharine and other matter, it is more perishable and sooner decays. In trees which have arrived at maturity, there is no distinction be¬ tween the sap and heartwood, the wood being of the same texture throughout and almost uniform. The proper period for cutting trees is when the sap ceases to flow, and experi¬ ence has proved the month of December to be the best time for this purpose, as the wood which has been cut during this month, has been found to have always been of supe¬ rior quality to any cut during the other months of the year. The ages of trees are generally known from the number of their concentric rings, but this is not an infallible index in every case. Some pines are known to contain 1,200 of those circles, thus indicating an age of 1,200 years but the mean age of the pine, when it has reached maturity, is about 80 years. Maples are known which have reached the age of 600 years. If the wood to be used is in the original state, as a log transversely cut from the tree, we have merely to cut the wood to the centre, from the outer or bark side, and the pieces when so cut must be at least a quarter of an inch thick at the centre of tree, and about an inch and quarter at the bark or outside, when the grain of the wood will be found to run in the requisite direction. Again, if the wood is in plank, it must be so sawn as that the re¬ quired plate will have the concentric circles of the fibre of the tree passing at right angles to its surface, but a few minutes’ explanation from any intelligent cabinetmaker in his workshop upon this point would make the matter clearer to the uninformed reader than the writing of a whole chapter upon the subject. When such pieces have been obtained, and free from knots, warps, and fissures, they may be cut into the following dimensions: — Length 16 inches, breadth 6 inches, \ inch thick towards the heart of the tree, and li inches towards the outside. The pieces of maple for the neck are to be cut into lengths of 12 inches, depth 2 j\ inches, with the grain running on this part, breadth if inches, this surface being slabwise. They may now be stacked on each other in an airy and dry place, with openings between the layers to admit a free circula- THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 6 5 tion of the air, whilst rain, as well as excessive sunshine, must be excluded. Wood seasoned in this manner will be less liable to tv/ist, or warp, or contain fissures, and will gradually pass to a dry and solid state. When the wood for the back and breast has been thus seasoned, the two thickest edges being the bark side of the tree, are to be neatly and carefully joined in such a manner, that one side of the joined plate will run perfectly level, whilst the other side will be highest in the middle, slanting to the edges, as seen endwise in Fig. 5. ,--- 1 ---, For the operation of joining the two Fig. 5. halves, the plane-iron must be very keenly sharpened, with the back-iron pretty close down, so that the thin shavings are perfectly cut and not torn. It must be observed that they are not twisted, by rubbing the two surfaces lengthwise, the one upon the other ; if the joint is twisted, the one will jar or rock upon the other. It will thus be seen that the centre of this joined plate contains the interior or heart- wood. The joint is thus made plain, but as fine and close as possible on both sides, that both pieces may thus act as one afterwards, and it must also be cut so as to have the fibres of the wood running as nearly parallel to it as pos¬ sible. It is assumed that the resonant property of the wood has been tried and found satisfactory ; also, that the maple is of full figure and finely marked, thus conducing to the beauty of the instrument, that the grain of both back and breast runs straight and nearly equi-distant. In the wood for the breast the grain ought to be pretty close, fine, and well marked, and perfectly straight from end to end. Presuming a tolerably good joint has now been obtained, the next process is to glue it. Carpenter’s common glue will not answer the purpose well, as it is by far too coarse. It tends also to leave an unseemly black line where the pieces are joined. Isinglass is often employed for uniting the parts of the Violin, but its proper manipulation is very difficult, as it sets so soon ; and there are so many bad sam¬ ples of it in the market, that there is much difficulty in obtaining it of excellent quality. A very pure and refined glue is to be had, which is almost transparent, and which possesses great tenacity. It is always in pieces about 9 in. long, 2 in. broad, and barely fs in. thick, and is almost 66 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT as transparent as glass. This glue is generally sold at one shilling per lb., and will be found of admirable quality for Violin-making, as well as for any other purpose where neatness combined with strength is required. For the Violin it is quite essential that the finest glue must be em¬ ployed, as the instrument has to withstand so many vicissi¬ tudes of temperature, vibration, etc. ; and it is certainly not very gratifying to have it constantly requiring repairs from the cause of bad glueing. A small glue-pot of copper or cast-iron, with a tinned interior vessel, may be obtained for a trifling sum, and will be found quite suitable for the various operations of Vio¬ lin-making. The glue is first broken into small pieces, and steeped for an hour or two in cold water, after which it will be found to dissolve more readily in the subsequent operation. Pour oft' the water, and place the now swelled glue into the interior vessel of the glue-pot, along with a small quantity of water ; fill up the outer vessel with water, and insert the one containing the glue, allowing the super¬ fluous water to escape, then place on the fire until the glue thoroughly dissolves, and gradually fill up with water until the liquid is about the consistency of olive-oil. A small brush and thin piece of pinewood are all that is required for spreading it upon the surfaces of the articles to be united. If this species of glue is used, care should be taken not to overheat it. A small quantity of spirits along with a few drops of creosote, may be advantageously added to the solution, as this tends to strengthen it; and by this method it will also keep from mould. The two halves of the back being now properly jointed, place one in the bench-vice, joint-side upwards ; hold the other half with the jointed surface running along the former, and resting on it edgewise ; cover both surfaces with hot glue of a somewhat thin consistency ; place the now glued surface of the detached half upon the surface of the fixed one ; slide the upper surface upon the under, longitudinally and evenly, forcing out the interposed glue, when, after a short time, the glue will set, as will be shown bv the intense bindingof the plates together. If the joint has been well made the glue will gradually set stifle r as the surfaces are rubbed, but if any part is “swimming” the halves THE VIOLIN • HOW TO MAKE IT. 67 must be separated and rejointed. When the glue sets, have them in proper positions, as ends and sides square; let them remain in the vice for a short time, until the ioint firms somewhat, after which, carefully place them in some dry place until the glue dries, which, in the summer time, will be in from eight to ten hours, according to the quality of glue. The breast is glued in a precisely similar manner. Some nakers cramp the two plates together ; but by this method die joining is never so firm, neither does the joint remain so firm as it appears when newly taken from the cramp, but almost invariably slightly opens afterwards. If the weather is cold the two plates may be slightly warmed, previous to glueing; but the planed surfaces must be kept as clean as possible, and free from fingering, as the glue will not adhere properly if the joined surfaces have been greased by the warm hand or fingers. In warming the plates, the maple especially, avoid all excessive heating, or it will be found that what was originally an almost in¬ visible joint, will be found, after glueing, to be but of a too visible nature, as the even surfaces have been injured from the contractions arising from overheating. When such is the case, there is no remedy but to take the back to pieces and joint it again. When the back is thus glued and thoroughly dry. the level or under surfaces may now be dressed perfectly straight and level with a plane ; for upon this surface is the outline of the instrument traced. The model of the intended instrument must now be decided upon, whether a copy of a Stradivarius, Guarnerius, or Amati, is contem¬ plated ; but if the amateur has no model of his own, he mav easily make himself one from any of the illustrations in the Vignette, as he cannot do better than follow those of he old masters. For this purpose let him procure a sheet of tracing-paper, and place upon any of the outlines he may wish to make his Violin from, then copy off the model from the engraving with pen and ink. and cut the tracing- paper evenly through at the centre-line. A thick veneer of mahogany, or hardwood, of the requisite size may now be obtained. Strip one edge straight with the plane ; place traced design upon the veneer, with the centre edge close and even upon the straight .edge of veneer; paste down, and when dry, cut the curved part to inked outline with 68 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. knife, and finish carefully with a file. This simple and easy prepared model will be found to answer every de¬ sired purpose quite efficiently. If, on the other hand, the amateur maker has a cherished instrument which he wishes to copy, dissimilar to any of the foregoing patterns, he must model an outline from his favorite instrument. This is a simple matter if he has had the instrument to pieces, as he has only to trace the outline of the breast; but when the instrument is whole, the following method may 'be adopted. In a piece of thin hardwood of proper dimen¬ sions, cut out an elongated opening of a guitar shape, sufficiently large to allow the higher parts of the arching of the back of the Violin to pass through, and the edges to rest upon the surface; then trace the outline with a small drawpoint or tracer. Upon the dressed level surface of the back, place the model, and trace off the design care¬ fully with the drawpoint. If the first form of model is chosen, trace off one half by placing the model close and even with the line of the joint, then turn over the model up¬ on the other side of the surface, and complete the tracing of the outline. It will save trouble in re-measurements hereafter if the joint is thus kept running exactly through the centre of the back, and if the back is to be made from a whole pattern, then it must be placed so as to have this line passing through its centre. After the design of the back is thus marked, the plate is to be fixed in the vice, and with a bow-saw, as shown in Fig. 6 — which may be obtained for a few shillings — the design is to be cut out by sawing pretty close to the traced line. The saw should be kept as square as possible, by doing so it will save the trouble of after-paring, but the traced line should be left quite clear. When this is accomplished, the edges may be completed by paring with the gouge and chisel, and finally finished to the line with a file. The models for the arching of the back may now be pre¬ pared, as in the early part of the subsequent operations they are required. Many makers use no models for this purpose, merely working by eyesight alone ; but if the amateur has any regard for the internal volume of air to THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 69 correspond harmoniously as a whole, he will find the ben¬ efit of making and working to models taken from an excellent instrument. Four of those models are required for the back, which may be made in the following manner. In a piece of mahogany about 15 inches long, in. broad, and to in. thick, cut an elongated curve, place this perpen¬ dicular and lengthwise upon the centre of the back of Violin, then with a small scribing-tool trace off upon the surface of the mahogany the arching of the back. A shift¬ ing-legged compass will answer the purpose equally well, if the amateur does not chose to make a small scribing instrument. [ 3 Fig. 7. Place a pencil in the compass, and pass the point of the other leo- into a small piece of cork, to prevent the compass from scratching the varnish, open the legs about £ or t oi an inch, let the point with the cork rest close to the surface of the Violin and mahogany, keep the model perpendicular to back, and draw the compass along the arching from end to end, when the pencil will trace the line of arching upon the mahogany. Tvjark the model at the purfling of the back, THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 7 ° cut one end square to purfling, and have a notch cut in the other, so as to fit the edge of the extremity, then with a knife cut out the under wood to the pencil line, and place the model upon the back, when, if any slight discrepancies occur, adjust with a file, until the model fits accurately up¬ on the curvature of back from end to end. A representa¬ tion of this model, along with the other three, is shown in Fig. 7 - The three transverse models are made in a similar manner, and are taken from the archings at the places on the Violin marked respectively 2, 3, and 4 — Fig. 8. It will now be evident there are the same number of patterns required for the arching of the breast, and which are formed in the same manner as those already described for the back, in all eight, which models complete the outlines for the archings of the instrument. To return to the back, the outline of which has now been finished, the thickness of the edges must now be made equal. With a sniall gauge, set the tracer to mark a line A or \ in. thick, according to the copy of Violin to be made, as this first thickness must be somewhat fuller to allow for indenting, finishing, etc. When the gauge is thus set to the desired thickness, run a line round the edges from the under or flat surface, when the upper wood must be removed with the plane and paring-chisel, until the edges are all of an equal thickness. Some makers have a piece of deal about the same size as the back, upon which the flat surface of the back or breast is placed; an iron screw, with large threads, is screwed partly through the under surface of either, and passes through the deal, having a binding-nut at lower end of iron rod, by which the back or breast is firmly, fixed to deal. Others again cramp the back or breast, flat side downwards, to the deal plate with small iron cramps — either of which methods retains the back or breast in position until the outer surface or arching of the instrument is completed ; but the generality of makers merely hold the plate on the bench, or knees, until this portion of the work, as well as the succeeding, viz., the hollowing out, are finished. I anticipate the amateur will choose no such appliances, but adopt the latter method of* working. If such is the case, two thin rectangular pieces of pine may now be glued across the plain surface, one at each end, crossing the joint, which will prevent the joint from THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 7 r opening at the ends, as it sometimes does from the heat and perspiration of the hand. The gauge is now set to a distance a little farther from the edge than where the indenting or purfling is to be placed, and a line traced round the edge on the upper sur¬ face, where the scooped-out part is formed with the gouge, leaving the surface between the line and edge flat, until the other part of the raised surface is completed. If the pur¬ fling or indenting tool used has a movable slide containing the cutter, this may be used instead of the gauge, to mark the line of edge slope, by taking out the cutter and substi¬ tuting a small-pointed piece of steel as a tracer. The upper or outside surface must now be gradually sloped with the gouge, plane, and paring-chisel, until it approaches in curvature to correspond with the differ¬ ent models, after which the wavings or tool-marks are obliterated with a file, and the surface finished with fine sand or glass-paper. If the curvatures have been faithfully wrought, the models will now fit upon the respective surfaces equally, and the archings will bear no important dissimilarity from those of the model Violin chosen. In cutting off the superfluous wood, the too’s must be kept very sharp, as there is difficulty in working cleanly some specimens of plane which are highly marked, unless the edge is keen, and the run of the wood must also be observed— in short, the tool must always cut, and never tear the woolly fibres. The amateur will find his safest method to be in cutting as much as possible across the grain of the wood. This, as well as the other parts of Violin-making, will be, found to take time, patience, and application, but when the work is accomplished in a creditable manner, there is the more pleasure attached to it afterwards, and whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well. When the arched sur¬ face of the back has been completed accurately according to models, and no prominent marks or irregularities left on the surface, as may be seen by holding it on a level with the eye to the light, but all beautifully even and symmet¬ rical, the next proceeding will be that of hollowing it out and graduating it to the proper thickness. For this purpose a double callipers made of either iron or hard-wood, having the ends polished, is necessary, as also a gouge or two, and 7 3 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. a small plane. Fig. 9 represents the callipers ; Fig. 10, a, b , c, d, the shapes of the curves of edges of the gouges; and Fig. 11), the form of plane. Some makers use a tool represented in Fig. 12, about two inches long from A to B, f of an in. broad, and about A of an in. thick at back. This tool is used in a similar manner to a draw-knife, and is only intended for excavating the rougher portions of the wood, and must be worked rather lightly. A small knuc¬ kle-bent gouge, Fig. 13, will be found extremely useful, in hollowing out the part of the exterior surface adjoining the indenting. In Fig. 14 is represented another form of cal¬ lipers, which will be found very useful in taking the thick¬ nesses of the breast of any whole Violin ; two different sizes of this callipers will prove serviceable, one leg is inserted through the f hole, as will be understood from the illustration. Fig. 9. Fig. 10. Fig. 11. k to Fig. 12. Fig. 13. Fig. 14. No invariable standard thicknesses can, as a rule, be adopted in the construction of the various instruments, as this depends upon the quality of the wood and the model THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 73 chosen, as Amati adopted one method, while Guarnerius and Stradivarius wrought each upon entirely different principles. The reader, by referring to Chapters II., III., and IV., will easily perceive this, as well as the various reasons for departure from a fixed rule. The following thicknesses, as a mean standard, may be successfully chosen for the back, whilst the other parts of the instrument must be built in a proportionately harmonious manner as regards volume, or capacity, and toning of breast. Dress three small pieces of hardwood about i inch long, and f inch broad, to the following thicknesses exactly : —No. i, f of an inch ; No. 2, if lines; and No. 3, if lines. Those various sizes are the mean thicknesses for the back (the breast being always slightly thinner throughout), and are used by placing them between the points of one end of the callipers, whilst the other end gauges the thickness of the plate. At the distance of 6 \ inches from the upper or wide end of the back, upon the centre-line, make a mark with tracer, and from this, as a starting-point, measure off 2f inches towards the upper end, and 2 inches towards the lower end upon the centre-line of the back ; set a small compass to f inch, and set off this from the extreme, or end-marks on each side, thus forming a rectangular figure 4! inches long and if inches wide. The thickness within this figure must be reduced until it is the same as No. 1, or f of an inch thick throughout, gradually but accurately decreasing in thickness outwards to if lines, midways between this and the edges where the sides are placed, this part being if lines thick in the back. The back may be hollowed out with gouge or draw- knife described, until the thickness is nearly arrived at, after which the small plane may be used until the precise thick¬ nesses are obtained. A line should be run round the inside margin of the back with the gauge at the place whereon the side-linings will run, and the thickness truly reduced to the standard at this part. The graduating of the thicknesses must be wrought very accurately, and the interior surface finished with the same care as the already finished outer arched surface — no ridges or irregularities being left, but all smooth and finished. THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. H 4 /4 The final finishing must be done with No. o sand or glass-paper. It must be observed that the outer surface of the edge of the back from the gauge-line must be left thicker for the present to allow of the indenting afterwards. The normal tone of the back may now be tested, which, if the wood has been of rich sonorous quality, will be found to answer very closely to that of the backs of Stradivarius if the same model has been adopted. For the belly or breast the same models are required, which may be made in the same manner as those already described for the back, and in addition to these, a model of one of the f holes must also be taken. This may be tiaced on paper, or parchment, and transferred to zinc or thin wood, after which the pattern may be cut out. As the breast is made in a similar manner to the back, it would only entail unnecessary repetition to describe that part of it preceding the cutting of the f holes. The same starting- point is taken for the breast as that of the back, and the rectangular surface of equal thickness the same dimensions, but the thickness throughout the entire plate ought to be half a line less than that of the back. The former starting- point, viz., 6f inches from the upper or wide end, corres¬ ponds with the inner or bridge-notches of the f holes ; a line passing through this point to the centre-line will pass through those notches. The sizes of f holes vary accord¬ ing to the model of the Violin, and are formed to corres¬ pond with the internal capacity ; when large they make the tone more free and shrill, and when small they cause the tone to be more round and mellow. The model of f hole being obtained, it is to be placed in the proper position upon the surface of the breast, and the shape traced upon the breast with a fine-pointed pencil. A thin, narrow and pointed penknife may be used for cutting out the f holes, which must be cut by small portions, and the knife kept very sharp. When cut, the circular parts may be rounded with a fine rat-tail file, after which the f holes must be fin¬ ished with fine glass-paper. 1 he model is now reversed to the other side, and the other f hole cut in like manner to the preceding. The bass-bar may now be made and carefully fitted to the interior surface of the breast. For this no particular scale of dimensions can, as a rule, be adopted, as much depends upon the height of arching and THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 75 quality of wood used in the construction of the breast, whether close or open in the grain, and the height of bridge to be chosen afterwards. For mean sizes, the following maybe advantageously chosen; length, io inches; depth at centre, i inch, gradually tapering to about A inch at the ends, and thickness about | of an inch. For forming the above, the piece of pine may be about 11 inches long, having a line crossing the centre dividing the length into two equal parts, whilst the depth or breadth may be about G inches; then, by placing the piece upon a line traced upon the proper part of the interior surface, where the bar is to be glued, a line may be scribed with a compass upon the bar, and the spare wood cut away with a knife, etc., until the bar accurately fits to the intended part of the sur¬ face. A common but very erroneous idea prevails amongst many Violin-makers regarding what ought to be the proper depth of the bar at the centre. The method alluded to is this : a straight-edge is passed across the two inner edges of the breast, where the centre of the bass-bar ought to be, the depth is then measured from the bottom of the hollow or curve to the under surface of the straight-edge, which determines the required depth of the bar ; in other words, the top surface of the centre of the bass-bar runs level with the two edges of the breast. It is necessary that the wood from which the bass-bar is formed possesses resonant quali¬ ties in an equal degree to that of the breast, and ought to be tested previous to commencing. The proper place for the bass-bar is about tV inch inwards from the inner edge of the lower circle of the bass f hole. In the Guarnerius copies by Vuillaume, the length of the bass-bar is such as to extend to if inches from either end of the breast, as measured on an imaginary line passing through the middle of the bar. When the bar has been accurately fitted, it may now be glued in its proper position upon the interior surface. The next object claiming attention is the bending of the sides to the proper curvatures, and the insertion ot the blocks and side-linings. Numerous methods are used for this purpose by the Violin-makers, some bending them over a hot iron, whilst others bend them by having pre¬ viously soaked them in boiling water. The generality of makers use a mould for this purpose, whereby much trou¬ ble is saved, although a few' adhere to the plan of bending 7 6 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. to curvature on a hot iron, and glueing on to the Violin back separately, after which they ht in the blocks. 1 here are various patterns of moulds used by the makers, some pre¬ ferring a half-mould, whilst others adopt a whole one. A form of whole-mould is represented in Fig. 15. This mould may be formed from a piece of clean plane or beech, about 17 or iS inches long, and i\ inches thick. The inner part is neatly cut out from pattern, whilst two iron screws pass through the extremities, one at each end, and bind the inner plates together. The sides or ribs, after being dipped in boiling water, and slightly bent to shape upon a hot iron, are placed in the mould, after which the two inner halves are inserted, and the whole clamped together by the two iron screws. The blocks are added after the sides are thoroughly dry and retain their permanent THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 77 shape. Fig. 16 represents another and better description of mould. This form of mould is made from one half of the model of the intended Violin, as will be observed in the illustration. About a quarter of an inch from the edge of the outline, are placed a few bent pieces of strong wire, as represented in Fig. 17, by which the linings are kept in position upon the sides ; whilst at the distance of about an inch from the edge are fixed several iron cramps, one end being turned, Fig- J 7- as in Fig. 18, which passes into a hole pierced in the mould, whilst the other has a screw attached, which cramps the corner-blocks and sides, by which a neat and close joint is obtained. This mould may be made from a piece of Fig. 18. clean beech, about 16 inches long and 12 inches thick. The outline of the Violin from a half model must be carefully drawn on beech, whilst a line must be traced neatly within the outline at the place where the outer surface of the sides would be, and the whole inner portion carefully sawn out to this inner line. The sides of the curved inner part must be cut truly perpendicular, and all the saw-marks removed with a file. The sides are bent nearly to the shape upon a hot iron, after which they are placed into the mould and cramped into position by the iron screws and wires, until they fit closely to the mould, and are left to set for several hours, after which the corner-blocks and side-linings are fitted and glued in, and cramped as before. The thin ve¬ neers for the sides, as well as the small pieces for the indent¬ ing, can be obtained at the musical-instrument dealers’ for a trifling sum. The sides must be carefully dressed with a small hand-plane. One end may be glued or tacked to a flat and level piece of board, whilst the other lies free, as from the thinness of the side it would warp and break if placed against a rest. If the amateur wishes to cut the sides from wood he may have, he can dress one side of his plank, and then saw out the veneer such a size as may en¬ able him to have all his sides from the one piece; then, after dressing the other surface, he may cut them into pieces about 15 or 16 inches long, by ii broad. The grain of the wood must run parallel with the length, and the veneers may be cut out to sizes with a knife. It will be observed that the depth of the sides of the generality of 7 s THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. good instruments varies, the narrowest part being at the neck or hand, gradually increasing towards the button of the tail-piece, where the depth is the widest. In the Vio¬ lins of Nicolas Amati, the average depth of the sides at the neck will be found to be iA inches, increased to ii inches at the button-end. The side-pieces being now properly dressed, are to be carefully bent to nearly the required shape upon a hot iron. Two iron or brass tubes of different sizes will be found advantageous for the variety of curvature of the sides, the smallest one answering to the acute curves of the corners. The tubes are to be heated either in a clear tire, or by the introduction of a heated iron rod, but the heat must not be so great as would char the wood. They are to be bent gradually, moistening the upper surface slightly with water, which will tend to prevent them from breaking. After they are bent to shape, introduce them into the mould, and cramp them in with the wire and screw-cramps, until they are close to the edges of the mould all round. The next operation will be that of making the side-linings, which are formed of pieces of pine or sallow, about A of an inch broad and fully xV in. thick at one edge, the other being only about xk of an inch thick, one side being thus level, whilst the other or outer side is sloped. They are glued to the inside of the upper and lower edges of the sides, and may be bent into shape upon the hot tubes, or dip¬ ping them into boiling water. The corner and end-blocks are also made of pine or sallow, and must be neatly fitted to their respective places. The corner-blocks are from 1 to i inch in length across the upper surface, the end-block at the button, about f inch at the thickest part, and of a semi-elliptical outline, whilst the neck-block is made similar to the former, but of a somewhat larger size. All the above pieces require to be neatly fitted to the sides, being quite close all round, whilst the under and upper surfaces of the blocks must fit evenly against the back and breast. The side-linings and corner-blocks being prepared, they are glued to the sides and corners, and cramped all round into position, the former being placed with the level surface upon the sides, with the thick edge outermost, after which they are left in the mould for several hours to dry. If the whole model is adopted, THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 79 the side-linings can be kept in position by the American clips, such as photographers use, and which are sold at is. per dozen ; a representation of which is shown in Fig. 19. The end-blocks are not attached until the other half of the sides, corner-blocks, and linings are finished, 'which is merely a repetition in manipulation of the preced¬ ing description. The blocks are made slightly deeper at first than required, that they may be truly fitted to the back and breast afterwards, and the length of that part of the sides and linings which would run upon the centre-line is kept full, that a neat joint may be obtained when the end- blocks are attached. The first half, being dry in the mould, may now be finished, by removing all traces of superfluous glue from the joinings, and cleaning the whole with fine glass-paper, but the Fig. 19. glass-paper must be very fine, so as not to leave the slight¬ est roughness of surface. The two end-blocks having been made, two lines maybe traced dowm the outside centre of each, after which the blocks are to be fitted to their places upon the ends of the back, with the bisecting lines running exactly upon the centre line of the back of the Violin. They are to be firmly glued on the end surfaces, and cramped down until the joints are thoroughly dry. The two halves of the instrument, com¬ prising sides, corner-blocks, and linings, having been pre¬ pared as described, are to be accurately fitted upon the back. For this purpose one half may be adjusted first, and cramped down upon the back with the wooden cramps, as shown in Fig. 20, the ends being cut the exact length, which will be square from the centre line of the back, after which the whole may be glued by unscrewing a few of the cramps, bv which means the glue can be traced in the joint little by little, then rescrewing the cramps as before, until the whole of the joining of the sides, with the back, and half of the end- blocks is completed. When this portion is thor¬ oughly set and dry, the other half may be Fig. 2a attached in a similar manner, but instead of glueing on the whole of the sides, a portion of each end may be left unglued for the present, and allowed to project over the two glued ends 8o THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. of the other half, as by this means the joinings can be easily and accurately fitted afterwards. When the whole is dry, the two ends of the sides may be cut to the proper length, and glued to^ the end-blocks and back. The side-linfngs should also fit closely to the surfaces of sides, blocks, and back, and no openings or crevices be found, as all should be neatly joined, that the whole may act as a single piece afterwards. The French method of uniting the sides, is by having blocks and corner-pieces attached round a mould, glueing on the back, and then cutting the blocks free from the mould. The neck or hand of the instrument next claims atten¬ tion. If the amateur wishes to form the hand and scroll from any favorite Violin, he must make himself a pattern from such. This he can readily accomplish by tracing such model upon a thin veneer of hardwood, or thin plate of sheet zinc, carefully observing the copying of the curves of the scroll, as well as the angle which the neck makes with the body of the Violin. Having selected a piece of maple with the fibres running properly, as men¬ tioned in the early part of this chapter, he must square it up, and upon the grained surface trace the design, leaving the wood longer than actually required hereafter, in order to accomplish the joining of the extremity of the neck to the body of the instrument. He must carefully trace the scroll with draw-point and compass, having the centres exactly opposite. The peg-box must be neatly mortised out with a small chisel, the spirals of the scroll cut gradually into shape with small gouges, the marks obliterated with a round file, and the whole finished with glass-paper. The proper places for the peg-holes are to be marked out and pierced with a bradawl, or small bit, then a tapered bit, of the form of Fig. 21, may be used to cut them to the conical form. The young amateur will no doubt find some difficulty in his first attempt at this opera¬ tion— the making of the hand — but the manipula¬ tion will prove easier to him after a few trials. Fin¬ ished hands are now sold by the musical-instrument o dealers, at prices ranging from 6d. to 2s., accord- “ ing to quality and finish — thus, if the amateur gets baffled in his first attempt, his wants will be met at a THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 81 small outlay. The neck must be adjusted very accurately to the body of the instrument, not only as regards angu¬ lar position, but also that it maybe in a line with the centre of the Violin. The proper angle for the neck is such, that the centre of the scroll lies in a line with the edge of the back ot the instrument, as seen from the opposite extremity ; but the young amateur must observe, in the adjustment of the neck, that the finger-board be afterwards at the proper height from the breast. The degree of elevation of the finger-board depends upon the model of the Violin chosen ; but as a mean, the height from the extreme end of the fin¬ ger-board to the surface of the breast in the centre, may be taken as in. ; but no definite elevation can, as a rule, be laid down. The amateur must decide upon this from the intended height of his bridge. The belly may be cramped down on the sides with a few of the wooden screw-cramps, and the hand lightly fixed to the instrument with a cramp, such as shown in Fig. 22, when the following simple method will suffice for the adjustment of the neck. Take a piece of thin wood about 17 in. long and | in. broad, having one edge perfectly straight, lightly tack this veneer to the upper surface of the neck, in such a manner as to have the straight edge running in a line exactly through the centre of its length ; by this it will Fig. 22. be readily perceived that the neck will be in its proper position, when the joint is such that the edge of the veneer is exactly in a line with the centre-line of the belly, and its lower surface will coincide with that of the finger-board, from which the proper height may be easily arrived at. The neck being properly ad¬ justed, and a joint obtained to meet the required demands, it must be firmly glued into its proper position, and cramped for several hours, until the joining gets thoroughly dry. It is to be understood that the preceding description is applicable to a plain joint, where the neck is merely glued to the outside of the body of the Violin, but in numerous cases a part of the neck is let into the body, having a saw- kerf near to the extremity, through which part of the sides are inserted ; but by the first method, if the joint is well fitted and glued, it will be found quite efficient to withstand 82 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. all tension and pressure to which the instrument is neces¬ sarily subjected. If this plan is had recourse to, the join¬ ing will be much simplified by observing to place the end- block and sides quite square upon the back ; then, when the proper angle for the fitting of the neck is once obtained, cut the model to the same angle, which will greatly facili¬ tate the amateur in the joining of this part to the instru¬ ment in subsequent operations, if the same model is chosen. The dovetailing the end of the neck into the Violin re¬ quires great care bestowed upon the fitting. In order to do so, draw a line across the place where the nut is sup¬ posed to be, and from this line, at a distance of 5! in., draw another line across the neck. Let this line be square with the centre-line which has been previously drawn up the middle of the neck. The neck must be made the same breadth as the finger-board, and bevelled off at both sides, until it is about » in. broad at the bottom part, where it is joined to the back. Now, from the two sides and the cross- line at 5^ in. from the nut, let there be lines drawn at an angle of 80I degrees with the upper surface, and at the same angle draw another line on each side about f in. nearer the end, then let the wood be pared off to those latter lines, when the dovetail will come back to the first drawn lines, and is precisely in the middle of the end. This dovetail will be about f in. thick at top, tapering down to about | in. Dovetail it also across the bottom. It will be found that the dovetail up the sides stops about I in. from the top surface, this allows for the thickness of the belly, and the proper clearance and height of the finger-board. Let a corresponding dovetail be now cut in the end, or neck- block. Draw the exact size of it upon the sides, and the distance inwards upon the block. In cutting down the sides, leave l in. at the bottom, bevel the dovetail down¬ wards, until the bottom is through the block to the back. Let it be carefully observed, as formerly, that the neck is in proper line with the centre of the back. If the neck is awry, pare a little off the long side of the dovetail, until all is straight, and find if the set of the neck is at a proper angle. Place the finger-board and belly on, and let the distances from the top-surfaces of each be rather over f in. In obtaining this height you may require to re-set the neck, THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 83 by paring off a small portion, if it is too high, in order to set it back a little. When the neck is properly fitted, heat it, and run the glue upon the dovetail in the block, as well as upon the neck, and cramp down. After the hand has been properly attached, the belly may be glued upon the instrument. Previous to this, the edges of the sides and blocks, as well as the interior of the instru¬ ment, must be quite clean and finished, and every trace of superfluous glue removed. The belly may now be cramped down upon the sides, and care be taken that a uniform dis¬ tance is maintained between the sides, and the outer edge, all around the instrument. If the sides have been attached to the back, slanting, or off the perpendicular, those un¬ seemly faults will now appear very glaringly, as the dis¬ tance between the edge of the belly and the sides will vary with almost every curve. The belly being cramped down with a suflieient number of the wooden screws, one side may be loosened, and a covering of hot, thin glue traced all round the inner surfaces to be attached ; this is now to be firmly cramped, until every part of the joint is close ; the screws from the other half are then to be removed, after which it is to be attached in a similar manner. The last work having well dried, the next step is the indenting, or purfling of the instrument — although some makers do this part of the work immediately after they have formed the back and breast; but this is a matter of no great impor¬ tance, unless bad work has been displayed in attaching the sides. The edges are to be rounded and finished previous to running the indenting along the surfaces. For the purfling many forms of tools are used, but the one represented in Fig. 23, although original , will be found to answer the purpose thoroughly. By this instrument, it will be per¬ ceived we can vary the distances from the edges, to imitate any model chosen. The two cutters are thin pieces of steel, sharpened at an angle, with a shoulder left of the necessary thickness, so that the groove cut may fit the in¬ denting strips. The cutters are kept in position by the screw a. Fig. 24, a represents one of the cutters, seen edgeways ; Fig. 24, b shows the form of blade and point. Fig. 23, b is a small screw for adjusting the shoulder- piece to any required distance the purfling maybe intended 8 4 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. to be placed. This tool maybe made from iron — with the exception of the cutters, of course — and fixed in an ordinary tool-handle. Another purfling tool, but much simplified, is shown in Fig. 25. The body of this tool may be formed from a piece of beech, having two cutters the same as the preceding, fixed by a binding-screw. This simple tool answers admirably, and may be easily made by any amateur, or can be purchased for about 2s. 6d. The angular parts of the blades must be made thin, and the edges kept very keen. Either of those two tools is to be held quite steady, and a double cut of the proper depth run round the margin of the back and breast; the interior wood is after¬ wards to be cleanly cut out with a chisel-sharpened awl, as in Fig. 26. The indenting groove must be cut gradually and carefully, never allowing the tool O gto tear the wood, or slip from the proper place. At the parts of the back and breast opposite to the ex¬ tremities of the neck, where the indenting tool does not reach, two pencil lines may be drawn through tho THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. 8S spaces, and the groove cut to such lines with a thin pointed penknife, and the wood cut out as previously. The small strips of indenting are to be had at the shop of the musical-instrument dealer, and may be obtained at a trifling cost. They are to be fitted and glued into the grooves with thin glue, and, when dry, cut down to the surface of the Violin — the scooped out part is now finished, and the edges reduced to their proper thickness. At this stage of the work the Violin is usually cleaned and varnished, but, for the present, we shall com¬ plete the mechanical part of the work, viz., the finger¬ board, nut, etc. The finger-board is formed of ebony, and a model of such — as shown in I I Fig. 27 — should be made from that of some '"''"vl well-made instrument. A piece of ebony Fig- 27. being obtained of the proper dimensions, the outside parts are to be dressed with the plane, the hollow surfaces scooped out with gouges, and the whole finished with glass- paper, and glued upon the neck of the instrument. The following dimensions of the finger-board may serve as a mean : — Length, 10 in. ; breadth at lower end in. ; and at the upper end, if in. The nut, or small piece of ebony which projects at the end of the finger-board, is now to be formed and glued into its place, the whole is then finished with file, and cleaned with glass-paper. A small hole is then to be cut through the tail-block for the admission of the button-peg, upon which the tail-piece is fastened, whilst a small strip of ebony is glued into that part of the breast over which the cords of the tail-piece pass. The tail-peg may be fitted in without glueing in the meantime, in order that the sound-post may be properly adjusted afterwards. The holes for the pegs are now to be formed of the proper size, with the bit shown in Fig. 21, and the pegs roughly fitted with file and glass-paper to their respective places. The small holes for containing the ends of the strings may be pierced with a small drill. When the foregoing opera¬ tions have been finished, the surface of the whole instru¬ ment is to be thoroughly cleaned with glass-paper, and prepared to receive the varnish. A wetted sponge is now to be passed lightly over the whole surface, and, when dry, the roughness is to be cleaned off with glass-paper, and the preceding operations to be repeated until the surface is 86 THE VIOLIN: HO IV TO MAKE IT. perfectly smooth and brilliant, when wet. The instrument being dry, is now ready for varnishing, details of which may be found in Chapter X. Many makers, previous to this operation, coat the surface with a wash of thin size, which, when dry, is rubbed off with glass-paper, and is then ready to receive a coating of varnish. When the var¬ nishing is completed and the instrument dry, the peg-holes may be cleaned with a rat-tail file and glass-paper, and the pegs are afterwards accurately fitted to their proper places. The tail-piece may now be put on, along with the strings, and the bridge being cut to the proper size and form, must be fitted very truly to the surface of the belly of the instru¬ ment. The arching of the bridge ought to corre¬ spond to that of the surface of the finger-board, if properly made. The sound-post is now made, and is formed from a piece of straight and well¬ grained pine, having the fibres running longitudi¬ nally. It may be rounded with file and glass- paper, and must be neatlv fitted at the extremities, so as to rest closely upon the inner surfaces of the two tables of the Violin. To place it in the instru¬ ment, a small draw-point may be used, or the sound-post-setter, which is a long, metallic plate of a rather peculiar form, shown in Fig. 28. The proper place for the sound-post varies according to . the qualites of the instruments ; but in good Violins ‘F % it may be placed, as a mean, in such a position as to be about a quarter of an inch behind the right foot of the bridge, but when once the proper place is obtained — by repeated trials — it should be marked, so that, in cases of accidents, it may be replaced in its proper position ; but the amateur will find the necessary information regarding this, as well as the bridge, in the other parts of this manual more directly appertaining to the subject. THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. 8 7 CHAPTER VI. MATHEMATICAL METHOD OF MODELLING AND CONSTRUCTING THE VIOLIN, By drawing and constructing the instrument according to the following method, very passable Violins may be produced. Exact work must be displayed in the divisions of the length, as well as in the graduation to scale subse¬ quently set forth. Draw a perpendicular line 14 inches long, and divide this carefully into 72 equal parts, as in Fig. 29. Through the following numbers of the graduated perpendicular, draw 20 horizontal lines, as in illustration : ISt Line through the point 8, and marked AA. 2nd ftft ftft (t 1 4 , ftft (( BE. 3rd ftft (ft ftft 16, (ft ftft CC. 4th a ftft ftft 20, ftft (ft DD. 5 th a ftft ftft 21* ftft ftft EE. 6th u IV ftft (ft 22, (ft (ft FF. 7th « (ft ftft 23 » (ft ftft GG. 8th a ftft ftft 27 . (ft ftft HH. 9th n << ftft 28, (ft ftft II. 10th u ftft ftft 3 L ftft (ft KK. 1 ith a ftft (ft 33 > ftft ftft LL. 12th <4 ftft ftft 34 , (ft (ft MM. 13th a ftft ftft 37 , ftft (ft NN. 14th (ft (ft ftft 39 , ftft (ft OO. 15th ftft ftft (ft 40, ftft ftft PP. 16th (ft ftft (ft 44 \, ftft ftft QQ. 17 th (ft ftft (ft 48, (ft ftft RR. 18th (ft ftft ftft 55 . ftft ftft SS. 19th (ft ftft ftft 5^. ftft ftft TT. 20th <4 44 ftft 6 5 > ftft ftft VV. Now open the compass to 9 parts, place one leg on b , and trace the two arcs a a , then open the compass to 24, and placing one leg on 24, from b draw the curve aba. open the compass 2 parts, and set off this upon both sides of the perpendicular, upon the line C, as marked c c , and 88 THE VIOLIN: HO IV TO MAKE IT. from those points as centres, with radii c d , describe the two arcs from a to the first parallel A. Now set off i part as formerly on the line 13 marked e e , and from those points as centres prolong the curves through f from the THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 89 line to D. Set off iii parts upon line L to g, and 11 from g to h , from h as a centre, draw the curve /from L to P. On K set oft 23I parts k , from this point with a radius from the part of the curve crossing M, draw the curve l from M to H. Open the compass 11 parts and from r r as a centre trace the two arcs v v, and from 35 as a centre, with radius r r, trace the curve v, w, r r , v. Again, upon the line S mark oft’ 6 parts x x, and from those as centres, with v v as radii, prolong the curves from v through y to the line V. On T mark oft'4 parts z z , with those as centres, and radii to where the curves touch V, prolong the curves through a a from V to R. On G mark oft’ 244 parts on either side of the perpendicular o 0, with those as centres, and radii to the parts of D where the curves f touch, prolong the curves f through p to F, and on I mark oft' 14! parts as m m , with those as centres, extend the curves from / through n , from H to s. Set oft' 22 parts g g on E, and with those as centres, with radii to where the curve p touches E, trace the curve through r r to 55. Now place the compass upon 20, open it 16 4 parts, and trace the cor¬ ners y i - . Again, upon Qpnark oft’24 parts b b, with those as centres, prolong the curves from R through c c to d d, and upon N mark oft' 16 4 parts t /, with those as centres, and radii to the parts where P joins /, trace the curve 21 to d d. Finally, open the compass 19! parts from the point 49, and trace the corners d d. The angles of the curves between L L and JV 1 IVI must be foimed into a piopei shape by a file. The Proper Elevation for the Archings of Back and Belly. —For the longitudinal model of the arching, dress a piece of wood to the following dimen¬ sions . — 13 niches long, 2 inches bioad, and about » inch thick ; divide it in the middle as at Fig. 30. Open the compass to three times the length of the perpendicular 6 , r r , Fig. 29, or 216 parts, and with this as a radius, from a perpendicular drawn through <2, tiace the cui\e b , 0, c. Thickness of the Back. —From 42 as a centre, set off4$ parts as a radius, and trace a circle; all the wood within this circle must be reduced very carefully to one part in thickness; then from the same centre 42, trace another circle with a radius ol 12 parts ; the thickness ot tne wood from the inner circle to the edge ot this second circle 9 ° THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. must diminish very gradually to two-thirds of a part, and from the latter circle to the parts whereon the sides are attached, the thickness must gradually decrease to «one-half of a part. Thickness of the Belly. — With 40 a centre open the compass 4 parts, and trace a circle, within which the wood must be reduced to two-thirds of a part in thickness. Now open the compass 9 parts (8s according to Wettengel), and « from 40 trace another circle ; the wood from the inner circle to the edge of this second circle is to be reduced to half of a part in thickness, and from this latter circle to the parts which meet the sides, the thickness must gradually diminish to one-third of a part. In Fig. 29, the two half circles on the right of the instrument are those of the back, the semi-circles on the left represent the graduations of the belly of the Violin. The Sides. — The sides are to be 6? parts wide at the button, decreasing gradually to 6 parts at the neck. Side-Linings. — The side-linings must be i£ parts broad, and half of a part thick. End-Blocks. — The upper block should be 10 parts broad and 4 parts thick, the lower of the same thickness, but only 8 parts broad. Neck. — The length of the neck from the sides to the nut should be 2? parts. The y*HoLES. —The length of they holes is 15 parts, extending from the pomt 32s to 47L The diameter of their upper circular holes should be ii parts, that of the under circles if parts. The dis¬ tance between the edges of the upper holes should be 9 parts, that of the interior notches 1^ parts, and the space between the edges of the lower circles 24 parts. The Bass-Bar. — The bass-bar is 36 parts ^long, 1 in breadth, and 2 parts thick in the centre, and this thickness must gradually diminish to ,] g- 3 o. two-thirds of a part at the ends. The bar should run parallel with the joint, having its centre opposite the point 40. Its proper place is exactly on the margin of the interior circle. THE VIOL IN': HOW TO MAKE IT. 9 1 The Sound-Post. — The sound-post must be i part in diameter, its place should be two parts behind the right foot of the bridge. The Bridge. — The bridge should be 8 parts wide and 6 \ parts in height. The present description answers equally to the Violoncello and Double-Bass, if we assume the sides of those to be 12 parts broad at the button, diminishing to 11 i at the neck, and the bridge to be 12 parts in height. CHAPTER VII. DESCRIPTION OF SAVART’s BOX FIDDLE. In describing this instrument, it may be as well to follow some of the illustrious Savart’s experiments, by which he was led to adopt the following form and construction of the instrument: — It must not be supposed that M. Savart, subsequently to the formation of this style of instrument, considered it as of a superior quality from its form and change of construction to those of the old makers ; on the contrary, a few years after this, the renowned skill and pre¬ eminent adjustments displayed in the instruments of Strad- ivarius, etc., by their harmonious relationship of parts, unfolded themselves gradually to his master mind, and thus unhesitatingly compelled him to acknowledge that their proportions, etc., were the true standard for a perfect in¬ strument, as they will ever continue to be. When fine dry sand is sprinkled upon a vibrating surface it is thrown into various symmetrical forms, being collected always in the largest quantities upon the parts of the sur¬ face where there is the least vibration, and being thrown oft' those portions where the vibration is the strongest. Thus, if we sprinkle upon the surface of a Violin some fine dry sand, we will find that, by playing on the instrument, some of it will remain undisturbed, and this will always happen to be upon the places where there is little or no vibration, and consequently those are the parts least capa¬ ble of producing sound. We may readily discover the vibrating and non-vibrating parts by the following simple method : — Place upon the surface of the Violin any small 9 2 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. concave substance, a percussion-cap or button will be found to answer, sound one of the strings, when the cap or button will be seen to be violently agitated and thrown up from the surface ; and if, whilst making the experi¬ ment, we hold the instrument level with the face between us and the light, we can estimate the distance thrown, and thus we can vary the position on the surface, until the cap or button, being placed upon certain parts, will remain sta¬ tionary, which of course are the portions of non-vibration. Thus reason and experience would lead us to suppose that the curvature of the surface tends to be a detriment rather than an advantage, but we must not forget that the curved interior surface is very powerful in producing reflex¬ ions of the sound. Savart, therefore, in the construction of his new Violin, used flat wooden plates instead of the common curved ones ; and, in order to maintain an equal vibrating surface on either side of the strings, he formed each breast and back of two pieces cut parallel with the grain from the same board, their edges being united by glueing. To withstand the increased pressure on the breast at the part where the bridge is placed, he strengthened this part by making it about 3th of an inch thick, whilst the thick¬ ness of the outer edges was only about fsth of an inch. The bridge was the next part of the instrument to which he directed his attention. What purpose the bridge serves besides being a support for the strings, is shown by the following experiment: — Stretch a Violin string along a plank 2 or 3 inches thick, fasten the two extremities, and insert a bridge below the string as in the Violin. Get a circular disc or plate of lead, and place it between the bridge and the surface of the plank, and upon this leaden plate strew some fine dry sand, when, if a bow is applied to the string, we will find the sand has formed itself into a symmetrical figure upon the leaden plate. We learn from this that the vibratory motion given to the string by the bow is communicated to the bridge, and from the bridge to the leaden plate on which it rests, and by analogy we now know that it is by means of the bridge that the body of the Violin is put into vibration when its strings are played upon, and are thus vibrating. THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 93 Now we also know that the back or under surface of the Violin vibrates along with the breast, and that this vibra¬ tion is communicated from the breast, by the sides, and partly by the sound-post. All Violinists are well aware that this small wooden peg or post, which is placed within the body of the Violin, and which partly helps to meet the increased pressure (on the breast where the right side of the bridge rests arising from the smaller strings), has a material influence on the tone of the instrument. If we take a rod of pinewood and place one end upon the lid of a vessel in which water is boiling, whilst we apply the other end closely to the ear, or insert it between the teeth, we hear the boiling with great distinctness, owing to the sound being conveyed more rapidly through the pine than the atmosphere, and it is precisely similar with the Violin ; the sound-post, and, in a greater degree, the sides, convey¬ ing to the back with immense rapidity the vibrations which have been excited in the breast from the strings. It is essential that we choose the best place for the sound post, for we have seen that certain portions vibrate stronger than others, whilst others appear almost to remain station¬ ary ; thus we are led to suppose the proper place for the sound-post would be the former, viz., where the vibrations are the most intense, coming directly from the bridge, but another important use of the sound-post is in rendering the vibrations of the upper and under plates normal. A Violin always yields some tones more brilliantly than others. Savart imagined that this might be owing to the curved form of the surface, some of it being non¬ vibrating, or that the sound-post happened to be placed at a nodal or quiescent point during some tones ; but as the f holes in Savart’s Violin, as we shall presently see, were cut straight and rendered easy of vibration, he placed the sound-post near to one of them, that it might thus be the means (as was supposed) of conveying powerful vibra¬ tions from the breast to the back of the instrument. By pasting a slip of thin paper over one of the f holes, the sound is much enfeebled, we may therefore conclude that part of their purpose is to establish a communication between the external air, and the internal air vibrating in the body of the instrument. Savart, at the time of these experiments, saw no reason for the f holes being fantasti- 94 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. cally curved, as a greater number of fibres were cut than if the holes were straight, so he adopted this latter method in his Violin. Subsequently to this, however, he clearly perceived why the J holes were curved in the instruments of the old masters, for the more we may deviate from that form the worse the instrument becomes. The bass-bar claimed his attention also, for by its being placed under the internal surface of one side of the breast, it thus apparently maintained an unequal elasticity in both sides, so, to equalize this, he placed his bar exactly in the centre, running down the thickest part of the breast. He now directed his attention to the shape of the instru¬ ment, which, from being formed in a complicated manner, having its sides curved into so many arcs, etc., and by having the two deep hollows cut, serving to let the bow pass freely upon the first and fourth strings of the instru¬ ment, appeared to him at this time as faults in its con¬ struction, as the wood, by being thus bent, acquired an unequal elasticity. In his Violin he did away with this curvature, and made the sides, as well as the outline, straight, the length being about the same as that of the common Violin, and the width being narrowest at the neck, and broadest at the other end. In this form of instrument the bridge must be higher than in the common Violin, to en¬ able the performer to play separately upon the first and fourth strings, as there are no side-hollows cut in this instrument. The sides were also made deeper than in com¬ mon Violins, and by this means the mass of air was augmented, whilst a large vibrat¬ ing surface was obtained, which would thus tend to produce an increase of sonority. The general appearance of the instrument is shown in Fig. 31. Savart having presented a memoir re¬ garding his Violin to the Academy of Sciences, at Paris, they instituted a commis¬ sion to examine and report upon it. This commission consisted of the four following famed men of science : Messrs. Biot, Prony, Hany, and Charles, along THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. 95 with the following four members of the Academy of the Fine Arts : Messrs. Cherubini, Catel, Berton, and Le Seur. The account was drawn up by M. Biot, and the follow¬ ing is a translation from his own words, as given in the “ Annales de Chimie et de Physique.” “To assure themselves of this,” states M. Biot, “the commission invited M. Lefebure, chief of the orchestra of the Theatre Feydeau, to make a trial of it before them. This able artist, whose performances on the Violin — full of grace and sensibility — have been long known and appre¬ ciated by the world, yielded to our desire with much cour¬ tesy ; he was willing to compare the Violin of Savart with that of his own, and which is so full of expression in his hands. He played the one and the other in succession be¬ fore us, and the new Violin was found to possess a greater purity of tone, and a more perfect equality in the different tones — the last of which qualities is known to be very rare. The new Violin, heard from a short distance, appeared to have somewhat less brilliancy than the other, but this brilliancy decreased at a greater distance. The better to assure ourselves of the comparison, we requested M. Lefe¬ bure to retire to an adjoining room, and play the same passages alternately on the two instruments, without telling us which he was about to play, when they were found so nearly equal that the most practised persons confounded the one with the other, or, if there was any difference, it was that the new Violin had a little more sweetness of tone.” Thus eminently did Savart’s instrument stand such a rigid test as has been related, and such a Violin can be made by any one possessing the least mechanical turn of mind, although, perhaps, not so very fine in quality. To sum up, then, the particulars of construction in Savart’s Vio¬ lin are, — ist. Instead of the back and breast being curved, they are made of two flat plates, similar in size and direc¬ tion of grain, \ of an inch thick at one edge, and of an inch at the other, and the thick edges united. 2nd. In¬ stead of the sides being curved, they are perfectly straight. 3rd. The bridge is made higher than usual, to suit the shape of the instrument. 4th. The bass-bar is placed on the middle of the instrument, instead of being at one side. 5th. The holes in the breast are straight, instead of being 9 6 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT curved. 6th. The sound-post is placed very near to one t>f these holes. 7th. The sides are deeper than in the or¬ dinary Violin, thereby increasing the capacity, etc- About the same time when Savart’s Violin was thus sub¬ mitted to the Academy of Sciences for trial, we find another somewhat similar instrument receiving high praise from that learned body. This instrument was constructed by M. Chanot, an officer of the navy, and also a musical ama¬ teur. The following are the peculiarities of this instrument, — 1st. The Violin is of the form of a guitar, with the sides bent in the same manner, and consequenty has neither corners nor inner blocks. 2d. The ed^es are finished off' square with the sides, having an inlaying of hardwood all round. 3rd. The sound-holes are arc-shaped, parallel to the sides, and as near as possible to the bendings. 4th. The bass-bar is placed upon the joint of the breast, being exactly in the middle. 5th. A screw is placed in the end of the tail-piece, which, pressing on the breast, lifts the tail-piece, and lessens the pressure of the strings on the bridge and breast of the instrument. 6th. Passing through the back of the Violin, underneath the sound-post, is a screw by which the pressure of the sound-post against the breast can be regulated. Such were the particulars of this instrument, which was subsequently modified by the following, — 7th. There was no tail-piece or button, but the strings were fixed to the breast of the Violin, half-way between the end and the bridge. The belly being veneered, inside and out, with a strip of hardwood, holes were cut in this, through which the strings were fixed, and passed over a little nut (made from the upper veneer) on to the bridge. 8th. The bass- bar was made in the shape of an arch, and was placed under the left foot of the bridge near the 4th string, and approached the middle at the ends. 9th. The sound-post was placed in front of the bridge. The Box-Violin, made thus according to the method of Savart, will be found superior in quality and intensity of tone to many of the common cheap Violins. The chief disad¬ vantages, however, in this style of instrument, are the diffi¬ culties presented in bowing it, from its great width at the sound-holes, and in holding it with the chin, as the sides are considerably deeper than in the ordinary Violin. THE VIOLIN: HOIV TO MANE IT. 97 CHAPTER VIII. THE APPEARANCE, QUALITIES, ETC., OF THE VIOLINS OF THE MOST CELEBRATED MAKERS, INCLUDING AN EPITOME OF THE LIVES OF THOSE EMINENT ARTISTS. The present work being only designed as an elementary treatise, space cannot be devoted to a lengthened memoir of each of the famed old artists, but a short and rapid glance at the appearance and qualities of their instruments, etc., must for the present suffice. For the information as well as gratification of numerous Violin-amateurs, in addition to a general description of the instruments of those old artists, I shall endeavor to portray the appearance of one or two choice specimens, merely premising that it is a very imperfect method, apart from seeing them, for as all language is unworthy when matched against thoughts which speech fails to interpret, so do I employ forms of expression so rude, that my utter powerlessness will be shown in every line of delineation I write. This is, how¬ ever, the only means in my power of conveying an impres¬ sion— feeble though it maybe — of the appearance which such instruments represent. I shall therefore commence with the instruments of that immortal artist, Anthony Stradivarius. The Violins of Anthony Stradivarius are of the flat model, the elevation of curvature not being over five-eighths of an inch. It is now well known this model is the best adapted for the production of an intense, deep, and full tone — one reason being that instruments of this class have the wood essentially thicker, and from this, and the other proportions having been so harmoniously combined in the instruments of this maker, their unapproachable quality evidently was derived. In the flat model, the 9 § THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. vibrations are always the most energetic and free ; whilst in the highly elevated instrument the tone is feeble, and very often thin and piercing. The first productions of Stradivarius were high modelled — no doubt from his being still adherent to the form of his master, Nicolas Amati; and even those early instruments are known by the name of Stradivarius-Amatis. His next instruments were of the flat and enlarged pat¬ tern, with the outlines masterpieces of design, the arching falling in gradual and beautiful curves, whilst the wood of which the instruments were formed was of the most choice figure, and of the finest sonorous qualities. The thick¬ nesses have been reduced with mathematical accuracy, the back being very thick in the centre and diminishing grad¬ ually to the edges, whilst the tables or breasts are formed upon an entirely different principle from those of Amati or Guarnerius. The f holes are exquisitely cut, and lie at a medium distance from one another ; the edges and corners are beautifully finished ; the inlaying or indenting is neither so narrow nor so near to the edge as in some of the Amati instruments ; whilst the varnish is generally of a cherry or blood-red color, although a few are of an orange or yellow tint. The interior of the instrument possesses the same perfection of workmanship, along with accuracy of propor¬ tions, which could only have been obtained after a life¬ time of study. From the present high pitch, etc., the tables of some of the instruments have sunk a little under the fourth string, which has necessitated the placing of a rather larger bass-bar in the instrument. The Violon¬ cellos of this eminent maker possess the same admirable perfections of quality and finish as his Violins. Fortunately a magnificent specimen of this artist has been kindly placed before me, a delineation of which I shall present as faithfully as possible. The label in the instrument bears the date of 1708, and upon measuring the Violin carefully it is found to be much larger than the medium Amati type, being fourteen inches and one-eighth in length. The usual length of a 14 grand ” Stradivarius is only fourteen inches, but in this fine instrument we have one of the artist’s illustrious and rare gigantic forms, only a few of which exist. It is six inches and three quarters broad towards its upper extremity, four and a half across THE VIOLIN: HOIV TO MALE IT. 99 the centre, and eight and five-sixteenths at its lower or broad end, with sides, or rims, one and five-sixteenths in. in height or depth. The outline is stiller than that of Amati, the shoulders as well as the C’s are more square, and the broad end more flattened in the outline. The arching springs straight, or nearly so, from the edges; there is no dipping here as in the instruments of Amati; but the arch rises gracefully to the centre and bends oft' on the other side to a perfect curve, flattening towards both ends, but never losing its proportional line of beauty and perfect harmony. The edges are heavier outside the indenting than those of Amati, and the purfling or indenting is broader, both being quite in uniformity with their size, giving to the instrument an honest appearance of strength and solidity. The corners are neither too long nor too short; and the purfljng, in¬ stead of running to the centre, bends off to their inner points in a fine graduated hair line. They holes are equally as sharply cut, and quite as graceful as those of Amati, although they are a little longer and more divergent as they descend, still they approach closer together at their roundings. The scroll is large and beautifully rounded, with the edges flattened; the box is wide and strong, allowing plenty of space for the strings to turn clear of each other on the pegs. The back is of one piece of richly- curled maple, the curls or wavings running straight across, and diverging towards the broad end. The rims or sides are wider in the curls or wavings than those of the back, and are placed in a sloping position, which conduces much to the handsome appearance of the instrument. The table or belly-wood is very fine in the grain, with a rich reed like silver-pine, which gradually widens as it approaches the edges. The varnish is of a blood-red tint, with a rich yellow substratum of a supple translucent appearance, which gives to the surface the resemblance of a fine old painting, bright as a diamond and mellow as a summer sunset. The tone at first seems muffled, but having a peculiar bite, which commences in soft and distant echoes, but by a few min¬ utes’ playing becomes stronger, firmer, and more distinct, and reaches an indescribable richness and grandeur, ring¬ ing out with a bell-like sonority from the open G to E in alt. until it satiates the atmosphere with harmony, and be¬ comes as it were a part of ourselves. IOO THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. “ But, far from fading, it but grows Richer, diviner, as it flows; Till rapt it dwells on every string, Like echoes lost and languishing.” Truly to the virtuoso and happy possessor, a u Stradi- varius ” is “a thing of beauty, and a joy forever.” How vastly grand and great is the design which we dis¬ cover then, in the magnificent instrumentation that coming along with such an oratorio of harmony that has been sounding now through centuries, the real causes of w’hich baffle our clever artists to compute. There is in those classic masterpieces but little necessity for minutiae of detail ; all is colossal, distinct, magnificent, whilst every curve and arch is executed in a style of the most perfect workmanship in those stupendous monuments of harmony. It must be herein observed that those dumb —to the unappreciative — for “ A primrose by the river’s brim A yellow primrose is to him, And nothing more.” — but most eloquent, to the true artist — for “ Nothing is lost on him who ^|ps With an eye that feeling gave ; For him there’s a story in every breeze, And a picture in every wave ” — structures are full of the deepest revelations to the real connoisseur. More ethereal tones were never latently encompassed in wood ; a purer harmonial sonority, waiting only to be brought forth from its unwilling captivity by the hand of a master, never existed than in some of the mag¬ nificent specimens of high art which Stradivarius fashioned during the medial period of his profession. Those instru¬ ments combine all the softest notes of the human voice, they can sing of love and wail to you of disappointed love, till they fill you with a melancholy from which there is no escaping, from which you never wish to escape ; they can produce a luxury of anguish, a fulness of satisfaction of imaginary woe, a realization of the mysterious delights of romance, which no words can thoroughly supply. The THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. IOI notes sink and sink so low and low with their soft, sad wail of delicious woe, that the listener dreads that something will be lost in the very struggle of listening, and there seems to come some lethargy on his sense of hearing, which he fears will shut out from his brain the last, lowest, sweetest strain, the very pearl of the music, for which he has been watching with all the intensity of prolonged desire. Upon the other hand, they can penetrate your soul with a wierd joy and happiness, an ecstacy of mirth and fascination, from which there is no release, for they speak to you as no other instrument can speak, and reveal to you with wonderful eloquence the sadness or the mirth which may be alike produced from their melodious recesses. This talented artist w r as born at Cremona in 1644, an d died in 1737. He appears to have commenced Violin¬ making at the early age of 23 years ; his last instruments having been made when he was at the advanced age of 92. During his long and active lifetime he made a vast number of instruments, and his average charge for each seems to have been about <£4. The Violins of this maker which are esteemed the most valuable, have been made from about 1700 to 1730, as after the latter period his instruments begin to deteriorate in quality. His finest instruments may be said to possess the following esteemed qualities: — deli¬ cacy, mellowness, free power, penetrating brilliancy, and roundness of tone. It is related by Forster that he sent a number of Violins to a merchant in London, Cervetto(who was a countryman of his own), to be disposed of at a sum equivalent to <£4 each ; but the latter having failed to realize such an amount, they were returned to the artist. Vast and giddy indeed are the rapid changes which years imprint in their onward course, for “time but the impres¬ sion deeper makes ” even on Violin value, as where is the present-day amateur, or connoisseur, who would not gladly bestow a far higher sum upon an instrument by this re¬ nowned artist? The highest price which has ever been given in England for any Violin by this maker, has been £800, and in Scotland £ 55 ° (^- 54 ° ^ ias been paid by V . Croall, Esq., Edinburgh), and we learn from Mr. Gardiner’s “ Music and Friends ,” that Mr. Salomon, the Jew, offered eight hundred guineas to Dragonetti, for one of his Dou- 102 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. ble-Basses by Gaspard di Salo, but with refusal, as he would not part with it for a less sum than one thousand. There are a number of instruments by this family scattered throughout Scotland, a few of which are here subjoined. In travelling several years ago through the North Western Highlands, I accidentally came upon a Violin made by An¬ thony about his best period, which for many years had been suspended like a criminal upon the bare, sooty, and smoky walls of a Highlander’s hut amongst the mountains. It was in woful condition, having been literally plastered or bespattered with rosin or tar to keep its back, breast, and sides from open rebellion, by separation. The old proprietor would not hear of parting with it, it having de¬ scended as an heir-loom amongst the family. Upon the continuation of my tour a short time subsequent to this, I met Mr. Carte from London, who had also seen the same shamefully-used instrument, but he, like myself, almost needless to relate, was unfortunately unable to release the tortured gem. Wm. Croall, Esq., Edinburgh, has a well-known and delicious instrument of this artist, dated 1716, which for¬ merly belonged to the Count de Cessol, and is therefore known as the u Cessol” or “ Artot ” Strad. It is in per¬ fect preservation, of superb tone, and covered with Strad’s fine red varnish. This is one of the six instruments men¬ tioned by Fetis as the finest known. This gentleman also pos¬ sesses an equally perfect but earlier example of this maker, dated 1702, of beautiful wood, exquisite workmanship, and covered with rich, brown amber varnish. Both these instruments were formerly in the possession of Mr. Laurie, Glasgow. Robert Butter Malcolm, Esq., Edinburgh, has a Violin by this maker, dated 1707. It is in ex¬ cellent preservation, and formerly belonged to the Count Castelbarco, of Milan, and was esteemed in all respects the best Violin in his famous collection. It was also for some time the property of the late Nathaniel F. Vuillaume, of Brussels, and also of Mr. Laurie, of Glasgow. Other excellent instruments of this maker are in the pos¬ session of the following gentlemen : — One belonging to J- J- Murray, Esq., Galashiels, dated 1688 ; two to William J. Laidlay, Esq., Seaclifte, North Berwick, one dated 1684, and the other 1712; one to James Cook, Esq., Glasgow, THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. I°3 dated 1721 ; one to David Laurie, Esq., Glasgow, dated 1708 ; one to — Orchar, Esq., Dundee, 17 —• Mr. Muir, of Leith, possesses a Violin made by this illus¬ trious artist, which was formerly the esteemed instrument of the celebrated Violinist Viotti ; it contains the following inscription, “ Antonins Sir a din a rins, Cremonensis Faci - ebat , 1704.” A splendid instrument by this maker is also in the possession of Sir James Clarke of Penicuik. Sir A. M. Mackenzie, of Delvine, Perthshire, possessed an excel¬ lent Stradivarius, which was purchased about twenty years ago in Paris for £300. Mr. Robertson of Ladykirk, also possesses a Stradivarius of the long pattern, a well-known instrument. John Ure, Esq., Helensburgh, has a Violon¬ cello by this artist, dated 1725. I have been informed that a very fine Violin by the same maker is in the possession of Mr. J. Robertson, of Glenisla ; but having communi¬ cated with this gentleman in reference thereto, and receiving no reply, I am thus unable to furnish any definite particulars. The Amati Family. The oldest maker of this famed family was Andrew", who was born about the commencement of the sixteenth cen¬ tury, and is supposed to have acquired his knowledge of the art in the ancient workshop of Brescia. His instruments were well-finished, and chiefly modelled of a small pattern, the archings abrupt and elevated, with the backs cut slab- wise, whilst their tone was sweet and mellow, with little brilliance or intensity, a distinguishing characteristic of quality in the majority of the Violins of the whole family. This maker wrought at Cremona until about 1580, during which year he probably died, and was succeeded by his sons Jerome and Anthony, who flourished at Cremona from 1550 to 1638, being partners for several years, and conjointly produced many Violins of much excellence. Whilst thus associated, they built upon two different models, a large and small, but those of the large pattern ranked the first in excellence. After working together for a number of years, they appear to have separated, from which arose a change of form and quality in their instruments. The Violins of Jerome were generally of large model, made of excellent wood, the arching sloping very gradually, hav- THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 104 ing high elevation, the backs often in one piece, the var¬ nish mahogany-colored, and the finish usually admirable. Those of Anthony rivalled the preceding in finish and qual- ity, although the wood is scarcely of such choice beauty. Having thus glanced at the foregoing makers and their instruments, we now arrive at the most renowned maker of the family — Nicholas, the son of Jerome, and nephew of Anthony, who was born September 3d, 1596. His instru¬ ments are masterpieces of workmanship in every detail, possessing a tone of ethereal purity, a combination of bril¬ liant power and sweetness. He adopted three sizes, a large or 41 grand” as this form is now familiarly known by, a medium, and a small pattern ; but the Violins of the two former models are those which are held in the most estimation. His instruments are of deep elevation, with a peculiar form of arching, no doubt based upon, and per¬ fected from, the principles of the curves of the vibrating, string of the Violin, which bear a close analogy in sev¬ eral of their forms to the archings of our finest instruments. The back and breast of his Violins are thick in the central parts, diminishing gradually by exquisite workmanship to the sides, where they are very thin ; the varnish, brilliant and elastic, is of the utmost purity, and tinted from a shade of amber-yellow to that of a cherry-red. In giving a description of an individual instrument of this celebrated artist, I shall choose one of the finest specimens extant, known as the “ Alard ” Amati. Upon carefully examining it, I find it is a medium-sized instrument, meas¬ uring barely fourteen inches in length, by about six and three-eighths at the upper end, four and three-eighths across the centre, and fully eight inches at the lower or broad extremity. The outline is the most graceful of all the Violins, being exquisitely rounded, with long pointed corners, the edges slightly raised and admirably rounded outside the purfling. The purfling is not'placed too near to the outer edge, but just at a sufficient distance to give an appearance of solidity with elegance. From the purfling the surface-wood falls in, or undulates all around in a most graceful curve or sweep, not too abrupt, but gradually rising to the centre, which is finely rounded, and not by any means pointed, or too high. The J holes are exqui¬ sitely circled and cut, and so finely are they pierced through THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. the table as to give them the appearance of having been cut by a sharp steel die. The distance between the nearest curves in the upper circles is one and five-sixteenth in., and three and three-eighths at the narrowest part of the lower circles. The scroll is of a beautiful full size, perfect in proportion, and sharply cut, the edges being slightly flattened, but the back part of the scroll retains its sharpness, although the edges have also been flattened. The box is of medium width, with strong edges, and presents an appearance of much elegance, united to stability and strength. The back is formed of two pieces of medium curled maple, of a very rich quality, with the wavings almost straight across. The sides are one and three-sixteenths of an inch in height, with the curl of the wood rather wider than that of the back, and sloping all around as in the Stradivarius Violin pre¬ viously alluded to. The table-pine is of medium width of reed, which increases towards the outer edges, and the lines run perfectly straight from one end to the other. Add to this a translucent coating of a most beautiful glistening reddish-brown, or maroon tint, which, to use a homely expression, entirely covers it like a vitrified mass of red- current jelly, or liquified ruby, and the young amateur will have a faint idea of the representation of what a Nicholas Amati Violin is like, as it issued from the master’s hands. This excellent gem has neither internal nor external crack or flaw, and the original hand lengthened from the block is still attached to it. No language of mine seems adequate in furnishing words to describe the beauty of its tone, “ When every string’s according glee Is blended into harmony for it contains all the requisites to be found in an excellent instrument, power and quality, richness and brilliancy, and a freshness of sound which its exceptional state of preser¬ vation alone can give. The date of this Violin is 1645. This maker died at Cremona, 12th August, 1684, and was succeeded by his son Jerome, who was born in 1649. The instruments of Jerome, who was the last maker in the family, bear little or no comparison with those of his father ; as the Violins of sterling worth by the Amati family may be said to virtually terminate with Nicholas. Many excellent Violins by this family are to be found throughout the country, a few of which are here mentioned. io6 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. The u Alard ” Nicholas Amati, previously described, is the property of Mr. D. Laurie, Glasgow. The Rev. Wm. Logie, Tynet (Banffshire), possesses a Violin by this artist, dated 1655 ; whilst two instruments of the same maker are in the possession of Messrs. Roberts, of Fyvie (Aberdeen¬ shire), and Smith, of Glasgow. Amongst the numerous instruments belonging to Mr. Malcolm, of Edinburgh, there is a grand Nicholas Amati Violin, along with another in¬ strument by the brothers, Anthony and Jerome. The late Mr. Gordon, Aberdeen Quill Company, had an instrument by those artists, and a Violin and Violoncello, of well-known excellence, by the same makers, are in the valuable collec¬ tion of Mr. Croall, of Edinburgh. The Violin bears the fol¬ lowing inscription — “ Antonius et Hieronymus Hr. Amati , Cre?nonen; Andrea Hil H. anito 1627,” and the Violon¬ cello is labelled 1595, this latter instrument being formerly the property of M. Kreutzer, who brought it from Ger¬ many. Another excellent Violin is the property the emi¬ nent connoisseur, Mr. Wood, of Woodcot. Other specimens of those artists are in the possession of the following gentle¬ men : — Messrs. John Macnee and James Allen, Edinburgh, -Buchanan, Glasgow, and John Sellar, Hatton, Mo¬ rayshire. An Amati Violin of merit is also in the possession of Sir James Clarke, of Penicuik, another is the property of a lady residing in the neighborhood of Fraserburgh, at one time considered a superior instrument. I have been informed that several Cremona Violins are in the possession of James Gentle, Esq., Edinburgh, one being a Nicholas Amati, which was purchassd from Signior Emiliani, the eminent Violinist, and which was formerly in the possession of an English clergyman; also, that the well-known w ‘ Maule ” Amati is now the property of a gentleman in Perthshire. Several other excellent instruments by this illustrious family are to be found throughout the South of Scotland, a few of the proprietors of such absolutely refus¬ ing, and others failing to render any information relative thereto. The Guarnerius Family. The first of this distinguished family was Andrew, a native of Cremona, who flourished from about 1630 to 1695. The instruments of this maker, although certainly THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. IO 7 good, claim but a secondary value in comparison with those of the most illustrious of the Cremona makers. His eldest son and pupil, Joseph, who worked from 1680 to 1 73°, produced instruments of much greater merit, which are characterzied from those of Andrew by their difference of model, as well as from possessing a tone more brilliant and penetrating. The next Violins of this family are those of Peter, brother of the preceding, who was a pupil of Jerome Amati, and worked at Cremona and Mantua from about 1690 to 1728. The Violins of this maker were of a larger model, with deep archings, having the thicknesses graduated in a peculiar manner; the tone was sweet, but subdued. This maker must not be confounded with Peter, the son of Joseph, and grandson of Andrew, who wrought at Cremona from 1725 to 1740, and whose Violins display but little care and finish, although several of his Basses have been held in high esteem. We now arrive at the most dis¬ tinguished maker of the family, whose finest instruments are so widely known, and appreciated for their eminent excel¬ lence, as to require but little comment in the present short notice. This eminent artist, Joseph Anthony, was the son of John Baptiste Guarnerius — the brother of Andrew — and was born at Cremona, 8th June, 1683. He was a pupil of Stradivarius, but his Violins are, generally c peaking, finished in a manner inferior to those of his master. Many of his Violins bear a cross upon the label, usually placed over the following letters, thus: * from which quaint mongram he derived the name of I US,Joseph del Jesit. His Violins may, like those of Stainer, be classified into three distinct epochs. During the first period, his early instruments are but of medium quality ; a little later, however, true traces of the master appear. The model is of a small size, the wood of excellent quality, the varnish equals that of his master, Stradivarius, both in quality and color, but from a disproportion in the thicknesses, the sounds of his instru¬ ments, although sweet and mellow, possess but little pene¬ tration. The next period is particularly characterized by a change of model, as well as by an alteration in the mode of thicknesses, from which the instruments possess a superior excellence in every respect. At one period he makes the back and table of his Violins thicker than those of his master, and at another the thicknesses of the centres are made io8 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. equal to those of Stradivarius, but the graduation of such increases in quite a different ratio, to correspond with the flatness of the model adopted. His finest finished instru¬ ments may be included in his second epoch, and they rival in this respect those of Stradivarius. After this epoch, in several of his instruments, all traces of the finished artist disappear, nevertheless his most magnificent chef d'ceuvres are mingled alongside of those “Prison Fiddles,” as they have been termed. During this, his third period — from about 1738 — although we have his coarsest finished instru¬ ments, we undoubtedly have also his finest productions. The “ Paganini ” Violin is dated 1743, the “ King Joseph,” 1740, and the “ Alard ” instrument, as well as many other Violins of recognized excellence, all belong to this epoch. These are all of splendid model, magnificent wood, large size, with cupped edges, characteristic f holes, and extra¬ ordinary power of tone, but are generally covered with inferior and heavy reddish-brown varnish. At this stage of the artist’s existence, tradition reports that dissipation and debauchery claimed him as their victim, that he was for several years a prisoner, owing to the committal of some crime now unknown, and that whilst in the prison the daughter of the keeper supplied him with wood, tools, and varnish, and even disposed of his Violins, at almost nominal prices, in order to administer to his wants in his unfortunate and miserable abode. As there are so many various models and sizes by this celebrated maker, and many of them so dissimilar to one another, it requires the accustomed and well-trained eye of an expert to distinguish the same handiwork running through each of them. It is also difficult to classify them, and to indicate which particular instrument was made either at the commencement or middle of the artist’s professional lifetime, as it is only in the latter Violins that we find decisive traces of the period they belonged to, such as the particular elevation of the exterior edges, and the peculiar spot, or dot, which he gave to the finish of the indenting at the corners. Those instruments are generally of a larger size, such as those previously referred to, and the one which has been selected for description. Speaking in general terms, the Violins of this artist may be defined thus : —Flat construction, with very slight eleva- THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 109 tion, and gradual curvature of arching ; varnish varied, but usually fine, elastic, and of various tints of color, passing from a light yellow to a deep red. Another striking pecu¬ liarity is, that in many of them, they*hole on the bass side is longer by about xeths of an inch, than that on the other side of the instrument. In giving a description of an individual instrument by this maker, the author has chosen a magnificent specimen — one of the very finest known — in the possession of J. M. Kinghorn, Esq., of Helensburgh, Dumbartonshire. This is a large-sized u Joseph,” being fully fourteen inches in length, six and five-eighths at the narrow, or upper end, four and five-eighths at the narrowest part across the centre, and eight and one-eighth inches at the lower, or broad extremity. The rims, or sides, are of extra height, being one inch and three-eights in depth. The Violin is of round outline, more resembling that of the Nicholas Amati than the Strad previously described, the only flat, or stiff' part of the outline, being a portion of the edge about 3 inches in length, extending across the lower, or broad end. The C.’s are almost an exact counterpart of those of Nicholas Amati, being beautifully rounded, although not so deeply let into the instrument, which gives a greater width across the centre of the waist, and has the effect of shortening or contracting the corners. The f holes are more pointed, lying more upright, or straight, upon the table, than those of Stradivarius or Amati, and they are fully an eighth of an inch longer than those of the former, being over three inches and one-eighth in length, yet they appear in perfect symmetry on this model ; whereas, were they placed upon a Strad, or Amati, an astute connoisseur would at once detect the disproportion, and remark that the /"holes were too long. The head has not the delicacy of that of the former artist, but is exceedingly bold and large, with a noble rotundity and fulness in the incision, which gives to it truly a majestic and characteristic appearance. The back of the box is broad and flat, the carving slightly hol¬ lowed out, but curiously enough, the edges are not flattened like those of Stradivarius, but are merely left blunt, which gives additional beauty to the volute, or rotund appearance of the scroll, and leaves the ears, or centres, more relieved. The peg-box is wide and strong—a very different model no THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. from that of modern imitators. The arching of the back and table is a little flatter than that of Stradivarius, and the declivity being flattened towards the edges, gives to it an appearance of greater shallowness than it really possesses, but the undulating curve is carried fuller to both extremities than in the Violins of Stradivarius, consequently the centre does not appear so elevated, although in reality it is almost of the same elevation as the best models of his mas¬ ter. This similarity in elevation of the instrument alluded to, cannot by any means be laid down as an infallible index to go by, as there are some instruments by Stradivarius quite as flat, or low in elevation, as any Guarneriuses ever made, and vice versd. The wood of this “ Joseph ” is of very excellent quality, and the proportions are thick and heavy. The back is formed of one single piece, with a broad curl which descends from left to right; the rims, or sides are of the same curl, and the latter placed obliquely, as in the instruments formerly described. The table-wood is of wide grain, but each reed distinctly relieving itself, and altogether a different, or what inexperienced amateurs would desig¬ nate as a coarser wood than that used by Stradivarius, or Amati, but every fibre stands eloquently mute, and pro¬ claims a tone. The varnish with which it is almost entirely covered — the sole exception being, where from age and wear, it has been broken up in the centre of the back, and at the part whereupon the chin is placed — is of a dark red color, with a brilliant substratum of limpid yellow, as shown at the edges, where the exterior red varnish has been worn off. This red varnish of his late period is of inferior quality, and wants the brilliance and translucence of that which he used in his smaller and earlier instruments. The tone of this Violin is heavy and vigorous, of immense penetration, with a delicious and refined ethereal purity, which requires the touch of a powerful player to judiciously evoke. The purfling which is very small and fine, is regu¬ larly and beautifullv laid in, in striking contrast to several of his earlier Violins, and all the other parts of the instrument are as skilfully finished as in the Violins of Stradivarius, which plainly evinces that this maker possessed true artistic skill and genius, although at times he displayed careless¬ ness and want of finish. The edges outside the purfling THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MARE IT. 111 are angular — not round, or semicircular — with consider¬ able elevation, which appears to have been a mode he only adopted during his last, and best period. This Violin is dated 1739, and is in every respect an exact counterpart of the famed Violin of Paganini, which now remains as a seen but unused memento of the past, in one of the cabinets of the Museum of the Municipal Palace of Genoa, his native city, the only dissimilarity being that the back of the latter Violin is formed from two pieces, whereas, as already stated, that of the former instrument is composed of one plate. In conclusion, this instrument looks almost as fresh as when it issued from the hands of its maker, and is appar¬ ently capable of enduring any amount of work for any period of time. Fortunately it is the property of an ardent amateur, under whose careful guardianship it will be handed down to a succeeding generation in the same fine preservation as that in which it now exists — having neither crack nor flaw — eloquently showing to others what the artistic genius of Cremona could produce, and serving as a worthy model for future aspiring artists to imitate, but never to surpass. This celebrated maker commenced Violin-making; at Cremona about 1720, and is supposed to have died in prison in 174C Numerous other instruments of this family are to be found throughout Scotland, a few of which are here subjoined. A well-known and highly-famed Violin by Joseph, nephew of Andrew, is in the possession of H. Gordon, Esq., of Avochie, near Edinburgh. This instrument is in excellent preservation, at least was a few years ago, and was purchased at Paris about the end of last century by Mr. Thomson, of Banchory. From what I have learned regarding it, Mr. Thomson’s son sold it about 25 years ago to the late Mr. Hunter, of Tillery, Aberdeenshire, for «£ioo. This latter gentleman possessed the finest collection of Cremona Violins in the county, and' after his decease those cherished instruments were exposed in the market for private sale. This favorite Guarnerius was sent on to Edinburgh, where an eminent connoisseur offered £115 f° r it, but, as formerly stated, it became the property of Mr. Gordon, of Avochie, being sold at <£125. Mr. Muir, of I I 2 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. Leith, also possesses a Violin by this maker. Another well- known Violin by this eminent maker is the property of the eminent Violinist, Mr. A. C. Mackenzie, of Edinburgh, and is remarkable for its fine quality and intensity of tone. About the year 1S00 this Violin was, strange to say, also in possession of an A. Mackenzie, from whom it went to Mr. F. Cramer, through Henry Murray, Esq., for the sum of £262. At the sale of the latter gentleman’s effects, it was purchased by Mr. xMexander Crombie, Edinburgh, for £105, and in 1846 became the property of the late Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, the present proprietor’s father. As remarks relative to such valuable instruments are alwavs %I interesting to the young amateur, I subjoin the following verbatim copies of letters relating to the above-mentioned Violin. The first is a copy of a letter from Francois Cramer, to his son William, dated 1841, which was trans¬ mitted in the subsequent letter from Mr. S. W Forster, to Henry Murray, Esq., Edinburgh, regarding the authen¬ ticity of the instrument. Letter from F. Cramer, to his Son William. My Dear William, — As you wish to have the pedigree of the Joseph Guarnerius Violin I bought forty years ago of a Mr. Mackenzie, a distinguished Amateicr in those days, with a warranty of its being a gen¬ uine instrument, and soon after sold it, the gentleman who bought it of me died, and his widow returned it to me for sale, as, of course, she had no use for it after his death. It has never been in any other hands, and I can warrant its being a genuine instrument. Your Affectionate Father, Francois Cramer. 37 Upper Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, June 10, 1841. Letter from S. W. Forster, to H. Murray, Esq., Transmitting the Preceding Letter and Receipts. I have much pleasure in transmitting the copies of the above, and hope they will give you additional pleasure when gazing on the instrument to which they refer. With best wishes for your health, and thanks for favor conferred, I remain, Yours respectfully, S. W. Forster. 13 Macclesfield Street, Soho Square, 21st August, 1841. THE VIOLIN: HO W TO MAKE IT. 1T 3 The following is a copy of the label on the instrument, “Joseph Guarnerius , fecit , Cremone , anno, 1741, Another Violin by this same maker, dated 1734, is ||45” in the possession of that eminent collector, W. Croall, Esq., of Edinburgh, and was formerly in the possession of the great solo player, Wieniawski, for 15 years. This Violin was purchased for £200. Two other perfect instru¬ ments by this maker, one dated 1739, and the other 1744, are in the possession of Messrs. D. Laurie, Glasgow, and J. Kirkhope, Edinburgh. An instrument by Joseph fl Andrea , dated 1717, which thoroughly bears out the char¬ acteristics of this maker, is the property of T. M. Drysdale, Esq., of Milnathort, and a Violin by one of the Guarnerii family is in the possession of Sir R. Dalyell, of Rennis, Linlithgowshire. This instrument is dated 1732, and for¬ merly belonged to the celebrated Violinist, Stabilini, whose seal in wax remains upon its scroll. It is of a small pat¬ tern, with golden-colored varnish, and possesses a fine mellow tone. A Violin by Andrew Guarnerius, dated 1694, is in the possession of A. B. Wallace, Esq., of Edinburgh. This instrument is in good preservation, and was formerly bought from Mr. Chanot, by John Wood, Esq., Advocate, Edinburgh, wdio sold it to the present possessor. The preceding observations, although somewhat concise, must for the present suffice ; meanwhile an artist, whose in¬ struments are second only to those of the Cremona makers, forms the next subject of our consideration. Jacob Stainer. Jacob Stainer, or Steiner, the founder of the Tyrolese School of Violin-makers, was born about the year I620, at Absom, a village in the Tyrol, situated at a short distance from Innsbruck, the capital. Tradition reports that in his earlier years he became the pupil of Anthony, and after¬ wards of Nicholas Amati ; but his Violins certainly bear much greater resemblance to those of the brothers Anthony and Jerome, than they do to those of Nicholas, although they have always that unmistakably German appearance in their details. The instruments of this maker have been classed into three distinct epochs, and there is every reason THE VIOLIN• HOW TO MAKE IT. 114 to believe that he also adopted three different sizes of build — a large, a medium, and a small. His first instruments were of small dimensions, with short and narrow f holes, having lofty archings, whilst the heads and scrolls were of diminished proportions, but of beautiful finish. Those early instruments are now of the utmost rarity, and bore labels inscribed in his own handwriting, and were dated from Cremona. About the commencement of his second period he married the daughter of Anthony Amati, and this phase of life was marked by misfortune, genuine art having succumbed to carelessness, whilst poverty in all its icy cold¬ ness surrounded his home circle, compelling him to travel with his now crude and imperfect instruments, which he gladly, but with difficulty disposed of, for the diminutive sum of six florins. During this, his second epoch, he returned from Cremona to his native town, Absom, where he hastily manufactured a vast number of instruments. Most of the Violins of this period were of very inferior quality, and bore little or no trace of the hand of genius. They contained printed labels, and were dated from 1650 to 1667. It is related that during part of this period his brother Mark, who was a monk, frequently choose to ex¬ change the monotonous routine and retirement of the O cloister for the practical operations of the workshop, and thus assiduously assisted him in his labors. Now again, however, the dying embers of genius are fortunately fanned into a flame, which bursts afresh with redoubled effulgence, and fame now victoriously crowns him with its never-dying laurels. His Violins are now made with extreme care, several having the scrolls beautifully ornamented with the heads of lions and other animals, whilst the varnish ap¬ pears as a limpid coating of reddish-brown crystal. A few of those Violins may be included in the latter part of his second period, during which the instruments bore printed labels. His wife having now died, it is related that he entered the gloomy solitudes of a Benedictine Convent, there not only to adhere to the scrupulously strict duties of an ascetic life, but also to distinguish himself by the comple¬ tion of sixteen instruments which have been pronounced by all judges as masterpieces of genius. Through the kindness of the Superior, he was enabled to obtain wood of pre-emi- THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. ”5 nent merits for the construction of those instruments, which have been known by the name of Elector-Stainers. from the fact of twelve of these Violins having been presented to the Twelve Electors of the Empire, whilst the remain¬ ing four were presented to the Emperor. Those instru¬ ments were all that could well be desired both in finish and quality, and bore labels inscribed in his own handwriting. Those superior Violins characterize his third period, but only three of diose instruments are known at the present time. No records are known to exist containing particulars relating as to when, or where, this esteemed maker died. The Violins of Stainer may be generally described thus: — The round outlines, as well as the scroll, C’s, and f holes, are delicately harmonious, symmetrical, and pleasant in appearance, showing the artistic finish of a tasteful work¬ man ; but this excellence always retains a portion of his national characteristics, as the f holes and C’s are shorter, and the exquisitely cut head is smaller, though more deeply carved out, than in the Italian instruments. The purfling is beautifully and finely laid in, and is of medium breadth. It lies near the outer edge, which is angular and very finely wrought, but gives to the Violin a rather light appearance. The arching is high, and springs rather more abruptly to the centre than that of Amati ; they are scooped out all around the sides between the purfling and the spring of the arching. The woods employed are of excellent quality. The back is usually “ slab,’’ or “ half-slab ,” and the curl gorgeously mixed, which lends a charm to their fine ap¬ pearance ; the rims, or sides, are of the same quality, the table-wood is usually of remarkably fine pine, very close in the reed or grain, and as the instruments of this maker were held in very high estimation towards die end of the last, and abou*: the commencement of tb^ present cen¬ tury, no doubt this quality of close-grainec pine, adopted by Stainer, gave rise to the erroneous idea still prevalent amongst makers and amateurs, in country districts — viz., that it is absolutely necessary to have a very fine-grained table for tone. The varnish is from a golden to a reddish- yellow, or brown tint, light and flexible, and in his best instruments is of an exquisite Italian quality, resembling the varnish of the Amatis. The tone of this maker’s Vio¬ lins is pure and liquid, but not powerful, which renders them THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 116 particularly well adapted for use as chamber instruments. An immense number of instruments by other Tyrolese makers, who forged the name of Stainer, found their way into the market at an early period, and thus criminally obscured the well-merited reputation of this old master. Amongst the numerous Violins in the collection of Mr. Lowe of Edinburgh, is one by this maker. The late Mr. W. Ingram, of Huntly (Aberdeenshire), had a Violin also by the same maker, bearing the following inscription: u Jacobus Stainer, Cremonen , in Absoni , prope cenipontum Cremona , 1647.” Another was in the possession of Mr. Skene, of Tarland. Probably of all the old instruments, the Violins of Jacob Stainer are the most difficult to unmistakably distinguish, knowing that about three-fourths of all the makers of the last century copied his instruments, with the greatest care and skill in every detail, with the sole exception of the var¬ nish. It is therefore no little matter for surprise that such vast numbers of instruments, thus partially aided by age, have been sold as the veritable productions of this artist—the founder of the great Stainer school. The great stumbling-block of those imitators was the beautiful varnish, for no matter how their skill and efforts were employed, they all failed in this specialty, although it must be admitted that several copyists succeeded in coating their instruments with a clear and lustrous varnish, of beautiful deep yellow tints, but this varnish was chiefly of a hard, unimpressible, or flinty quality. Another obstacle which presents itself in distin¬ guishing the genuine Stainer, is this ; — As many of the instruments have suffered from fractures and other similar accidents during the period of time since Stainer lived, they have in numerous instances been re-varnished. In some cases new varnish has been partially laid over the original, and in others the latter has been entirely re-covered by the former. Such originial varnish has sometimes been removed by the levelling manipulation, this having been deemed the most convenient and easy mode for the careless and unskilful repairer, and numerous amateurs are but too little cognziant of the fact, that more of this class of work¬ men exist than is generally supposed, to whom unfortu¬ nately such gems are entrusted for restoration, to the utmost vexation of the owners. In concluding this chap¬ ter, I therefore deem it essential to add the following THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. 1 T 7 Advice to Inexperienced Amateurs. The preceding remarks relate not only to the Violins of Stainer, but also to vast numbers of those of other makers of eminence. What is even more derogatory, is the abstraction of portions of the genuine old Violins by unscrupulous repairers. In old Violins it often hapjDens that the belly, or table, from being very brittle in the wood, is much fractured, either by accident or from the strain and pressure being greater on this part than on the back and ribs. The other parts of the instrument often remain com¬ paratively little worse, even from their usage and age. In such a case the fraudulent repairer invariably recommends a new “ lid,” or table, to be put on, in order to have the original one for the purpose of building up an appar¬ ently genuine Cremona. At other times a new back, or neck, is added, when the original one may chance to be fractured, on the plea that such would be more suitable, so as to give strength and solidity to the instrument. Several thoughtless owners have had bitterly to regret their sanction to this base roguery, whilst in other cases no such sanction had ever been given, but merely a recommendation upon the part of the repairer. In the latter instance, after such an abstraction, the part is made up, and copied as closely as possible from the original; the instrument is returned, and eventually passes by the inexperienced for a genuine old Violin, the chief merits being largely dwelt upon, and this excellence often attributed to the very part so abstracted. Again I have sometimes observed what has been termed tuoo genuine old Cremonas formed out of one by a rare process of fecundity — for example, the table and neck of one being placed upon matched ribs, duly darkened and chipped, then of course the old back and ribs are pro¬ vided with a new chosen table, charred and imitated, with a head of less importance, to all appearance still worse from wear, by levelling oft" the edges, similar to the appear¬ ance which usage and friction produce. At other times old tables have been added to original old ribs and back, when of a supposed matchable character, by altering certain parts, adding to, or curtailing the edges by running the pur- THE VIOLIN: HO IV TO MAKE IT. I iS fling farther inside, if too large, by cleverly replacing such parts so as to agree with the ribs, which can be pressed in a little here and there, when the belly is afterwards glued on. After much careful dodging the deception becomes complete, and the adjusted table requires nothing else to look old, beyond a little alteration of the edges, and the form of the f holes. A well-trained eye may often detect such by observing that the outline does not follow the ribs, that the ribs have been twisted off the square to match the altered table, that new pieces have been carefully inserted along the J holes, especially upon the outside, so as to alter their original character as nearly as possible to that which the cunning dealer wishes his feigned instrument to represent. Perhaps the most flagrant deception the author has ever witnessed was that of a dealer a few years ago, who guar¬ anteed as genuine such an altered instrument, giving a written warranty that it was a Maggini Viola. The back was the only original part of the instrument, the table, rims, and neck were comparatively new, and matched to the back. For this spurious instrument <£30 was given by the purchaser. A far better knowledge of the Violin ought to exist amongst amateurs, and even amongst intelligent profes¬ sionals, than what is generally to be found, especially now that a taste for the Violin is becoming more and more cul¬ tivated amongst the higher, as well as the lower classes. We have now numerous very talented lady-artists, so it may be safely said the instrument is now beginning to be fully appreciated by the fair sex, and very justly so, know¬ ing how susceptible the Violin is, so fascinating, so tender, and yet so free, so marvellously varied and bewitching; its quality seems an everlasting study of boundless resources for the ingenious and patient possessor of polished musical abilities, so compact, so admirably adapted for the draw¬ ing-room, and a companion to the Pianoforte now every¬ where in use, a voice unequalled, yet sustained, flexible, and so widely different to the quality of the Piano, that when combined with good execution, the harmony is complete. THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. i ig CHAPTER IX. THE BOW, THE ROSIN, AND THE STRINGS. The Bow, that apparently simple and trifling rod, which many doubtless consider as unworthy of devoting time and space to, will be found, nevertheless, to possess certain claims upon the amateur’s attention, which will be well worthy of his earnest notice. In a treatise in which the construction of the Violin is initially delineated, it would be considered quite unpardonable to omit all notice of its appendage — the bow — that mysterious assistant, by the combined use of which the artist excites us at one time to bestir ourselves to the lively Strathspey or Reel, and at another to place ourselves, as it were, in an ethereal and harmonious world of delights, forgetting our existence for a time upon this sublunary sphere, and fascinated by the swift chords of enchantingly sonorous pearls which melo¬ diously emanate upon our ears with a sweetness indescrib¬ able. The earliest bows, as can well be imagined, were of the rudest and most primitive form, being, strictly speak¬ ing, veritable “ bows or arcs of bent cane, having a num¬ ber of hairs attached to both ends, to keep them in the requisite position. The first improvement which we find, representations of such being obtained from monumental drawings, is in the bow being formed or cut quite straight from the wood, having both projections on the ends an equal depth, with the hair fixed permanently therein, whilst a century or two afterwards the movable nut was formed, and at a still later period a loop was made on the nut, which fitted into a notched metallic plate, by which means the player was enabled to graduate the tension. At a period subsequent to this, those primitive methods gave place to other improvements, viz., the substitution of a screw for regulating the tension, whilst the outline approached more closely in form to our modern bow. In the eighteenth 120 THE VIOLIN: IIOIV TO MALE IT. century the bow arrived at great perfection through the scrupulous care and attention of that celebrated French maker, Francois Tourte, who has left a lasting fame through¬ out Europe. The bows of this maker, from their excel¬ lent quality, were high in price, and now it is almost im¬ possible to obtain them, from their having been anxiously sought after by many of our finest professional Violinists and collectors of such worthy mementoes ; but excellent bows are now to be had by several other distinguished makers, and, what is of the utmost importance, at a rea¬ sonable price. Amongst those esteemed makers may be mentioned the following : — Lupot, Tubbs, Stentor, Pan- ormo, Picatte, the Dodds, Vuillaume, and Johnson. About the period when Tourte thus perfected the bow in France, we find the elder Dodd distinguishing himself at the same art, whilst a short tims after this, the bows of his son, John, worthily merited a high degree of fame. They are lig-ht and firm, being made from well-finished and fine wood, maintaining permanently their original curvature, and are shorter than those of Tourte, whilst they are mod¬ erate in price, being from half-a-guinea and upwards, according to quality and finish. To Violinists, a Dodd bow will prove much cheaper in the long run, than the purchase of one of the so-called cheap ones, the latter being after a few months’ usage utterly worthless, whilst the former very rarely gets out of shape. Again, in Paris, we have Vuillaume, whose bows also possess great excel¬ lence. From the bows of Tourte have been derived the standard measurements of the length, and proportions of the stick, the proper balance, the slide for fastening the hairs, etc. We may assume the standard length of the stick to be 29 inches, but the medium length is about 27^ in., the height of the head and nut from the body of the stick being about f- in. For about 4fV in. from the end, where the nut is placed, the bow is of uniform thickness, being a fraction over fV in. in diameter, and gradually, but not uniformly, tapering to about I of an inch in diameter, where the head is formed. The bows which have the most perfect balance for play¬ ing, have the hair 25I inches long, and their centre of grav¬ ity is about 72 in. from the nut, and in the bows of the Violoncello the length of hair should be 23I in., whilst they THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT I 2 I should balance at 6f in. from the nut, the stick being pro¬ portionally larger, having a length varying from 24 to 25 inches. In the Violin-bow, the finest white hair is em¬ ployed, after being carefully assorted and cleansed. The best bows ought to have a uniform curvature, and this regu¬ lated in such a mannar that the exact centre of the bow, between the head and nut, ought to be the portion of the bend which approaches nearest to the hair. The number of hairs contained in the Violin-bow varies according to their size, but the mean number is about 150. The woods princi¬ pally used in the manufacture of bows are Brazil or Per¬ nambuco wood, snakewood, logwood, ironwood, horsewood, mahogany, beech, etc., whilst the nut is formed of ebony or ivory. Amongst the preceding woods none is found to give the required results equal to Brazilwood, front which all our finest bows are now formed. There are several varieties of this wood, named after the places of their growth, viz., Pernambuco, Sapan, Santa-Martha, Lamon, Japan, etc. By some it is affirmed that this wood gave the name to the country in which it principally grows—Brazil ; and the Portuguese made it a source of vast and royal revenue, hence it was at one time termed Queenwood. It commonly grows in dry, barren, and rocky places, and the trunk of the tree is of large dimensions, crooked, knotty, and full of cracks. The flowers of this tree are of a beautiful red color, and possess an agreeable aromatic smell, which stimulates the brain, and the branches are slender and full of many prickles. The bark is exceedingly thick, whilst none of this species of wood contains pith, except the Japan variety. The wood is hard, and, when newly cut, of a yellow color, which becomes red on exposure to the air. It may be distinguished from logwood by its paler color, and for surety the inexperi¬ enced amateur may apply the following test: — Boil a small quantity of the chips in water, filter, and when cold, add a few drops of a solution of acetate of lead, protochlo¬ ride of tin, or lime-water, when if the precipitate is crim¬ son, it is Brazilwood — and if violet, then it is logwood. Brazilwood is extensively used in dyeing, and is gen¬ erally exported in bundles, from which the finest pieces are selected by the bowmaker, but those, like angels’ visits, are “ few and far between,” as the wood naturally possess¬ ing so many blemishes and inequalities, few faultless pieces 122 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. are to be found, hence this alone tends to augment the prices of such bows. Tourte obtained for unmounted bows a sum equivalent to about 30s., and for silver-mounted ones, from 50s. to 60s., whilst those mounted with gold were sold at prices varying from 10 to 11 guineas ; but we must not forget his scrupulous care in selecting the wood, and his beauty of finish, combined with such excellence of quality, circumstances which thus obliged him to charge those high prices. The finest bows have the curvatures finished by heat, every part of the bend being subjected to its action, as agreeably to this method, the inner as well as the outer side will always retain its proper curve ; whereas, if only the inside of the sffck has been heated, the inner woody fibres being in their normal condition, will always have an opposing resistance to the outside ones, and thus the bow will gradually be drawn from its finished curvature to its original form — a fact too well experienced in those bows which infest the shop windows of several of our cheap musical-instrument dealers. Several important improve¬ ments in the bow have been effected through the exertions of M. Vuillaume. One convenience is that the hair maintains always a flat surface, from having each extremity inserted into a sort of tubular pliers, one of which fits into a pierced cavity in the head of the stick, and the other into the interior nut, the mechanism being exceedingly simple. Another excellent improvement to meet the changes of position of the hand of the player caused by the variations in the length, consequent upon the changes of distance effected by the different tensions from the nut-screw, is obviated thus : — The nut is attached permanently to the stick, and is mortised out to receive an interior nut of brass, which advances and recedes within the permanent one by a screw — thus maintaining always a uniform distance be¬ tween the head of the bow and the outside of the exterior nut. I must not omit herein to mention a simple and ingenious method of bow-hairing invented by Mr. Walker, late of Castle Newe, Aberdeenshire, now of Williamstown, U. S., a gentleman who possesses a large collection of Violins, and who is also author of a Collection of Strath¬ speys and Reels. In this invention, the extremities of the hair are inserted under two metallic hinges, one being fixed THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. J23 to the head, the other to the nut. The former is kept shut by a small piece of wire, which passes through the out¬ side case of the shutting hinge, whilst the latter hinge is closed by a metallic slide, which retains the hair in posi¬ tion, as in the ordinary bow. By this method one can re¬ hair the bow with the utmost facility, by merely taking out the pin, slipping off the slide, and inserting the new hank, cut to the proper length. Ironwood bows are generally too heavy, and lack the necessary elasticity. Steel is now used in the formation of bows, but wood will always have the preference over metals in the construction of such an article as a Violin-bow. A recent invention is that of Johnson of Cincinnati. This Violin-bow is filled with fine metal strands, and is calculated to obviate the necessity of either having the bow to re-fill every few months, or to play with but little hair in it, which is always an inconvenience, and gives a poor and squeaky tone. Johnson’s Metallic Patent Bow is filled with fine metallic threads, about the size of horse-hair, having the strands fastened solid, in such a manner that none can work loose, and will last as long as the stick, or any other part of the bow, which is not usually the case with other bows. The sticks are of Brazilwood of good quality, of medium and heavy grade, are well recommended, and furnished at a price suitable for all Violinists. They take rosin freely, and vibrate the strings with force and certainty. Space will not permit of herein including a practical description of bow-making, but the amateur will, at the present day, be enabled to readily purchase excellent bows at a medium price, as he cannot do better than supply him¬ self with one made either by Vuillaume, Dodd, or Johnson. The price of Vuillaume’s bows, made either of wood or steel, with movable hair, and mounted in silver, are 30s. each; and without movable hair, plain wood, 10s. 6d. Dodd’s bows are sold at prices varying from 12s. to 30s., according to quality and finish. Johnson’s Metallic bows are sold at 12s. 6d. each. Tourte’s bows are now com¬ manding fabulous prices, 15, 20, and 25 guineas are occa- sionallv given. The essential qualities found in a good bow, are, its perfect balance and levity, strength and sta¬ bility, possessing the necessary flexibility, and straight as 124 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT an arrow from heel to point, as observed by looking along its outer side. When the hair of the bow gets dirty, it may be readily cleaned by washing it with soap and water, after which it should be sponged with cold water to remove all traces of soap, and then allowed to dry. In conclusion, let the young and inexperienced amateur beware of buying any of the detestable rubbish so often palmed upon the unwary by disreputable dealers, at a favorite price af ys. 6 d., when, for the difference of a few shillings, he would have been enabled to purchase one by an eminent maker, from a respectable house, and which would have proved serviceable to him, instead of the former foreign and worthless toy, which was made for the mere purpose of finding its way into the market, or mart of the cheat, there to be sold at a price exceeding six times its original cost. The Rosin. Common Rosin, Colophony. — A short description of this substance may prove interesting, as, to the Violinist, this forms an article of indispensable necessity. Rosin is the residue left in the vessels after the distillation of tur¬ pentine, and is used by the druggist in the manufacture of some of his ointments, by the colorman in his varnishes, the shoemaker and saddler in their wax, in the yellow soaps of the soap-maker, and to a small extent by the per¬ fume-maker ; whilst it is extensively employed by the wholesale manufacturer in extacting the various oily bodies which it produces by destructive distillation, and which are extensively used in the arts. Its specific gravity aver¬ ages about i‘o8o, it softens at i6o°, and enters into fusion at 275 0 . When the common rosin, which always contains water, is deprived of this by fusion, it is termed brown or black rosin, and whilst still fluid, if agitated with about one-eighth part of water, and dried, it forms the yellow rosin of the chemist. The bleaching of common rosin has been often attempted, but with unsuccessful results, but latterly the patented process of Hunt & Pochin has enabled the soap and varnish-makers to obtain it of an almost transparent white. The following is a short description of the process : — Or¬ dinary rosin is placed in a suitable vessel, and then melted, THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MANE IT. I2 5 and whilst fluid, steam, carbonic acid, or a mixture of carbonic acid and nitrogen is passed through the mass, until nearly the whole has been distilled, when the rosin hav¬ ing been condensed in a receiver, surrounded by a constant current of cold water, is afterwards dried, and will then be found adapted for the purposes required. Violinists’ rosin of very good quality may be made from Venice-turpentine. Otto’s method is this — Put a quantity of Venice-turpentine into a pipkin, add a little water to it, and boil for two or three hours over a slow Are. As it rises, pour in small quantities of cold water to keep it from overflowing, and allow a drop now and again to cool on a plate, when if it rubs clear between the fingers, without sticking, it is sufficiently boiled. When thus boiled, pour it into cold water, work it well with the hands to press out the water, and break it into pieces when cold ; expose to the sun and air until all the moisture is evaporated, and the rosin quite transparent. Many Vio¬ linists adopt a method of purifying, and rendering the rosin more transparent, by boiling it in vinegar, and whilst it is warm it is poured into paper moulds, after which it is exposed for some time to the sun and air. The purest and finest rosin for the Violin is that made from pure Venice- turpentine. The Violinists of Vienna and several of the other continental capitals are now using liquid colophony, instead of solid rosin. The mixture is applied with a camel’s-hair brush, and is said neither to injure the bow nor the strings of the instrument, and to last one hundred hours’ playing. It is also stated that the strings give out a clearer tone than when solid rosin is used, but the latter will always have the preference. The Strings. Gut Strings. — In the manufacture of Violin-strings there are various separate operations undergone ere the article in its finished form is arrived at. There are manu¬ factories of musical strings in Italy, Germany, France, and England. Strings vary very much in quality, but certain it is that our English friends can in nowise worthily com¬ pete with the Italian, German, and French manufacturer in this well-known article. The Italian strings possess the greatest durability as well as the best quality of sound. Whether the muscular thalms of our mountain sheep are 126 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. equal in quality to those of Italy, Germany, or France, is a question for others to investigate, but the fact is unde¬ niable that the Italian, German, and French musical strings are vastly superior to those of English manufacture. Vio¬ lin-strings are made from the smaller muscular intestines of the sheep. Catgut is an old and almost universal cog¬ nomen for the material forming the Violin-string, and which undoubtedly has led many of the ignorant to fanci¬ fully imagine that such strings are made from the muscular intestinal fibres of our whiskered fireside-favorite, the cat, but when or where this term first originated is a mystery. Sheep of a small size, which have been fed upon dry, mountainous pasture, are those preferably selected by the string manufacturer. The finest Italian strings are made from the intestines of the lamb, or those sheep which have been killed during their first year s growth. In Italy the lambs are generally commenced to be slaughtered about Easter, at which period the string-makers begin to furnish themselves with the raw materials. Those intestines being premature, soft, and porous, are chiefly used for the manu¬ facture of the larger strings. The finer class of first, or E strings, are manufactured throughout the months of June, July, August, and September, and subsequent to this latter month the manufacture ceases until the following summer. When the sheep have been slaughtered, and whilst still warm, the small intestines are carefully taken out by the workmen and cleaned. In this operation the intestines are steeped in cold soft water, for a period varying from 12 to 24 hours, during which time the water is several times changed, after which they are subjected for several hours to a cur¬ rent of hot water, which tends to separate the muscular membrane from its skinny and mucous coatings. Those coatings are afterwards roughly removed by the scraper, when the remaining muscular membranes are repeatedly cleaned and soaked in an alkaline solution, this latter opera¬ tion occupying several days. The membranes now having been thoroughly cleaned, are arranged according to their size and quality- Those of the largest and most irregular dimensions are split and made uniform in diameter, after which the whole are carefully assorted into separate bundles, each lot corresponding with the No. of string it may be intended for in the subsequent process, viz., that of spin- THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. I 2 7 ning. Manual labor is frequently employed in this, as well as the subsequent operations of finishing and wire¬ covering, but in the larger manufactories this is now supplanted by steam motive power. The spinning wheels are of simple construction, and the mechanism is such that a multiform movement is given to the wheel upon which the strings are attached. The strings, whilst moist, are sub¬ jected to a slight degree of twisting, after which they are exposed in bleaching chambers to the fumes of sulphur, for a period varying from 2 to 10 days. During this inter¬ val the torsion is several times gradually augmented by spinning, until they are of a firm consistence, when they pass through the process of finishing. In order to attain this latter and important object, the strings are subjected to a sustained friction, by being partly covered with a helD of horse-hair, or tube of haircloth, to which motion is im¬ parted, by which they are rendered of a uniform diameter. They are now dried and polished, by being rubbed with a piece of cloth, upon which has been sprinkled a mixture of olive-oil and ground pumice, after which they are moistened with olive or almond-oil, to which a quantity of creosote or oil of laurel is added, when they are afterwards suffi¬ ciently dried, and made into bundles of 15 or 30, each helix containing three or four lengths of string, as the case may be. The chief seats of the string manufacture are at Rome, Padua, Naples, Verona, Saxony, and Paris. Silk Strings. Silk Strings are now in common use by many Vio¬ linists, especially by the open-air musician, and the country ball player. They withstand the effects of the perspiration better than gut, whilst they are not so liable to break from the variations of temperature and dryness, arising from a crowded atmosphere, but their sound is shrill, and in nowise to be compared with that of the finest Roman strings. They were first manufactured in China, although there are now several manufactories throughout Europe. Being subjected to a strong tension in their manufacture, they are difficult to adjust in tune, consequently they stretch but little. They are usually formed of 140 strands, the strand containing 12 threads of silk, from the worm, 128 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT, making a total of 1680 threads in each string. They are manufactured by special spinning-mechanism, and when finished they are coated with gum-arabic and polished with white wax. Twisted silk first strings are generally rough, and con¬ tain a number of silk filaments which project from the sur¬ face of the string, causing often a harshness in the sounds emitted. This defect may be remedied thus : — Pour a small quantity of strong spirits into a shallow* vessel, as a saucer, and light it, then draw the whole length of the string evenly and quickly over the flame of the spirits, which will con¬ sume all the outstanding filaments, after which, rub the string several times with a piece of gauze or taffeta. By this operation the string is rendered more elastic, and the tone is much improved. Covered Strings. Covered Strings are formed from gut or silk, and have a covering of fine wire wound round their surface, which augments their mass. The wire is made of copper, silver, gold, or platina, as the case may be. Common Violin fourth strings are made of gut, upon which is twisted a covering of fine copper, or silvered copper wire, but for the execution of Violin solos upon the fourth string, silver wire is substituted, which is generally of remarkably fine quality, and wound so close and equal as to be scarcely perceptible. We have now fourth strings covered wdth a combination of metals, which tends to counteract the increase in pitch so prevalent in the old strings, arising from contraction and expansion. In small manufactories the strings are covered by means of a small wheel, driven by hand, in the surface of which a small hook is inserted, for the purpose of holding one end of the string, whilst the other is fixed to a swivel. Another string is attached to this swivel, which passes over a pulley, and has a weight suspended, which keeps the string to be covered at a proper stretch ; the wheel is turned, causing the string to revolve, upon which the thin wire is regularly and uniformly wound. In large establishments this ancient method is supplanted by intricate machinery, by which means enormous lengths of strings are covered in a few THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 129 hours. An early patent tor the manufacture of such strings, by a process somewhat similar to that already described, was obtained by William Lovelace, on January 31st, 1772, No. 1001. The intestines, after having been scraped, soaked, and twisted, were bleached with sulphur and oiled, (the two latter processes being now discontinued in the man¬ ufacture of strings intended to be wire-covered,) after which they were covered in the following manner, as given by the patentee : — “ Let two wheels, with grooves on their edges, be fixed on a frame close and similar to each other. Wind the string round the rim of one of these wheels, put the other end of the string through a hollow iron-turned stud, and fasten it to the rim of the other wheel, upon the other iron stud, whose bore must be in a line with the upper edges of these wheels or pulleys, so as not to draw the string from a right line. On the stud there must be a pulley, for the band of a large wheel to move it round, and on the flat of this pulley must be a stud, with a bobbin filled with wire, to move round the stud with a proper degree of stiffness to bind the wire tight upon the string. When this pulley is set in motion, the end of the wire from the bobbin being fastened to the string, it will be wound round the string with very little strain upon the string, and as it winds round the string it will be conveyed from the wheel or pulley on which the string was first wound upon the other ; by reason that the string but just fills the bore of the stud, weights or springs must be used to the two pulleys to give the string a proper tension.” A patent for a method of making silk strings was obtained by Peter Nouaille, on January 22nd, 1774, No. 1062. Raw silk of the finest and whitest quality is soaked in an animal or vegetable mucus, then spun into strings, after which they are varnished. A method of rendering gut, silk, or other strings waterproof was patented by Isaac Hawkins, No. 2446, November 13, 1800. A patent for an improvement in covering strings with gold or platina wire, was obtained by William Bundy, on April 24, 1811, No. 3436 ; whilst in 18^4, March 11, No. 589, John Maynard claims provisional protection for an improvement in covering strings, from wire made from a particular composition of metals. i 3 ° THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. Characteristics of Good Strings. A good Violin-string ought to be perfectly cylindrical from one extremity to the other, having a regular thickness throughout, and possess the necessary elasticity. A packet of strings upon being compressed, or bent together, ought not to change color, or the united parts to break, but to quickly return to their original shape. They ought also to be transparent throughout their entire length, like a thread of glass, and possess no wavy or curled markings. The best second and third strings are of a transparent white ; the firsts not being so white, but perfectly transparent. If the first strings are very white, we may safely assume that they have been made from the intestines of animals which have been prematurely used by the manufacturer. The strings should be now and again oiled, preserved in oil¬ paper or bladder, and laid aside in covered tin boxes, in a dry place. For oiling the strings, a small piece of woolen or other cloth may be used, upon which a few drops of olive or almond-oil are poured. If olive-oil is used, it should be purified by a mixture of lime and lead, until it is perfectly limpid. The first string should require a tension of 15 pounds to bring it to opera pitch; the second 17 pounds ; the third and fourth about tbe same as the first. We must carefully observe that the tone of any Violin is very perceptibly affected by the size of the strings, as if not in due proportion the one to the other, no uniformity of tone or power will be obtained. The peculiarities of the strings which prove individually suitable to the different classes of Violins must also be judiciously studied, as the instruments vary so much in this respect, that a string which is perfection to one is destruction to another, but generally speaking, all the ancient instruments require to be lightly strung, in order to effectively evoke their purity of tone, and freedom of vibration.' If tile strings are too thin or light, the tone of such will be weak and feeble, whilst on the contrary, if too thick or heavy, the sounds will be hard and coarse, and an unnecessary strain and pressure will be exerted on the bridge. Many of the common-class Violins require the strings to be over-tight ere they can be brought to pitch, causing end- THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT l 3 l less ruptures, but a well-made Violin never requires this overstraining or tightening in order to bring it to pitch. The fingering also varies on some Violins, even although they may be of precisely similar lengths of finger-board. From the preceding cursory remarks the reader will easily discern that the strings form an important item in the correct adjustment of the instrument. CHAPTER X. VARNISHES, STAINS, ETC. The Cremona Varnish ! How many minds have been eagerly and enthusiastically bent upon the solution of the query as to the composition of this beautiful and diapha¬ nous substance ! Volumes have been written containing the authors’ choicest receipts for this varnish, or rather its imi¬ tation, but with what result — despondency ; for the com¬ mon cry is, “The secret is lost, never to be regained.” A few enthusiastic writers have even gone so far as to declare that the varnish made the Violin, or, in other words, that the superiority of our ancient instruments arose solely from the excellent qualities of their varnish — an idea so mon¬ strous and opposed to reason, that they might, with equal probability, have concluded that a worthless Violin only required to be placed in the hands of an eminent player, in order to be transmuted into one of the finest and most bewitching-toned instruments which ever graced the orchestra. That the varnish bears an important influence upon the quality of the instrument is not to be doubted, but this in¬ fluence must be regarded in a modified degree. Would the so-called re-discovered Cremona varnish of Monsieur Grivel if applied to a faulty-constructed instrument, ever render it a good one? Never; for the fault, arising from malcon- struction, would never be redeemed by the application of a coating of varnish. The Cremona varnish was considered o bv many makers to be composed principally of amber dis¬ solved in some suitable fluid, which solvent has now unfor¬ tunately been lost in oblivion, whilst others adopted a some¬ what different theory by supposing the amber had been dissolved in oil, constituting the old u oil-varnish,” of a 132 THE VIOLIN: HOW 7 O MAKE IT. somewhat similar nature to the common amber oil-varnish. There is every probability for supposing that this ancient varnish was an oil one, or at least that the first coatings of varnish applied to the instrument were such, for Lupot, in his excellent work, confirms this, wherein he states that the substratum of the varnish should be 44 bonne huile fine ; ” and another fact of significant importance is, that in a letter of Stradivarius to a clergyman — a facsimile of which is contained in the learned work of Fetis — he states, 44 Com- patira la tardanza del Violino , perche e stato la causa per la vernice per la gran crepate die il sole non le faccia aprire 44 Pardon the delay of the Violin, occasioned from the varnishing of the large cracks, that the sun may not re-open them ” — a delay which had been caused from the varnishing (drying). It is evident this had been an oil- varnish, as no apology would have been required if spirit- varnish had been used, on account of the shortness of time taken by it to dry. Monsieur Grivel states that alcohol removes the Cremona varnish — so it does, but this is no proof that the Cremona varnish was a spirit one. If we make a varnish composed of any resin which is soluble in oil or alcohol, such as common rosin, Venice-turpentine, Canada-balsam, etc., with a certain proportion of oil, and a solvent capable of dissolving both oil and resin, as spirits of turpentine, mineral naptha, etc., we will find that this varnish, on drying, will leave a slight film of the gum or resin, which can easilv be removed by alcohol. As a proof of this, let the amateur try the following ex¬ periment:— Mix a small quantity of Venice-turpentine with drying-oil, and boil the mixture for a short time, then dissolve the product in mineral naptha, when the result will be a beautiful golden-colored varnish that will give a good surface if applied sparingly, but will sink into the wood if used too thickly. This varnish, when dry, will be brought off immediately by pure alcohol. Mineral naptha dissolves most of the resins, unites in all proportions with strong alcohol, ether, and the essential oils, and extracts the color from numerous roots and woods used as stains in varnishes. The disagreeable odor of this solvent soon van¬ ishes by evaporation ; and from being a natural product in Italy, may it not, with every reason, be supposed that this formed one of the solvents in the oil-varnish of the old THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. J 33 Cremona makers? From certain experiments made with a varnish composed of essential oils and gums, having naptha as a partial solvent, I found the tone of a new Violin very perceptibly improved by the application of such varnish. I at first used one composed of gums dissolved in alcohol, by which the tone was rendered harsh and grating; where¬ as, upon the application of the former varnish, the volume of tone was not only increased in fulness, but a bland and sustained mellowness was combined therewith. Several writers, including Prince Youssopow, are of opinion that certain of the ethers were the chief solvents used in some of the amber varnishes of the seventeenth century. This may not be altogether erroneous, for al¬ though all the varnishes of the Cremonese artists were purely oil ones, or at least that their chief liquid basis was an es¬ sential oil, still in a minority of instances we find a spirit- varnish employed. Guarnerius sometimes used light spir¬ ituous varnish, but always to attain a harmonious result, and to be in keeping with the instrument. Stradivarius even made different varnishes, some much richer and pret¬ tier than others, but those varnishes all look as if made specially for the particular instrument they cover, for the simple reason that they are both in harmony. Peter Guarnerius had perhaps the richest, and the most beautiful varnish of all the ancient artists, but as his instru¬ ments are always highly built and heavily wooded, they are not nearly so effective as many of those of the other makers. There is no doubt that the ancient artists kept the secret of the varnishes among themselves, as Fetis observes that towards the latter end of the eighteenth century, one of the Amati family who was employed in the workshop of Lupot, preferred to leave his master rather than divulge his family secret — the method of varnish-making. There are, how¬ ever, some of our modern varnishes which possess real ex¬ cellence, as from specimens shown me by Dr. Dickson of Edinburgh, and Mr. Heaps of Leeds, there is every proba¬ bility of genuine success in this formidable but important branch of the art, for they appear to embrace all the beauty, mellowness, and transparency of the varnishes of the an¬ cient artists, although it will be for future amateurs to judge of their permanency. The chief difficulties presented to the modern maker are *34 TIIE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. tne translucency and transparency m the beautiful colors adopted by the Brescian and Cremonse artists. The chem¬ istry of permanent colors — lost to us — was well known to the ancient artists. Where amongst our painters are we to search for the artists who can decorate our walls with im¬ perishable colors ? Ages after our pigmy buildings will have crumbled into dust, and the cities enclosing them will them¬ selves have become shapeless heaps of bricks and mortar, with forgotten names — long after that will the walls of Kar- nack and Luxor be still standing; and the gorgeous mural paintings of the latter will doubtless be as bright and vivid 4000 years hence as they were 4000 years ago and are to-day. The Cremona makers no doubt had been led to adopt oil as one of the chief constituents in their varnish, from the fact that such would tend to give the dissolved gums a certain amount of elasticity, which never could be obtained by the employment of alcohol alone as a solvent. The spirit-var¬ nishes dry quickly, but unless mixed, their chief disadvan¬ tages are their want of elasticity and aptitude to crack and peel ofl, whereas in a mixed, or good oil-varnish, the for¬ mer defect is greatly ameliorated, and the latter is almost entirely obviated. Oil-varmshes are also the most durable and lustrous, and yield better to the operation of polishing than spirit-varnish. The following receipts for varnishes have been more or less used by Violin-makers. No. 2 was kindly given the Author by one of our most eminent Scottish makers, who obtained it from the well-known Hardies of Edinburgh many years ago. The following short description of the chief substances used in the composition of the varnishes may not be out of place here : — Amber is a fossilized vegetable gum or resin of the ex¬ tinct comferre tribe, forests of which were abundant at an early epoch over Northern Europe. Anciently a fabulous origin was attributed to it, as from its having been found on the sea-shore after a tempest, it was believed to have been the solidified tears of the sea-nymphs, or of the sisters of Phaeton. It is generally found in irregular-shaped masses of no great size, the color varying from a light yellow to a deep orange, having various degrees of transparency, some pieces being entirely opaque. The milky or cloudy-colored THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. T 35 pieces have the most value, as the clear semi-transparent pieces can be easily imitated by copal or other gums. To the varnish-maker, the most transparent are equally valuable, as the milky-colored pieces are used chiefly by the carver and turner. By friction it becomes negatively electrical, indeed, so much so, that the workmen in turning it are often affected by nervous twitchings, and are frequently obliged to change the pieces they are handling. Many animal and vegetable remains are to be often found embedded in some of the pieces, as insects, leaves, etc., specimens of which are to be found in our national museums. When heated, it exhales a fragrant odor, hence its being a favorite with the meerschaum pipe- maker ; it burns with a yellowish flame, leaving a shiny bituminous deposit. Auiber is found on the beach in Nor¬ folk, Suffolk, Isle of Wight, and North of Scotland, as well as in parts of America and India, and in Prussia mines exist of this singular substance. It is also exported from Japan. It is somewhat brittle, and breaks in conchoidal frag¬ ments. Absolute alcohol extracts about one-ninth of its weight of pulverised amber, and in pure chloroform it is dissolved readily, whilst ether dissolves from ten to twelve per cent, of it; it is also entirely soluble in a mixture of alcohol and spirits of turpentine heated in a close vessel. Amber, after having been kept in a close vessel, at a high temperature, becomes completely soluble in alcohol. Benzoin, or Benjamin, is a somewhat costly gum-resin, and is but little used in varnishes. It is brittle, breaks with a conchoidal fracture, and fuses at a gentle heat. It readily dissolves in alcohol, to which it imparts an agreeable odor. It is obtained from a tree which grows abundantly in the islands of Sumatra and Java, also in Cochin-China and on the coast of Malabar. The white tears, or those pieces possessing the least color, should preferably be selected for varnish-making. Canada-Balsam is obtained from a tree of the same name, which is very abundant throughout Canada. It is perfectly transparent, having an agreeable odor, and is wholly soluble in rectified oil of turpentine. 136 THE VIOLIN: IIOIV TO MAKE IT. Copal is a gum-resin which exudes naturally from a tree which grows in New Spain and the East Indies. In dura¬ bility it ranks second to amber as a varnish, and when of excellent quality is too hard to be scratched by the nail. It is only partially soluble in alcohol, but is freely so in ether. Fused copal is completely soluble in boiling alcohol, or spirits of turpentine. Copal is freely soluble in oil of rose¬ mary, or spike-lavendar, and the addition of any of those oils to alcohol promotes its solubility. It is also wholly dissolved in oil of turpentine, which has been ozonized or exposed for a length of time to the light. The clearest pieces are to be selected in the preparation of varnish. Elemi. —There are several varieties of this gum, but that which is imported from Ethiopia is the best and most valuable. Elemi is so liable to adulteration, that there is much difficulty in obtaining it pure. The common gum is of a yellow color, but genuine Ethiopian elemi is of a green¬ ish color, mixed with reddish stripes, of a solid body, but softens by the heat of the hand, and emits a very agreeable odor, resembling fennel. It is wholly dissolved by alcohol, and is generally imported in pieces, which are surrounded by the leaves of the palm-tree or Indian cane. The addi¬ tion of this gum to varnish promotes its toughness and durability. Lac is a resinous gum which results from the puncture of a small winged ant, upon the twigs of various trees, which grow in several parts of India. There are several varieties of this substance, distinguished thus : stick-lac, seed-lac, shell-lac, etc. Stick-lac is that which is allowed to remain upon the small branches ; seed-lac, that which has been taken off such twigs, and this lac melted, and run into thin scales or plates, forms shell-lac. Seed-lac forms a strong and tough varnish, which is often applied to the Violin and Violoncello, but possesses little or no elas¬ ticity. Shell-lac is used in the common hard varnishes, and forms the chief ingredient in the various French-polishes. Lac is soluble in alcohol, in a solution of borax and hot water, ammonia, naptha, etc. There is another species of lac, of a white color, and opaque, which has undergone the operation of bleaching by chlorine. This variety is termed bleached-lac, and is now much used in the 2^repa- ration of varnishes. TIIE VIOLIN: IIOW TO MANE IT. r 37 Mastic is a gum-resin which exudes from the bark of a tree which grows abundantly in the Levant. It is gener¬ ally sold in small round tears of a yellowish color, which are transparent. It is freely soluble in alcohol, and oil of turpentine, and is employed chiefly to give toughness and hardness to varnish which is intended lor polishing. Sandarac is obtained from a species of juniper w hich grows in Africa. It is usually in the form of elongated tears or drops, of a pale yellow color, and is freely soluble in alcohol. If much of this substance enters into the com¬ position of a varnish, it is rendered very brilliant, but soft, and is easily scratched by the least friction. Turpentine. —Ot turpentine there are several varieties, as Chio, Strasburg, Bordeaux, Venice, Oil (spirit or essence) of, and the common turpentine. They are all ob¬ tained from species of pine or larch trees. Ihe Chio tur¬ pentine is greatly esteemed, but is much adulterated. This species when pure has a warm and acrid taste, and pos¬ sesses a strong balsamic odor. That of Strasburg is pro¬ duced from a species of silver-fir of Bordeaux, of a somew hat similar nature. That of Venice is extracted from a species of larch, and is of the consistence of treacle or honey, whilst common turpentine is so well known as to require no de¬ scription. The oil, spirit, or essence of turpentine is dis¬ tilled from a mixture of the common or American turpen¬ tine and w r ater, and is a clear, limpid, and colorless fluid, possessing an agreeable fragrance when newly prejoared, or kept excluded from light, or the oxygen of the atmos¬ phere. The foregoing include all the chief substances employed in the formation of the following varnishes : — Oil-Varnishes. No. i. Amber, coarsely powdered, .... 2 OZ. Venice-turpentine, ..... 2 fl. drs. Prepared Linseed-oil, ..... Ij fl. oz. Oil of Turpentine, ..... I fl. oz. Dissolve by heat. No. 2 . Amber, fused,. . 2 OZ. Oil of Turpentine,. • 5 “ Drying Linseed-oil,. • 5 “ Dissolve by heat. THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. ! 3 S No. % Amber, fused,.. 6 Lac, » . • a • • • • Drying Linseed-oil, . Oil of Turpentine, . Dissolve the lac separately, then add the amber, and solve by heat. 4 02. i “ 4 “ 8 “ thoroughly dis- No. 4. Clear and pale African copal, . . . 1 pound. Pale drying-oil, ...... 1 quart. Rectified oil of Turpentine, .... 3 pints. Boil the copal and drying-oil till stringy, then thin with the turpentine, and strain immediately mto the store jar. This varnish is hard and durable, and dries hard in from 12 to 24 hours. No. 5. Clear pale rosin, ...... 3^ pounds. Oil of Turpentine, ..... 1 gallon. Dissolve. This is the varnish generally used on the cheap Violins. No. 6, Colorless Copal-Varnish. — To prepare this varnish the copal must be picked, each piece then broken, upon which a drop or two of rose¬ mary-oil is to be poured; the pieces which become soft upon the appli¬ cation of the oil are those only to be used. Those pieces having been selected are to be ground to a fine powder and then sifted. Place the powder now in a glass vessel, and add to it a corresponding volume of the rosemary-oil; stir for a few minutes, when you will have a thick liquid. Leave the liquid to rest now for two or three hours, then add a few drops of pure alcohol, and mix slowly, after which reduce w r ith alcohol until the required consistence is obtained. This is a clear and beautiful varnish. Spirit-Varnishes. No. 1. No. 1 a. Elemi, Mastic in tears, 1 • • 1 oz. i part. i * • 2 << 2 “ Seed-lac, . . 1 u 2 “ Sandarac, 2 u or 4 “ Venice turpentine, . , 1 i 6 2 “ Powdered glass, . . 1 a 4 “ Alcohol, . . . 16 No. 2. a i 32 “ Mastic, • • • • . 1 dr. Sandarac, • • • • 1 “ Lac, ... • • • • . 6|“ Alcohol, , • • • C . 5 fl. oz. THE VIC LIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. F39 No, 3. Gum Sandarac, Seed-lac, .... Mastic,. Benzoin, in tears, Powdered glass, Venice-turpentine, Alcohol, .... No. 4. Seed-lac, « « * • « Sandarac, .... Eilemi, . Venice-turpentine, . Powdered glass, Alcohol, .... 4 oz. 2 “ 1 “ 1 “ 4 “ 2 “ 32 “ 5 2 1 2 oz. u U U 5 24 u u • No. 5. Coarsely powdered copal and glass, of each, 4 oz. Camphor, . . . . . . \ “ Alcohol (64 O. P.),.1 pint. Heat the mixture (with frequent stirring) in a water-bath, so that the bubbles may be counted as they rise, until solution is complete, then decant the clear portion. No 6. Mastic, | pound. Turpentine Varnish, ; , . . . 2 \ fl. oz. Alcohol, . . • „ - . 1 pint. This is the spirit-varnish so often seen upon the cheap German Violins. No. 7. Colorless Spirit-Varnish. — Dissolve 2$ ounces picked orange lac in a pint of rectified alcohol, and boil well for a few minutes with 5 ounces of well burnt and recently heated animal charcoal. A small quantity of the solution should now be filtered, and if not colorless, add more charcoal. When colorless, press the liquor through a piece of silk, and filter through fine filtering-paper This varnish must be used in a room where the temperature is about 6o° Fahr. It does not chill or bloom, and dries in a few minutes. The preceding varnishes may be colored to any suitable shade by the use of the following substances : For a yellow tinge, aloes, annotto, gamboge, turmeric, or saffron ; any of the foregoing will give various shades of yellow. For red, use dragon’s blood, or red saunders-wood, and bv a judicious mixture of the foregoing colors, almost any of the Violin tints may be obtained. The substances are to be allowed to soak in the alcohol until the desired amount of 140 THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. color is produced, or a small quantity of alcohol may be used separately to extract the coloring matter, which may be made of a deep intensity. This can afterwards be mixed with the varnish until the proper color is arrived at, observing that every coating of varnish adds a perceptible depth of color to the preceding one. Madder and logwood are sometimes used for the various shades of brown. Some Violin-makers adopt quite a different method of coloring their instruments ; thus, instead of coloring the varnish, they stain the Violin with the liquid stain or color, and afterwards apply a light-colored varnish. The foregoing spirituous extracts would give such stains, or merely watery infusions of several of the substances laid on hot. Stephen’s wood-stains have also been used for the same purpose, but the Violins finished by this method have always a painted appearance, and can be easily recognized from those which have been finished with the color in the varnish, as by this latter means a certain transparency and harmony of color is obtained, which never can be produced by the applica¬ tion of a wash or stain to the surface. The amateur will require but few tools in the operation of varnishing, viz., a few brushes, tripoli-powder, or fine glass-paper, oil, etc., The brushes, if for spirit-varnishing, may be fiat camel- hair ones. Those vary in size, being from a quarter of an inch to five inches and upwards in breadth. A brush an inch in diameter will be found large enough for general purposes, whilst a small camel or sable brush may be used for varnishing the scroll work of the hand, but the former brush, if carefully used, will answer for the whole manipu¬ lation. The brushes, after being used, may be dipped in methylated spirit, and afterwards pressed out between the thumb and finger, when they may be laid aside in a closely- fitting tin box. By this method they will be rendered clean, and adapted for instant use at any required time, as if this final washing is neglected, the brushes get quite hard, and the amateur will experience some difficulty in getting them properly cleaned, and even when they are so, the hairs have a tendency to get broken or loosened, and such loose hairs are certain to attach themselves to the first coatings of varnish. Care should be taken not to flood the brush with varnish, to spread the coating freely, lightly, and pretty quickly, as the varnish soon dries ; to pass the THE VIOLIN: HOW TO MAKE IT. 141 brush over one part only once at a time, and never to return twice, or backwards over the same part, as if such has been the case, the part alluded to is sure to be rough and flaky when dry. The room, also, ought to be moderately warm, and free from floating dust or particles, or the varnish is almost certain to chill or bloom. The first few coatings of spirit-varnish may be applied to the wood crosswise, although the final coatings must be laid on in the direction of the grain or woody fibres. When one coating is perfectly dry, another may be applied, always leaving a sufficient interval of time to allow the separate coatings to become thoroughly free from tackiness, when the rough surface left by the brush-marks has then to un¬ dergo the operation of polishing. This is the most tedious part of the work, and unless carefully conducted, is sure to be attended with anything but satisfactory results. When several coats of varnish have been applied and thoroughly dry (no definite number can herein be specified, as much depends upon the quality and fluidity of the varnish, and the finish of the wood), the surface may be smoothed with glass-paper. A very small quantity of raw linseed-oil may be used with the glass- paper, which assists in hastening the smoothing of the ine¬ qualities, and tends to prevent heating by the friction. When the surface is thus rendered smooth, it may be wiped with an old silk handkerchief, to remove all traces of oiliness, after which several coats of varnish are to be applied, as already described. When dry, the polishing is again to be resumed as previously, then a coat or two of thinner varnish maybe laid on, and afterwards polished with tripoli-powder and oil, until the surface is perfectly smooth and even, after which it may be rubbed with fine flour or starch, and finally polished with a piece of clean silk or flannel. Several hours ought to elapse between the last smoothing and varnishing, as well as the final polishing, that the whole may have attained thorough hardness, otherwise an excel¬ lent lustre cannot be produced. The preceding remarks chiefly apply to spirit-varnish, the. essential difference in oil-varnish being the length of time taken to dry, and the varnish being of a thicker consistence, necessitates fewer coats — one, in some instances being sufficient—but the amateur will readily understand this from the nature of the varnish he may be inclined to adopt. CONTENTS. Chapter I. — Early History of the Instrument. — Early Bow In¬ struments. Representation of the Violin on the Egyptian Obe¬ lisk. Fiddlers in 1600. Mysterious alliance between color and sound. Dimensions of the British Crwth or Crowd. Methods of tuning the Crwth. Invention of the Gamut. Manufacture of Gut Strings. Hindoo Scale. Birthplace of the Arts and Sci¬ ences. Shift playing. Musical Sand of California. Chinese Fiddle. Viol d’Amour described. Double Violin Chapter II.— Theoretical Principles of Construction. — The dif¬ ferent sounds of the Back and Breast. Copying Violins. Imi¬ tation. Cremona Violins. What the finest Violins tell us. The Neck an important matter. Tuning Forks. Woods of high tone preferable.. Chapter III. — Experimental Researches upon the Theory of Vio- lin-making by Savart. Weight supported by the Belly. Observa¬ tions on the Double Bass. Why Deal is employed for the Breast. Dimensions. Savart’s various modes. Mass of air in Violin. Sound-Post. Glass Violins. The Violoncello .... Chapter IV.— Remarks on the above Theories. — Backs thickest in the centre. Organ Pipes. Variation of the Sound-Post. Why Stradivarius increased sizes of Violin. Chapter V. — Construction of the Instrument. — American Clips. Arching models described. How to form and graduate the Back. Back and Breasts pieced. Bass Bar. Method of gluing on Belly. Bow-Saw. Graduation of Breasts. Sizes of Corner-Blocks. Dif¬ ferent parts to the Violin. Final Finishing of Violin. How to make glue. Form of Half-Moulds. Indenting described. In¬ denting Tools. Gluing on Sides. Plow to obtain the Model of a Violin. Dove-tailing the Neck described. How to cut Peg-holes and Pegs. Bending of Sides. How to model Sound-Holes. Tail- Peg. How to know the ages of Trees. The Wood a matter of great importance. Method of Drying Wood. (142) PAGE 3 22 3 2 5 1 58 CONTENTS. T 43 PAGE CHAPTER VI. — Mathematical Method of Constructing and Model¬ ling the Violin. — The proportions of the Back. Of the Bass-Bar. Of the Breast. The Bridge. Details of Modelling . . .87 Chapter VII. — Description of Savart’s Box-Fiddle. Particulars of Chanot’s Violin. Terms used in 1306 ..... 91 Chapter VIIT. — Appearance, Qualities, etc., of the Violins of the most Celebrated Makers, with the Lives of the Most Eminent .— Flat-modelled Violin’s depth of Tone. Advice to inexperienced Amateurs. Amati Violins, Cremona Violins, Varnish, etc. Stainer Violins. Fictitious Cremonas. Guarnerius Violins, etc. How Fictitious Violins are made. Stradivarius Violins, etc. The Violin a favorite with Ladies ........ 97 Chapter IX.— The Bow; Rosin; Strings. — Early forms of the Bow. Prices. Vuillaume’s Improvements. Woods used. Er¬ roneous idea regarding Cat-gut. Chief String Manufacturers. Covered Strings. The Dodd Bows. Characteristics of Good Strings. Johnson’s Metallic Bows. Lapot Bows. Otto’s Method of making Rosin. Panormo Bows. Hunt & Pochin’s patent for making Rosin. Liquid Rosin. To make Violinists’ Rosin. Ad¬ vantages of Silk Strings and howto improve them. Stentor Bow r s. How to keep Strings. Proportionate sizes. Combination Silver String . . . . . . . . . . . .119 Chapter X.— Varnishes, Stains, etc. — Amber Varnish. Cremona Varnish. Difficulties in Varnish. Peter Guarnerius’ rich Var¬ nish. Hints to young Violinists. Spirit Varnish. Staining Vio¬ lins. Varieties in Turpentine. Varnish-making a secret. Var¬ nish oil. Polish. Substances used in Varnishes. Tools requisite for Varnishing .... ...... 131 COMPLETE WORLD-RENOWNED METHOD ENGLISH TEXT. NEW EDITION, REVISED, ENLARGED, AND IMPROVED, CONTAINING KLOSE’S COMPLETE METHOD, TO WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED 50 Easy I Progressive Duets. 240 LARGE SIZE MUSIC PAGES. FIFTY-TWO more pages than any other edition published, and COSTS 50 CENTS LESS. The most Complete Method for the Clarinet ever published, containing scales for the ordinary and Boehm systems of fingering, with complete table of shakes for both systems, and thorough instructions to learn how to play this beautiful intsrument. GUARAN¬ TEED to be the Largest and Most Complete Edition of Klose’s Clari¬ net Method published. Ask for White’s Edition containing 240 pages, and take no other. PRICE: Paper Covers, $3.00: Boards, $3.50; Cloth, $4.00. 0, W, STORY, 26 Central St., Boston, Mass, GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 3 3125 00141 0436 POPULAR PUBLICATIONS, Various Instruments. PRICE OF EACH, 50 CENTS, NET. TT-ionLiiNr- 100 IRISH AIRS, including the most popular of .Moore's Melodies, arranged for the Violin. 10O NEW AND ORIGINAL Clog Hornpipes, Reels, Walk-Arounds, Scotch and Irish Reels and Jigs, Strathspeys, See., for the Violin. 100 SCOTCH AIRS, for the Violin. 100 FAVORITE SONGS, National Airs, &c., for the Violin. WHITE’S AIRS WITH VARIATIONS, arranged as easy SOLOS for the Violin. 50 WALTZES, QUADRILLES, GALOPS, &e., ist Series, easy. 50 WALTZES, QUADRILLES, GALOPS, &c„ sd Series, moderately difficult. PLUTE. 100 IRISH AIRS, including the most popular of Moore’s Melodies, arranged for the Flute. 100 NEW AND ORIGINAL Clog Hornpipes, Reels, Walk-Arounds, Scotch and Irish Reels and Jigs, Strathspeys, &c , for the Flute. 100 SCOTCH AIRS, for the Flute. 100 FAVORITE SONGS, National Airs, &c., for the Flute. 100 IRISH AIRS, including the most popular of Moore’s Melodies, arranged for the Clarinet. 100 SCOTCH AIRS, for the Clarinet. 100 FAVORITE SONGS, National Airs, &c., for the Clarinet. COEUET. 100 IRISH AIRS, including the most popular of Moore's Melodies, arranged for the Cornet. 100 SCOTCH AIRS, for the Cornet. 100 FAVORITE SONGS, National Airs, &c.. for ‘he Cornet. 100 OPERATIC MELODIES, for Cornet or Alto. 50 EASY AND POPULAR DUETS, for Two Corn or Altos. 50 OPERATIC DUETS, for Two Corne. 3 or Altos. 0. W. STORY, 26 Central St., Boston, Mass.