why musical instruments such as violin ,are desinged in particular shape ?is any reason in acoustics related?

Question

is there any reason in acoustics related?by such as resonance
condition ,to avoid unwanted vibration......!?
plz refer the WEB-ADDERESS you prefer to tell the reason..

Answer 1

That's a good question. I have never really thought about it. I've noticed it, but subconsciously. I will have to check into that. I'm sure someone will give a good answer but I do not know. I would say your guess is pretty accurate.

Answer 2

I'm not sure the shape has much in the way of an effect, acoustically. While most of these instruments have the same basic chamber shape, take a look at the mandolin, which comes in a wide variety of forms, many of which don't feature the inward curve of most other instruments.

I can't be sure, but I think the main reasons for the specific shape are ergonomic and aesthetic, rather than acoustic.

Answer 3

Axiom's that contradict: The squeaky wheel get's the grease.
The quacking duck gets shot.

Answer 4

Led Zeppelin - Rock and Roll (and the canopy by Rasputina which I additionally like) and The devil Went right down to Georgia - it mentions the play around! and The steel by Tenacious D - it mentions like 50 million genres!

Answer 5

Here is a site that tells the origin and history of the violin and how it's shape was developed.
http://library.thinkquest.org/27178/en/section/1/index.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/27178/

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> 1. Origin (page 1/2)


In Europe, the violin can be traced back to the 9th century, with its origin possibly in Asia. Not less than 450 years were required to bring it to its present form, representative of the experience acquired throughout the centuries by the makers of stringed instruments.

The primitive form of the stringed instruments is the musical bow, an arched stick held by a taut string tied to its two ends. The string is divided by a loop or bridge. In order to enhance its resonance, the primitive bow was held before the mouth. In the more evolved forms, resonance enhancers included coconut, calabash (a hollowed out, dried gourd generally used as a recipient), tortoise shells, wooden boxes or pig bladders that were thrust tightly between the strings and the bow.

In the manufacture of stringed instruments, TWO ORIGINAL FORMS were already present in classical antiquity: the polygonal drum of the zither and the rounded sound-box of the lyre, carved so as to imitate a tortoise shell, and used, apparently, as the first resonance device. This distinction in form was accompanied by a distinction in usage. The instrument with the polygonal drum, the more noble of the two, was used exclusively for serious music and for accompanying religious or lyric song; as for the lyre, it was a popular instrument used in feasting.

The origin of stringed instruments played by rubbing the strings is linked to the appearance of the bow. The more ancient stringed instruments were played by plucking the strings with the fingers. Perhaps the bow was at first a simple stick before the hair-bow was adopted. As there is no trace of a bow instrument in classical antiquity, it is freely admitted that the bow was imported from Asia by the Arabs or the Nordic tribes. But whether the evolution occurred in northern Europe, the Near East, India or Central Asia remains a mystery... The bow may have appeared in various places at the same time, as did several major discoveries in the history of mankind!...

As from the 11th century we also find in Europe the TWO MAJOR TYPES of bow instruments: first, the instruments with a pear-shaped or pyriform resonance box, no distinct neck, no pegs, and a flat belly; second the flat-bodied, oval or elliptic instruments, whose only slightly arched body was connected to the generally flat back by ribs. These instruments had a distinct neck (vielle of the Middle Ages - Not to be confused with hurdy-gurdy, "vielle à roue").
> 1. Origin (page 2/2)


The Ravanastron (this instrument is said to have belonged to a sovereign of India 5000 years before Christ), the Rabab or Rebab (very ancient, it was played in Persia, in Arabia and in North Africa), the Rebec (the rubebe or rebel or rebec was brought to southern Europe in the Middle Ages by Muslim merchants and artists)... and many other more or less rudimentary instruments dating back to ancient times are considered to be interesting - although distant - precursors of the violin.


The North African rebab (centre, with inlaid bow) gave birth, in Europe, to the pear-shaped (or pyriform) rebec. The more ancient type has round sound holes (front, left); later the sound holes took the form of an f (behind, left). The ribbed vielle (right) represented, with the rebec, the second major mediaeval type of instrument. The four strings and the f-holes were forerunners of the future violin.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, as from the 11th century, we can find the vielle and the rote (rotta), a simple reproduction of the ancient zither: in order to use it as a bow instrument and produce various sounds by shortening the strings, a fingerboard was placed between the sound-box and the upper transversal bar of the zither.

In the 10th and 11th centuries the rote was widely used in all of central Europe, as testified by iconography. It was superseded by the vielle in the 12th century.

Already quite early on, small instruments were played by holding against the left shoulder or the breast and not only on the knees!

As from the 12th century there appeared a slightly more deeply cut-out form similar to the modern guitar and representing the last phase of the evolution of the vielle. This instrument was already predominant during the Middle Ages, probably because it was easy to handle, it had a vast sound range, and all the notes of the scale could be played relatively easily.

The number of strings soon grew from one or two to three or four. As early as the beginning of the 11th century the classical form of the five-stringed vielle came into being and remained until the 16th century. Little by little ribs were introduced to facilitate the use of the bow; the plaque to which the strings were fitted, characteristic of the plucked stringed instruments, was replaced by a separate tailpiece and bridge, more appropriate for bowed instruments. Thus gradually the transition was made from the stringed instrument of the Middle Ages to the Renaissance viol, equipped at first with a round opening that was eventually transformed into two crescent-shaped sound holes.

Following a series of combinations of the two primitive types, three other families of instruments appeared before 1500: the viola da gamba (viol held on or between the player’s knees), the lira da braccio (played with a bow) and the viola da braccio (held against the shoulder). It is from the viola da braccio that the VIOLIN evolved.

The viola da braccio resulted from reducing the number of strings of the vielle to three or four, adopting the pegbox and the lateral pegs of the rebec as well as the tuning in fifths, which is most convenient for small arm instruments as it allows the use of four fingers, thus increasing both the range and the manoeuvrability. It should be noted that the ribs are much lower than in the viola da gamba, and the cut-out becomes increasingly marked. As for the two sound holes, which at the beginning were C or crescent-shaped, they soon adopted the form of an ƒ as in the modern violin.

Thus, with the passing of the centuries, the violin, properly speaking, took form. As we have seen, the origins of the violin are several and varied; each of its parts is the outcome of a more or less complex evolutionary process whose beginnings are often difficult to determine; each of its parts, therefore, has its own history. An instrument with a rather chaotic family tree, the violin is an entity encompassing many destinies in a single instrument...
> Introduction


Let us take a look at the violin from a more technical point of view: when a string is made to vibrate by rubbing or plucking, it communicates a frequency to the surrounding air. When these vibrations reach the tympanum (eardrum), they are perceived as sound. Without a medium (air or water), sound cannot be propagated...
1. Sound
2. Acoustics
3. Chords and noise
> 1. Sound


Sound is a wave characterised by over-pressure - i.e. an excess of particles - at one point and a lack of particles at another point. It is a longitudinal vibration of the air that is propagated step by step.


Propagation of a sound emitted in the air by a bell.

The sound perceived depends on two main things:

- The tension and the length of the string that determines the fundamental frequency at which the string vibrates. By "stopping" a string, i.e. placing a finger on it and thus changing its length, the violinist can modify the vibrating frequency. If the finger is placed at a whole fraction of the length of the string, the vibration produces a note in harmony with the fundamental note. This principle was discovered by Pythagoras already two thousand years ago.


The various harmonics of a string.

- The way in which the violist rubs the string with the bow. The string not only undergoes a transversal and a longitudinal vibration by being tightened and then released, it also undergoes a torsion according to the force behind the rubbing, which modifies the timbre of the instrument.


Example of a transversal vibration.


Example of a longitudinal vibration.

Of course the sound perceived by the listener depends on the timbre of the instrument itself which in turn depends on the form of the resonant box (the main part of the violin) as well as on the type of wood and varnish used.

The violin is capable of generating a great variety of sounds. It can produce very sharp sounds when the length of a string is reduced by pressing a finger down on it. Moreover, as it is up to the violinist to create the sound - rather than to select a predefined sound as with the piano - the range is unlimited. All the charm of the violin lies therein - but so does the difficulty in playing it!
> 2. Acoustics


Let us have a look at the principles involved in the formation of sound. They may be defined as follows:


Curve representing a 3 Hz frequency.

- The period expresses the distance between two crests of a wave thus determining the pitch of the sound perceived.

- The frequency represents the number of oscillations per second, generally expressed in hertz (Hz). The higher the frequency, the sharper the sound. The human ear perceives those sounds whose frequency lies between the infrasounds (< 20 Hz) and the ultrasounds (> 20 kHz); the latter is reduced with age. Only certain animals, such as bats, are sensitive to ultrasounds.

- The amplitude determines the power of the sound. It is the maximum elongation of the sound wave. The greater the amplitude, the louder the sound.

It should be noted that the amplitude of the vibration decreases with the distance, for the energy of the wave is distributed in an increasing volume. It should also be noted that when a wave is canalised in a cylindrical tube (as in the flute) or by a reflector (such as the belly of the violin) the amplitude is scarcely diminished. This explains why we can hear sound in a tunnel or in a subway station so well. It is the principle used by the violin to amplify the sound and direct it to the listeners!

That is just some of what is at that site.
Here is more sites:
http://www.sprengerviolins.com/e/violin_history.htm
http://xenia.media.mit.edu/~schoner/presentations/GE/sld036.htm

http://www.gussetviolins.com/earlyhistory.htm

http://musiced.about.com/od/beginnersguide/a/halloween.htm