Violin Forum/Message Board

[John Cadd]

Russian Bell Makers --Blagovest Bells is an interesting site that gives another way of looking at Vibrations.
If you read this site you learn there are similarities between bells and other musical instruments. The Russian way of making a bell is to cast it after all the adjustments are made. Once it is released from the cast it is left to cool for a week and that`s it. No other tuning or adjustments are done.The Western way is to cut it to an accurate shape and a specific note. For some reason the Russian bells sound mellower and more individual. They are used as a rhythm instrument rather than a melody instrument. So the tune up after casting is not done. One parrallel with some violins is that a larger size Russian bell can have a higher note than a smaller one. There is a parrallel with this mentioned in the Sam Zygmuntovitch article in the Strad --July 2011 about the Plowden Guarnerius violin which has a smaller volume (1.83 litres ) than Willemotte Stradivarius ( 2.04 litres ) but the Guarnerius sounds deeper when the lower notes are played. The Bell site shows the notes and overtones generated by a bell on the music stave but the note we hear does not appear there. The ear in some way generates the note that we hear ,subjectively. So there is one interesting parrallel. I was also drawn to the cross section sketches of three ancient bells to notice how the bells were tapered and thicknessed in softer metal . I wondered how similar the process of leaving the bell untouched after casting ( with all sorts of possible variations in thickness ) was with violin backs and bellies having varying wood thickness and no clear rule to show how or why these violins achieve their tone. Anyway I just mentioned this as the site has some very poetic ways to talk about bells in general. It`s good for your souls to look back so far into our past.
I forgot to mention the other idea the bellmakers had.
The Perfect Bell is the idea of one with 7 overtones (I think ) that would be very similar to the Human Voice. That would be an admirable thing for a violin maker to aim for.
Look up the section on Strike Notes for bells and then follow the lead onto virtual and spectral pitches and bell acoustics. It`s all about how our ears work.

[Dave Chandler]

I think you've hit on something there. If we strive for perfection in the shape, symmetry, perfect curves, graduation and arching, you just may get a tone that is so clear that it is actually colorless. It may be that there are just so many variables in a violin that you get these wonderful overtones and harmonics that actually give it a unique voice.
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo

[John Cadd]

Dave There was a program about the Art of Russia yesterday and though the churches and paintings were shown , they forgot to hear the bells. Some small ones were jangling for a second but they were neglected. The whole village would join in the work. of casting them . I have been learning some very elementary casting methods with plaster recently and the inside / outside part of casting was doing my head in. It`s 3D in reverse.