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Updated: May 22, 2026

Dendrochronological Dating and Provenancing of String Instruments

Dendrochronological Dating and Provenancing of String Instruments

Published on: October 6, 2022

Violin bow vibrations.

Colin E Gough¹

¹School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. profgough@googlemail.com

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

|May 8, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

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This study analyzes violin bow vibrations using finite element analysis and measurements. It explores how bow stick modes influence sound production in bowed instruments.

Area of Science:

Acoustics
Musical Instrument Physics
Vibrational Analysis

Background:

Understanding violin bow dynamics is crucial for analyzing bowed instrument sound.
The interaction between the bow, string, and instrument is complex and influenced by bow properties.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the modal frequencies and bending mode shapes of a violin bow.
To model the admittance at the bow-string interface and understand the influence of bow vibrations on sound.

Main Methods:

Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to model the bow's vibrational behavior.
Direct measurements were conducted on the bow, both with and without tensioned bow hair.
Analytic models were employed to simulate the admittance at critical contact points.

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Main Results:

FEA and measurements characterized the modal frequencies and bending modes of the bow.
The study modeled the admittance presented to the bow hairs and the string.
The influence of low-frequency stick modes on bouncing modes was demonstrated.

Conclusions:

The vibrational dynamics of the violin bow, particularly stick modes, can influence the low-frequency behavior and potentially the sound of bowed instruments.
This research provides insights into the physics of bowed string sound production.