VSA - Oberlin Acoustics Workshop 2004

(Information for 2005 Workshop not yet available)

The VSA-Oberlin Acoustics Workshop is a five-day, intensive seminar for violinmakers wishing to incorporate the tools and techniques of acoustical research into their workshop practice. It provides an opportunity to collaborate both with fellow makers and some of today’s foremost researchers in studying the most intriguing and pressing acoustical questions that face the working violinmaker.

We are excited to have two new faculty this year – Martin Schleske and Samuel Zygmuntowicz – both celebrated in their field, and both willing to share their many ideas and considerable experience. They will join returning faculty members George Bissinger, Joseph Curtin, Norman Pickering, Oliver Rodgers, and Fan Tao. This third workshop assumes a basic knowledge of the material presented in previous years. If you are a new participant, material will be sent to you ahead of time for study.

In response to participant feedback, we will emphasize hands-on experimentation this year. Participants will divide into teams, each of which will undertake an in-depth acoustical analysis of a particular violin or viola. This will be followed by specific acoustical interventions and then re-analysis. Samuel Zygmuntowicz will work with the teams in solving tonal problems presented by individual instruments. Joseph Curtin, Martin Schleske and Fan Tao will guide you through many fascinating topics in violin acoustics, moving back and forth between basic theory and workshop application. George Bissinger, Norman Pickering and Oliver Rodgers will be available to share their vast experiences in acoustical research. Mornings will be devoted to background theory, afternoons and evenings to practical application. Bring your tools! Get those problem instruments off the line and ready to sell!

Topics covered this year include:

Projection

Acousticians now have a reasonably clear understanding of why some instruments project better than others. Learn how materials, structure, and setup each contribute to projection.

Choosing Wood

Relatively simple and inexpensive means of measuring the acoustical properties of wood are now available. Find out about the advantages and pitfalls to using them, and explore the relationship between wood properties and the sound of the finished instrument.

Bridge Tuning

The bridge tends to filter out frequencies above its own first resonance, thus acting as a kind of treble control. Learn to build a computer-assisted bridge tuning rig, and how to tune the bridge in order to increase or decrease the brightness of an instrument.

The Bassbar Competition

Use your imagination and some basic engineering formulas to win the Bassbar Competition. The prize goes to the team whose bar most stiffens a flat wooden plate while adding no more a fixed amount of mass – a fun way to put into practice your understanding of the relationship between stiffness, mass, and resonance frequency.

Plate Tuning

Tap-tones can be easily monitored and, to some extent, controlled during graduation, yet there has been much debate about the meaning and validity of plate tuning. Learn how to use a computer to quickly measure tap-tones, and learn the usefulness of these tap-tones in arriving at intelligent graduations and in tracking changes in plate stiffness over time.

Measuring Violin Frequency Response with an Impact Hammer

Learn to use an impact hammer measurement system to analyze violin sound – and receive a “shopping-list” of the hardware and software needed to put together such a system in your own shop.

Room Acoustics

What kinds of rooms are best suited to evaluating violins? How can your workshop be modified for optimal acoustics? Explore some inexpensive methods and materials for making your shop a better place in which to study violin sound.

Modal Analysis

Modal analysis allows engineers to optimize the performance of everything from racecars to spacecraft. Discover how such researchers as Martin Schleske and George Bissinger use modal analysis to understand the inner workings of the violin – and how a simple modal analysis can be done with minimal equipment in your workshop.

Psychoacoustics

A successful instrument is to a large extent one which ‘co-operates’ with the hearing characteristics of both player and audience. A basic knowledge of psychoacoustics is crucial to understanding why some instruments are more successful than others.

F-Holes

Martin Schleske will present his latest research into f-holes.

Biographies

George Bissinger is Professor Physics at East Carolina University and Director of the Acoustics Laboratory. His principal research efforts concentrate on normal mode vibration and radiation analysis of quality rated violins, creating solid models with reliable material properties from CT scans, and investigating cavity mode radiation and corpus-cavity interactions.

Joseph Curtin, co-director, is a violinmaker, writer, and amateur acoustician. He has collaborated extensively with such researchers as Charles Besnainou, Xavier Boutillon, Martin Schleske, and Gabriel Weinreich. As a violinmaker, his interests range from exact reproductions of classical instruments to highly experimental violins and violas using alternative materials and architectures. Curtin is a Trustee and Contributing Editor to the Catgut Acoustical Society and a regular contributor to Strad magazine.

Norman Pickering was educated in electrical engineering at the Newark College of Engineering, as a professional musician at Julliard, and in acoustics at Columbia University. Beginning as a performer with symphony orchestras, he merged into sound recording and the development of recording and playback equipment, which led to research and development of musical instruments. His interest in violin acoustics has led to the construction of over 50 instruments.

Oliver Rodgers is a mechanical engineer and violin player who upon retirement became fascinated with the intricacies of making violins and understanding how they work in physical terms. He has been a Catgut Acoustical Society Trustee for many years and is a frequent contributor to the CAS Journal. In recent years he has worked with violinmaker Pamela Anderson on a series of “what-ifs” – collaborative experiments to study the tonal effects of various modifications to an instrument’s structure and setup.

Martin Schleske, a violinmaker and researcher living in Munich, Germany, developed the concept of “Tonal Copies” – a modal-analysis based approach to reproducing the acoustical characteristics of old instruments. His research has spanned a wide range of topics, from varnish to psychoacoustics, and he has developed numerous acoustically based strategies for setting up and adjusting instruments. Schleske is currently exploring innovative approaches to the craft, including alternative designs and materials. He is the co-author, with Joseph Curtin, of an ongoing series of articles on violin acoustics for Strad magazine.

Fan Tao, co-director, is Director of Research and Development at J. D’Addario & Company, where he works on bowed and guitar strings. He also collaborates with Norman Pickering on violin acoustics research. Mr. Tao is an accomplished violinist and violist and an avid chamber music player. He holds electrical engineering degrees from Caltech and Princeton University. He is a Trustee of the Catgut Acoustical Society and a Director of the Violin Society of America.

Samuel Zygmuntowicz, for several years an instructor at the VSA-Oberlin Violinmaking Workshop, is a violinmaker with a deep interest in practical acoustics. After working in New York with Rene Morel, he set up shop in Brooklyn, NY where he builds violins, violas and cellos for an international clientele. His designs and research, focusing on the interplay between tradition and innovation in violinmaking, are often featured in Strad Magazine. He also plays the violin, and has performed, toured and recorded with a variety of folk music ensembles.

Information

Date: Classes will be held July 5-9. Plan to arrive Sunday July 4, and depart Saturday July 10.

Place: Oberlin College. Oberlin is located 30 miles outside Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland International Airport is a 30-minute drive from Oberlin. Shuttle service to and from the airport is available.

Tuition: $600 for VSA members, $700 for non-VSA members. Contact the Violin Society of America at www.vsa.to or 845-452-7557 for membership information. A $200 deposit is due by April 1 to secure your reservation. The balance is due by June 1. Oberlin College will contact accepted participants for payment instructions.

Housing Fees: Most participants will stay in clean, comfortable student housing. $180 for single. $150 for a double per person. Nearby hotels and motels are also available.

Meals: All participants will share in a family-style home cooked dinner every night ($5 per meal). Nearby restaurants are available for breakfast and lunch.

Space in the workshop is limited. If you are interested in attending please contact Fan Tao (contact info below). If you are a new participant, please send contact information plus a summary of your background, interests, what you hope to learn, and how you can contribute to the workshop experience. Preference will be given to experienced violinmakers and those with unique experiences they can share with other participants.

Fan Tao J. D’Addario & Company 595 Smith Street Farmingdale, NY 11735 Fan.Tao@daddario.com 631-439-3270