Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sing to Your Violin

Hey! This is a fun parlor trick and will teach you something about your violin!
Put your mouth near the f holes on your violin. Now sing a scale. Do you notice a single pitch that resonates/vibrates more than the others?

Now pluck your D string. Same note! (Or close.) Assuming you're using a full size violin.

Let's get technical (not too technical, I know it's mainly musicians reading this!):

The fundamental frequency of an object is related to its volume. (Whether within a room, an instrument, etc). For full size violins,
this fundamental frequency is close to the D of the open D string, about 294 HZ. It creates a greater vibration than other frequencies.

This is one of the vibrations that determines how your violin sounds and works, particularly for the lower two strings- D and G.


The larger of an area, the lower the resonating note will be.
The smaller of an area, the higher the resonating note will be.

If you're a cellist or violist, try the same singing action. The fundamental frequency, the note that vibrates the body the most, will be lower in pitch. This leads us into our next blog- For Violas, Size Matters.

By the way, fundamental frequencies exist in absolutely everything. If you would like to see the fundamental frequency of a bridge in action, here is a link for you!

1 comment:

  1. I thought I had always noticed the D note seemed especially resonant, but I didn't know there was a reason for it!

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