Modern vibration measurement techniques for bowed string instruments

Modern modal analysis techniques along with companion finite element simulations offer a normal mode (and hence ultimately materials-based) approach to our understanding of the violin vibrations and accompanying acoustic output that is new in the long history of violin research. With the experimental techniques presently available it is possible to at least envision how to elicit the four material elements essential to creating an accurate, violin-specific solid model: substructure-specific density (via CT scans),17elastic moduli (via EMA mode frequencies—possibly substructure specific if the violin is dissembled), global damping (again via EMA results), and an accurate shape (reconstructed from a multi-slice CT scan).17 These elements—combined—are the heart of the VIOCADEAS project. However, only time will tell whether they will provide the essential key to understanding a violin’s quality through quantitative characterizations.