1. Which string makes the buzz, is it only one or four of them?

2. If it is all the way up the string or only few notes. Check for the unraveled winding on the core, change the string if it is the case.

3. If you hear the buzz only on higher positions that can mean that the string is bumping into the grooves of the fingerboard. Reshooting the fingerboard will eliminate the buzz.

4. Sometimes people forget to take little tubes which float around at the tailpiece end on some strings. Those little tubes may cause the buzz even when they are in use in the bridge notches because they are sticking out too far into the vibrating length of the string.

5. Check the accessories: chinrest clearance at the tailpiece, tailpiece distance above the top plate, the screw legs of the chinrest, a sliding mute, loose fine tuners, loose fine tuner screws or maybe the fingerboard have come unglued at the base of the neck.

6. Other buzzes can be caused by shirt buttons, zippers jewelry, metal music stands, something having come loose inside the frog, incompatibility of the instrument and the bow resulting in a lot of surface noise when you bow, or just something else vibrating somewhere in the room.

7. Most frequently buzzes are caused by loose purfling, especially in the older violins which have overcome lots of changing humid-dry cycles and have ed.

8. All seams must be checked thoroughly if you still hear the buzz after all fittings were taken off. The best way to find unglued spot is to tap gently with the knuckles all around the perimeter.

9. on the older instrument must be examined carefully because they even after repair work quite often reappear again.

10. Decorative fittings such as gold mounted collars on boxwood pegs or mother-of-pearl inlays on the tailpiece or other places can be the reason way you hear the buzz.

So, where to begin and what to do? Get someone like your teacher, who can also hear the buzz, to aid you. You play a note so that it buzzes constantly while the other person should then firmly touch everything that could possibly be the reason of the buzz. Hopefully, you can identify the buzz. Try playing the instrument with a different bow, just as an experiment. When you find the thing write down precisely what you have noticed and go to the repair shop as soon as possible. Once you get there, show the repairperson exactly what causes the buzz and how you got it to stop. It will prevent him from guessing and save his time and your money. Good luck buzz hunting!

Birute

…Researchers used computed tomography, commonly known as CT scans, to measure the density of the wood in both Cremonese and modern violins. The violins were scanned at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, using a multi-detector row CT scanner manufactured by Siemens, a company member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). According to a research article released by the Public Library of Science ONE, the 3-D image results produced from the scan reveal that Cremonese violins are created from wood that is unusually uniform and highly dense. The modern violins, conversely, were made from wood that was uneven in density…

Source

Thank goodness - the secret is unveiled! Being a violin maker I agree that to make a nice violin we need to start with careful selection of tone wood. But do you remember how often the secret of Cremonese violins was said to lie in the lost recipe of varnish? I wish it was so. Trust me - the are more secrets to be unveiled.

Birute

To make a violin, take the wood and carve away all that is not the violin

That’s simple. That’s true. The tricky thing is - how to know what is not the violin?

However, at least the main question remains:

What it is a violin?

It is really impossible to find a question to this so simple (from the first sight) question. Violin is really so multifaceted item. I was excited with so artistic and insightful violin (not a violin making) explanation:

That’s not the simple, straightforward question it seems.

Just to say “a musical instrument” is to miss the beauty: the scroll carved like a curled fern; the flame-figured wood of the back and sides; fittings of ebony, bone and mahogany; inlay that traces the feminine shape like a fine, flush little river; the grain of the top as lustrous as a lover’s hair. Call it “a beautiful object,” though, and you’ll miss the history: centuries of craft and experience, the hands through which it passed, the thickets of misadventure, intrigue and accident through which it had to last, and the continents it had to cross before reaching you. Call it “a piece of history” and you’ll have missed the music of Bach and Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms, Paganini and Debussy, Bartok and Scriabin, Copland and Thompson, not to mention Stephane Grappelli, Bill Monroe and Turlough O’Carolan — all the love songs and battle cries and hymns wrung from it when a bow met its strings. Call it “art” and you’ve missed the science: the extraordinary balance of tensions, meeting in an acoustical object so finely tuned by centuries of rigorous study that it can push music to every corner of a cavernous concert hall, even shatter glass.

The violin is a moving target, a question that rounds on itself like a Mobius strip’s figure 8: an artwork, a text, a vector of creation, a long experiment in physics — all of it, but none of it. None, that is, without hands that know how to hold it, play it, read it — even to crack it open if need be — and know, too, how to conjure it new from planks of wood, from chemistry and numbers.

Is this explanation helpful? It really tells nothing about removing what is not the violin. Nothing about tools, molds, purflings, varnishing etc. However, everybody should realize well in advance, what he or she is going to make (create).

There are lots of violin making books, available even online. There are lots (well over ten) violin making schools worldwide.

Unfortunately, there is no one - best violin making - handbook, containing all the necessary information. Fortunately, some different details are described in different violin making manuals.

Unfortunately, learning at a violin making school takes three to four years. Anybody, to be accepted, must be at least 18 years old. Complete course price at such a school is $50,000 US or more. Fortunately, still there exists a small probability to learn at least some basic aspects of a craft without studying at the school.

These are dark and bright sides of learning violin making art and craft. Luckily, nothing is impossible, when a dedicated person has an overwhelming desire and permanent persistency. I can not overestimate, how important these personal characteristics are. Some basic features are shortly described in articles Violin Maker’s Philosphy and Violin Maker’s Thrusts.

Certainly, those characteristics certainly are not sufficient to become a good violin maker, but creates definitely good starting position. And nobody knows, how long that journey can last and where it will finish. Sometimes rewards can be significant and favourably changing whole life.

So which strings are the best? There are no one-size-fits-all answers. Each violin reacts differently to different brands of strings. One type of string may sound amazing on one instruments but sour, dull or too bright on another violin.

Synthetic core strings are by far the most popular type of strings, because they are more stable than fickle gut strings but have most of the tonal colors of gut strings. It is believed that Synthetic Core Strings have the warm sound qualities of gut, but are much more stable pitch. Gut core strings are regarded as having the best tone, but they need to be tuned more often and react to changes in the weather. Steel strings are generally for those who prefer the stable sound and wants them to last longer. Strings made of steel core have a direct, clear sound, and few overtones, although those that are wound can have more interesting overtones. They are much more stable in pitch than gut.

Though somebody choose strings from different brands it is not always recommended to less experienced players because of the different characteristics.

My mother’s father found this violin while cleaning out a house in 1961. Inside the violin, there is a label that reads “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1716″ followed by a symbol. I would like to know the value and whether it is authentic.

Thank you, B. P., Melrose, Ill.

Dear B. P.:

Even though no one is sure of the exact month and day, Antonio Stradivari is said to have been born in 1644. Some believe he might have learned his craft from Nicolo Amanti, but again, no one is sure and this detail is hotly contested.

In any event, Stradivari set up his own shop in 1680 in the town of Cremona, Italy, as a “luthier” - or maker of stringed instruments. We tend to think of Stradivari as being a maker of violins, but he also created cellos, violas, guitars, mandolins, and there is even one extant example of a small harp (he is said to have made three).

His earlier instruments (made from 1680 to 1700) are thought to be inferior to his later pieces, and the so-called “Golden Age” of Stradivari-made stringed instruments is said to be from 1700 to 1720 (he died on Dec. 18, 1737). Stradivari used spruce, willow, and maple to make his pieces and he treated the wood with a variety of minerals including “bianca,” which is a varnish composed of egg white, gum Arabic, and honey.

Over the years since the master made them, these instruments have developed so that they produce a superior tone that many have tried to emulate.

Because of this superior tone and workmanship, musicians want to own a Stradivarius and they are willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for examples made before 1700 and millions for those made during the 1700 to 1720 golden age.

In 2006, a Stradivarius (the Latinized form of Stradivari’s surname) known as “The Hammer,” which was made in 1707, sold at auction for $3,544,000. It is reported that other Stradivarius instruments have sold privately for more.

Okay, what are the chances of B. P.’s violin being an authentic “Stradivarius?” worth big bucks? The answer is simple — absolutely none whatsoever. This is a Stradivarius model violin that was probably made in Germany at the turn of the 20th century or even a bit later.

Violins such as this one were largely made for students to learn on, and besides the models with Stradivarius labels there are other examples that are named after famous early violin makers and have spurious paper labels with those names inside the body. These instruments are very common. In our first appraisal clinic many years ago, we saw 18 of these in one day in a small, rural Southern city.

There was a time when all genuine Stradivarius instruments were accounted for, but now we see that a few of them have been stolen and their whereabouts are currently unknown. So care should be taken if offered a violin with a Stradivarius label — it is either a fake, or if it is genuine, it might very well have been stolen.

The value of “Stradivarius model” violins such as the one owned by B. P. is generally in the vicinity of $300 or less if they are in relatively poor condition. The value can approach and slightly exceed $1,000 if the violin in question is in tiptop shape and can be played in a serious orchestra.

By HELAINE FENDELMAN and JOE ROSSON

(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of the “Price It Yourself” (HarperResource, $19.95)

Growing can be a pain, especially when you’re a violinist.
Napier Central School’s Olivia Unac, 10, is rapidly outgrowing her three quarter sized violin, and needs a much larger replacement if she’s to reach her lofty goals as a musician.”My arms are getting too long,” Olivia, who has been learning the violin for three years, said.

“They get so crunched up, the bow can only move about a little bit.”

The result, she said, was often a less than inspiring sound: “Sometimes the bow touches the violin and it squeaks.”

But not for much longer - one of 10 Napier City Council youth development fund scholarship recipients, Olivia received $200 towards a full-size violin at an awards ceremony attended by mayor Barbara Arnott last Friday. full article

This small exctract from the local papers could cheer the superficial reader but the deeper glance at the musical education makes me feel sad. The best place to start the topic is to realize what type of art is music.

“Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. Elements of sound as used in music are pitch (including melody and harmony), rhythm (including tempo and meter), and sonic qualities of timbre, articulation, dynamics, and texture.

The creation, performance, significance and even the definition of music, varies according to culture and social context. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions and performances to improvisational or aleatoric forms. For purposes of discussion and exploration of the topic, music is divided into genres and sub-genres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often unclear and/or controversial. Within “the arts”, music can be classified as a performing art, a fine art, or an auditory art form.

Music may also involve generative forms in time through the construction of patterns and combinations of natural stimuli, principally sound. Music may be used for artistic or aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, ceremonial or religious purposes and by many composers purely as an academic instrument for study.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music

So it is becoming a bit complicated. Well what do we need to enable music to thrive in the society - cultural, political, social and economical background. Coming back to the extract from local papers (Napier, New Zealand) I think the education system, surroundings and community is not able to produce the outstanding musicians. Just try figure out what is necessary to produce a good musician.
- cultural background (probably family tradition)
- affordable and accessible educational system (highly skilled teachers)
- community supporting the art and artists (musicians need to be able to make decent living)
- instruments for making the musical sounds (quality instruments can not be produced for $200)

Other excerpt about what was called Russian school of music (also from local magazine “Soundpost” 2004 N9).

Each week, all children in these schools have two one-hour lesson on the main instrument, a one-hour piano lesson, one hour of theory and aural, a one-hour musicianship lesson, two hours of orchestra, and one-hour ensemble practice. In every term the student has to play one movement of a concerto, two movements of a sonata, two contrasted pieces and a separate technical exam (scales and two studies). That is the minimum for the student.

I want to add that such schedule is not for Academy students but just for intermediate school and College students.

Fingers crossed?
Birute

Over the years I had heard rumors of poor working conditions in China. This is certainly not the case at the two facilities I visited. The Eastman building was originally a clothing factory. The rooms are huge with large windows running the entire length of the walls. Workers, wearing identical Eastman String jackets or aprons to protect street clothes (the women sport high-heeled toe-crunching shoes, fake Versace, Gucci and Armani handbags resting on the floor), sit at individual tables or desks with additional lighting from low hanging florescent fixtures. The rooms are airy, sunny and overlook courtyards where willow trees and blooming roses grow. Though there are 40-50 workers in the room there was total silence; yet a feeling of cooperative camaraderie along with concentration prevailed. What was shocking was the incredible speed and precision with which the makers worked. I watched a woman cut a violin f-hole in 10 minutes! Friedgood smiles: ‘The work ethic here is really scary. Our people come in early and leave late. Even though Saturday is optional most are here six days a week.’ Employees are paid by the piece and the better the craftsmanship the more they are paid. Wages are between $150 and $200 per month. This seems very low, but the cost of living in China is far below that of the West. (In Xi’an we had a fabulous 16-course meal in the restaurant’s private dining room for eight. The bill was about $25.)

I am surprised to learn that many of the workers come from rural areas. Master violin makers are responsible for teaching each part of instrument making. Family members come to apprentice. ‘These are carved by a master who has made only scrolls for fifteen years.’ Xue points to a cello scroll with inlaid ebony. ‘He has three apprentices who work under his guidance for one or two years. I prefer training youngsters and teach them the correct way from the beginning. In China often families can’t afford for their children to attend high school. I give them a craft and they can earn good money.’ Picking up a bow I tune a cello, sit on a nearby stool and play a movement of a Bach Suite. A dozen or so apron-clad workers gather around and applaud with genuine appreciation. I am left with the impression this is the first time they have ever heard the instrument they spend thousands of hours creating. The wood has a magnificent flame, the tone is big, rich and responsive and the price was right, so I bought it.

Laurinel Owen

China definitely has power to change the lifestyle Western countries used to, the power to overload the world with goods which traditionally belonged to other cultures. I agree that there will be new Stradivarius born and bread in China. Statistics speaks for itself. From its 40-some factories, a violin rolls off human assembly lines on average of one a minute, every day, every week — more than 600,000 a year.

Just wanted to remind you that it is impossible to craft fine violin knowing perfectly well but only one fragment of the whole process. Though the violin is compiled from less than 60 parts it is a very complicated vibrating system. I understand that only master violin maker who is in charge of the whole process and has the goal of creating ideal sound can eventually collect enough experience and reach the task.

Birute

In 1992 the Vienna Dorotheum fanfaronaded the auctioning of a `rare master violin’ in a specially printed flyer accompanying their catalogue, complete with glossy colour pictures.22 The violin was labelled Joseph Guarneri filius Andreae, Cremona 1714. The bidding for this `Altitalienische Meistergeige’ was to start at 800 000 Austrian schillings (400 000 pounds sterling), representing one third of its value, and was expected to reach two million schillings (a million pounds).

To confirm the identification of the violin, experts were brought in; all were in agreement — that is, all but one. Violin-maker Jacob Saunders identified the `1714′ old Italian master violin as a new instrument by the hand of British violin-maker Roger Hargrave who specialises in copies. When Hargrave heard about this, he offered to fly over and confirm Saunders’s identification. The so-called Guarneri was withdrawn from the auction. It was indeed a modern Hargrave copy of Guarneri; Hargrave himself (of course) had never intended any fraud or deception. Despite Hargrave’s testimony, some of the experts remained obstinate in their original confirmation! Unanswered questions remain: What was that label doing there? And why were no criminal charges laid and investigated?

The other story highlights new names but still has the same subject-matter.

The Werro trial Another notorious example of the difficulties inherent in a criminal case is the trial of the well-known and previously highly respected violin dealer and expert Henry Werro in Bern in 1958.103 Werro was accused of fraud in the course of his work committed through the sale of old stringed instruments. He was charged with having sold nineteen violins, one cello and three bows that were either completely or partly fake.

The Italian Chamber of Commerce constituted a commission of experts charged with the investigation of old stringed instruments. The Association of Swiss Violin Makers also formed a commission of experts. The experts of both commissions investigated a number of violins that had been sold for 100 000 Swiss francs or more and that appeared to be fakes. Werro’s objections to the experts led the jury to appoint another five experts that had to give `Oberexpertisen’.

One of the highlights of the trial was the performance by one Albert Phillips-Hill, a very famous violin expert of the old and prestigious firm W. E. Hill and Sons in London. (The firm sadly `folded’ in 1992.) He stated in court that Werro was a first class violin-maker, trader and expert, and was highly esteemed throughout the realm of violin expertise and trade. Phillips-Hill himself of course also qualified as an expert witness. When asked about a violin that was ascribed to Ruggieri, Hill said that certain characteristics of the instrument pointed to the master. A violin that Werro had sold for 120 000 Swiss francs as a 1716 Stradivarius was acknowledged by Hill to be the work of Stradivarius but subject to the reservation that the top could possibly be of a later date. Another violin which Werro had sold for 80 000 Swiss franks as a violin by Carlo Bergonzi, and which had been labelled a fake by the `Oberexperten’, was described by Hill as an original by the master from the year 1732. Hill later admitted that determining the specific year of manufacture in the first place rests on the date on the label!

Later in the trial Hill was heard again. Hill’s opinions conflicted with those of the experts appointed by the bench. The experts were of the opinion that a certain violin was a Cappa that had been `promoted’ to a Guarneri. Having previously held the opinion that the instrument was definitely a Cappa possessing all the characteristics of an instrument built by the master, Hill could now not remember ever having seen the violin. The so-called Bergonzi was also an object of conflict. The experts appointed by the bench furnished evidence that the violin was a fake; the varnish had been artificially given an old appearance with black dye; the f-holes had been `corrected’; and the bottom showed a superficial and hasty finish, not expected from the meticulous craftsman that Bergonzi had been. The value of the instrument, in their appraisal, would at the very highest be a twentieth of the selling price of 80 000 Swiss francs. Hill persisted that the violin was the work of Carlo Bergonzi.

5 CONCLUSION: WHAT NOW? AND WHY?
The number of fake works of art and violins on the market is increasing and one can expect this trend to continue104 — the market forces of supply and demand will see to that. For various reasons the dupe or victim of art and violin- related crimes is not always eager to lodge a complaint. It is also clear that our criminal justice system is not ideally suited to curb the growing incidence of these crimes — the difficulty of proving one’s case, especially when having to rely on the precarious opinion-based evidence of experts, is but one of many obstacles facing the prosecution. Where then should one turn for an answer? And why?
The purchaser could buy only from reputable dealers and thus minimise the risk of buying a fake, although even experts can be (and often are) deceived. If the artist is still alive, the buyer could contact the artist to authenticate the artefact. Knowledge is a very important weapon; buyers should become inquisitive and should do their homework before investing in any work of art. The expert, the academic, the dealer, the museum industry and, very important, the media (TV) could all play a major role in the fight against art and violin-related crimes of dishonesty, by informing and educating the public.

L C Coetzee & Jan-Hendrik van Rooyen

A committee headed by Mark O’Connor presented the award to the 12-year-old bluegrass and Americana fiddler at his Strings Conference in San Diego, California on July 27.

The violin was made by Jonathan Cooper of Maine in memory of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reported murdered in 2002.

Pearl was an accomplished violinist and ardent music lover who had dreams of becoming a violinist before studying at Stanford University. He later played in fiddle bands, once leading an Atlanta-based group that opened for the The Kinks in 1993, and performed Bach at his wedding.

“He was always a music man,” the Journal proclaimed on the day after his death was announced.

The award, established in 2003, is given annually to two rising young musicians, and grants its recipients use of Cooper’s specially made violin for one year.

“By passing the instrument through so many hands and playing past musical borders, we hope that the beautiful sound of these violins will help inspire listeners to live in harmony, on a peaceful planet,” says the luthier on his website.

Smith, who plans on giving many concerts on the Pearl Violin, is in the midst of a burgeoning career.

At age 10, she became the youngest fiddler invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Some prominent bluegrass musicians with whom she has collaborated include Jim Brock, Carl Jackson, Jesse McReynolds, James Monroe, Snider, Marty Stuart and Rhonda Vincent.

“I am speechless. I can only hope I can give through my music a little of what Daniel Pearl gave through his life,” said Smith on receiving the award.

“This year will be a great opportunity to be a part of something much bigger than I am.”* * *

Thousands of musicians in 37 countries are performing concerts this week in honor of late journalist Daniel Pearl, who was also an accomplished musician. In 2002, Pearl, a Wall Street Journal correspondent, was kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Pakistan.

In his memory, the Pearl family has established Daniel Pearl Music Day. His mother, commentator Ruth Pearl, recalls her son’s love of music and shares family recordings of Daniel playing the violin.

Birute

Why strive to be an artist? In this brief conspectus I will try to answer the question concerning the art of the violin making and the art of “crafting” the sound. Every violin carries with it something of the soul of the creator – luthier – through the application of his experience, understanding of the best “possible” sound creating rules, personal artistic eye. Therefore lutherie is an art and manufacture of violins in factories can never surpass the artist – violin maker. A production line with standardized process makes the cost of the instrument to be very much affordable to “beginners” but they do not and cannot achieve the tonal quality of the instrument. A violin made in a factory by many workmen will lack the soul of luthier – the creative spirit which carries us away in lutherie just as sculpture, painting and all other art.

So why strive to be an artist? There are certainly easier ways to make a living, and there are better ways to spend your time. The snappish talker will add that you can buy “a truck” of violins made in Asia and you will have eventually to resign from what is not “economical” and “profitable”. The “golden” age of violin making has left the modern violin maker struggling with “antique rivals” who are according to instrument dealers are always better even when they are worse. The auditorium of the classical music became dauntingly thin and to fill the hall with enthusiastic classical music connoisseurs became a challenge for the orchestra managers. So the question stands for every artisan: can you support your passion and sacrifice comfort by letting yourself follow the passion of creating when the end results of the effort are not at all satisfying? Why on earth would anyone want to do this? Why does someone continue with an activity or profession when a sense of failure or disappointment with the outcome is so common? I do think that there is only one reason that we preserve in our efforts: we love the feeling that the process of creating instills within us. It is the travel and not the destination that we love. Professional makers or people just doing it as a hobby feel the same inner reward when we are in the process of creating the value which in the hands of proficient will produce other miracle – music.

Birute