Strings, standing waves and harmonics
How do we make musical sounds? To make a sound , we need something that vibrates. If we want to make musical notes you usually need the vibration to have an almost constant frequency: that means stable pitch. We also want a frequency that can be easily controlled by the player. In electronic instruments this is done with electric circuits or with clocks and memories. In non-electronic instruments, the stable, controlled vibration is produced by a standing wave.

Articulation and vibrato on the violin
Different bowing gestures or articulations give the violin a range of different sounds. The differences are chiefly in the transient sounds at the beginning and end of the notes, and in the envelope: the way the sound varies over time. These are illustrated with sound files and oscillograms.

ASA Summer School 2009
The Australian String Academy - Our upcoming Summer School will be held at the Sydney Conservatorium in January 2009, in the heart of the Sydney Harbour. ASA has invited four stellar international string personalties - Zakhar Bron (Russia) for violin, Nobuko Imai (Switzerland) for viola, Hans Jensen (USA) for cello, and Joel Quarrington (Canada) for bass.

Sergio Peresson