John Chambers wrote:
>
> L. writes:
> | > I've learned to tune the e string of my fiddle a tiny bit sharp. The
> | > reason is that pressure of the bow tends to drive the pitch a bit
> | > flat, and this effect is stronger on the lighter strings.
> |
> | It may amuse you to know that on Fiddle_L a few months ago there was
> | discussion as to why bow pressure made the pitch go sharp - and people
> | talked about it increasing the tension in the strings etc. It seemed that
> | they didn't want to let reality get in the way of a good theory!
>
> Hmmm ... A bit of testing makes me suspect that I see what's going
> on. A simple test shows that increasing bow pressure makes the note
> go flat. Another simple test shows that increasing bow speed makes
> the note go sharp. My guess is that the discussion included a lot of
> people who didn't have enough control to be able to distinguish
> these. They probably have the subconscious rule that says "louder" =
> "faster" = "more pressure". Sorta like how most musicians link volume
> and speed, slowing down in quieter passages and speeding up in louder
> passages. If you speed up while increasing the pressure, you will
> just confuse the two effects.
>
> Part of why I'd guess this is the mention of increasing the tension
> in the strings. Speeding up the bow will definitely do this, since
> the string's momentum will carry it a bit farther past the point
> where the release occurs, causing a bit more stretching. Pressure
> wouldn't necessarily have this effect, though. It's true that
> pressure will stretch the string, but it will also increase the
> friction, with the result that the string will break free of the bow
> later, resulting in a lower frequency. The actual frequency is the
> rate of bow-string releases, of course, and is only indirectly
> related to things like stretching. The way in which the bow grabs and
> releases the string is a rather complex phenomenon ...
>
> To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to:
>http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Gee, I was going to try out some of that on the 100 year old fiddle my
grandfather made for my mother.
Unfortunatley I have to drive about 5 miles to some stables in the
Potomac Hunt Country and see if some of those white mares and stallions
can spare me a few of their tail feathers (I hope salt on them will
work, cause I can run very fast anymore). Just one strand on the bow
doesn't work very well.
Bruce Olson [ABCUSER resident curmudgeon, #2]
Old English, Irish and, Scots: popular songs, tunes, broadside
ballads at my website (no advs-spam, etc)- www.erols.com/olsonw
or click below <A href="http://www.erols.com/olsonw"> Click </a>
To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
