On Jan 20, 2007, at 3:20 PM, John Howell wrote:
Part of the question here (and I do not know the answer) is whether what we call the "bass bar" does, in fact, need to be under the lowest string, or whether it is simply a rib or bracing against the tension of ALL the strings, which we call a "bass bar" simply because it normally IS under the lowest string? (Did that make any sense?!)
There's an awful lot of disagreement about exactly what the bass bar is supposed to do, but one thing it does for certain: it prevents the top of the instrument from collapsing under the pressure from the bridge (when strung). It is positioned asymmetrically because the soundpost supports one foot of the bridge while the bass bar supports the other. If a violin is strung left-handed, then the positions of the soundpost and bass bar have to be reversed (because the E string puts a lot more pressure on the bridge than the G string does).
Aside from its main function, the bass bar does affect the tone of the instrument, but exactly how and why is apparently a matter for debate. It does not however seem to be a matter of low vs. high notes.
Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press http://home.netcom.com/~kallisti/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
