There are two types of stringed instruments: acoustic and electric. First, lets look at the acoustic. All acoustic stringed instruments have two basic elements: string(s) and a body. The strings of an instrument, if played alone, would make no noticeable noise. But when it is attached to a resonating body (one that carries the vibrations well) it can then be easily noticed. Strings are made out of wound cat gut, fine silver or aluminum wire. For the best sound, a string must be chosen that is able to support high tension and creates high friction when played with a bow (Hutchins, 1962).
        How the violin is constructed is also very important. The violin has five important parts: the neck, the bridge, the f-hole, and the body (see fig 1). The neck holds the strings at the top of the instrument and aligns them with the bridge and is also pressed on in order to shorten the distance between the origin of vibration and therefore raising the pitch. The body takes up most of the instrument's volume and is the second most important part. It is made out of thin wood (usually maple, pear, or sycamore) that takes the vibrations from the string and resonates as well as vibrating the air inside. The waves are then forced out of the f-hole (the opening in the top) and into the surrounding air. The frequency of the tone created depends on the volume of the air in the body as well as the size of the f-hole. To alter the tone by one whole note (do to re), you must either increase the f-holes area by 60% or decrease the air volume in the body by 20% (Hutchins, 1962). Since the amount of air space as well as the perfect size of the f-hole are vital, makers of stringed instruments, especially of the violin, must make these measurements as exact as possible. In fact, the resonance of the body of a good violin should be about 440 Hz (the same tone a piano is tuned to). The type of wood is also very important. Since the wood in the body of a violin is only from 1/4 to 5/63 inches thick, it must be extremely strong (in both tension and compression) not to collapse under the pressure exerted by the strings, which comes out to be about 220 N. But it also must be flimsy enough to carry the vibrations from the strings. To fit these requirements, old growth works best, and violin makers often use age pieces of maple or sycamore. But since the wood couldn't take all the pressure from the strings, two parts were inserted to keep the wood up: a sound post and a brass bar. The brass bar, really made of spruce, was origianlly placed directly under the center of the bridge to distribute the weight, but was eventualy moved directly under the leg of the bridge. To support the other leg, a wooden post (now called the sound post) was inserted, and distributed its pressure between the front and back plates of the body.
        The most important part of a violin is the bridge. It alone takes the weight of the strings and directs the force into the sound post and brass bar, which distribute the weight. But not only does it keep the body from collapsing, it also carries the vibrations from the strings into the wood to create useful sound. An electric violin has an magnetic pole that acts much like a bridge, which transmits these vibrations into an electrical currents which can be amplified and projected.
        Knowing these things has helped us create new and better sounding types of violins.

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