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As in the performance of music (and countless other fields) success in applied research depends mostly on diligence and only a little on inspiration. To put up a theory is an easy task, compared to the effort it takes to prove or deny it. And eventually it will often enough lead you to entirely unexpected and uncharted territory... Some examples of our theoretical and practical work: 1. The relevance of the sonic speed in a bow 2. The tuning of bows (and instruments) 3. The bow noise - or was it the strings? 4. Pain in hand and arm - caused by the players technique - or maybe by the bow? 1. The relevance of the sonic speed in a bow
But, this does not explain the big differences in the resonance quality we find in our bows. It also does not explain why quite often a musician prefers a wooden bow of a lower sonic speed over one with a higher figure. More thorough analysis showed us that it is actually the pattern of the fibers (both in wood or in composite sticks) that plays a decisive role on how a bow (or an instrument) resonates. 2. The tuning of bows (and instruments) Nowhere in all books regarding bow making you can find the "tuning" mentioned. Does that mean that it can not be configured - or would be of no relevance? Extensive experiments with instruments showed us what important role the bass bar plays in the sound character of instruments. Eventually we found that by altering the stiffness and mass of the stick we were able to tune our sticks similarly - tuning them ideally to all instruments. 3. The bow-noise - or was it the strings? There is a lot of noise - everywhere. As for example the background radiation of the big bang from 13,7 Billion years ago. But also string instruments produce quite some noise. How lucky that Arcus-bows produce very little of it. Initially we thought the resin matrix of our sticks would absorb string-noise. Only later we found that it is actually the sticks that make the noise. Our current best theory is that the noise is produced by deflections at the "kink" that is running up and down the vibrating stick (analogous to the oscillation of a bowed string). The diameter of the stick, specifically the wall-thickness appears to be the most relevant factor. 4. Pain in hand and arm - caused by the players technique - or maybe by the bow? Every musician has experienced the fatigue of the right arm during long concerts and rehearsals. Some experience even pain up to chronic inflammation. As a last resort some musicians with bad trouble gave a "light" Arcus bow a try - with the most impressive result that their problems were not only reduced - but disappeared after only a very short time, once and forever. We found it a bit strange that this worked not only with violinists but also with cellists - our cello bows are still heavier than "normal" violin bows. That did not make sense. Further research showed that very similar problems are known for example from tennis rackets, golf clubs and working machines. The human hand and lower arm resonate at a frequency of about 15-20 Hertz - which matches the resonance of traditional bows! Due to the lighter stick and higher stiffness the lowest resonance of an Arcus bow is around 50 Hertz, far away from the dangerous range. More on this subject: here. |
