What is a violin made up of?
Sometimes the most intricate works of art are made up of very simple material. The violin is an example of that. Its body is made up of wood, as are the tuning pegs, though sometimes plastic and metal are used for both now. The strings are from animal guts, steel or synthetic material. It’s all held together by glue.
We just summed up a violin in 3 sentences. Obviously, it’s not so simple to make it, nor is it easy to find the correct material. We are going to go deeper into the fascination birth of a violin today.
Choosing the wood
Violin makers are called luthiers. Whether it’s an artistic handmade creation of a luthier in a private studio, or mass produced in a factory, choosing the wood is very important. Spruce is the common favourite everywhere because it’s dense, carries sound well, and it’s density makes it perform well even if shaved really thin. Maple is another wood that is a luthier’s favourite, followed by ebony. Most violins are made up of all 3 types of woods. How does that happen? Let’s see below.
How is the body of the violin made?
The body is called the corpus of the violin. The sound holes on top are usually made form spruce wood. The back, bottom and ribs of the violin are from maple. Like spruce, maple is also a dense, tough wood, and lends itself to being tooled very well. Unless strong wood is chosen for the violin’s body, the sound will not resonate, nor will it be able to carry the high and low notes to full effect.
How are the neck, fingerboard and other parts made?
Maple is also the usual choice for making the violin’s neck. Ebony is better suited for the fingerboard because it’s the hardest of the 3 woods. This is necessary because the musician’s fingers would be hammering repeatedly on the fingerboard and it has to resist that. The bridge, chin rest scroll box and pegs are all made up of ebony. If the wood is not available, luthiers choose any other hardwood.
How are the tailpiece, strings and bow made?
The tailpiece is where strings are tied. It can be made of wood or steel. Sometimes hardened plastic is also used. Though we say that violin strings are made up of catgut, these are not form cats, but other larger animals such as sheep. Steel and synthetic strings are also used. The stick of the bow can be made of wood, but fibreglass and carbon fibre are also popular choices. The fibre of the stick is almost always horsehair, though synthetic fibres like nylon are also used.