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How to use the violin

The early violins were translated as "Sanskrit dumbbells" or "Huai'e bells". The sound of the violin can be compared with the human voice, and is not even limited to "singing". It can also possess superb skills. During the performance, people can not only listen to the pleasant music, but also see the skill of the performer, which makes the music more vivid.

Although the violin is surprisingly light, it becomes very stiff after the strings are tightened. Large pressure and tension. The pressure of the panel is about 11 kilograms. After the E string is tuned, the tension can reach 9 kilograms; and the G string has 6 kilograms, which is more than 30 kilograms! However, this integrated body is composed of many parts, the number of which is more than 70, and there is obviously mechanical ingenuity in it.

When it comes to violins, the famous violin maker 300 years ago is thought of. Lavadie, Amadi, Guarneri, Steiner, etc., only these top violin makers can make the violin play beautiful music. The most noteworthy performers, such as: Paganini, made the violin The performance skills have been upgraded and evolved to this day, and many of them can be learned by future generations!

The violin is the most important member of the string instrument family. Its pitch and timbre are beautiful and easy to express, making it possible to express emotions well. And because of its flexibility and wide range, it has become the most ideal solo instrument and gained the reputation of musical instrument. It is notated with treble staff.

The violin is composed of about 70 different pieces of wood. The swirl-shaped headstock is a unique feature of the violin, and the tapered tuning pegs for the four strings G, D, A, and E are made of durable green dragon wood or boxwood. The back inclined surface tightens the strings across the ebony saddle. The four hooks on the saddle are used to determine the position of the strings and lift the strings above the fingerboard, allowing the fingers of the left hand to press the strings on the cardboard. The fingerboard is fixed to the neck. The entire neck and the swirl-shaped headstock and peg box are carved from a piece of maple. The fingerboard is arc-shaped and increases in width from the saddle end. The strings of the bridge have gradually widening intervals to facilitate bowing.

The frame of the piano body is composed of side panels, which are made of six thin maple side panels that are bent and shaped after being heated. The interior of the joint is reinforced with wooden blocks. The six side panels form the main outline of the violin, namely the upper side panel, the inward-curving middle side panel (C side panel), and the wider lower side panel.

The back of the violin body is made of one or two matching pieces of maple wood. It can be divided into one-piece and two-piece backs. The one-piece back can be "slab-cut". Or "radial cutting", while the two-piece back panel is obtained by "radial cutting". In the production process of the two-piece back panel, the symmetry of the central seam and the pattern on the horizontal plane is very important. Leave an exact thickness of about 5 mm in the middle of the violin back, reducing it to about 2.5 mm on the sides. The height and shape of the arch and its precise thickness are fundamental factors that determine the sound quality of a violin.

The piano surface is also made using the same method, but is made of spruce (Picea Abies), with an exact thickness of 3 mm. There is a narrow strip on the front and rear edges, also called a decorative edge. The edge can be used both as decoration and to prevent the edge from cracking. There are two sound holes on the surface of the piano, named F holes after their shapes. The bridge is only supported on the piano surface by the pressure of the strings, and its position is the key to the sound quality.

The sound post is a cylindrical piece of wood that is close to the body of the instrument and is very important for the sound. A small movement may change the timbre of the violin, and it cannot be too long or too short, as this will affect the timbre of the violin. If the sound post is too long, it may cause cracks in the surface of your instrument. If it is too short, the sound post may loosen when the strings loosen. If the sound quality of your violin is not good, you may need to adjust the sound post or replace it with a new sound post.

The violin includes the body (including the headstock, neck, fingerboard and sound box), the string system (including the pegs, tailpiece, bridge and strings) and the bow. The body of the instrument is of wooden structure, made of maple and spruce as raw materials for the best sound; the strings are made of metal wires; the bow is made of horsetail. The violin is a high-pitched instrument among the violin family of instruments. It has rich artistic expression, beautiful timbre, implicit expression, variety, and singing charm. The violin is one of the most expressive instruments, with an extremely rich range of playing techniques that composers often use to evoke the mood of their works. The violin is divided into the first violin and the second violin in the symphony orchestra. The first violin often plays the main melody of the piece, and the second violin plays the harmonic accompaniment of the main part of the piece. In addition, the violin is often used solo in chamber music and sketches. In recent years, the violin has become one of the leading instruments in contemporary pop music and jazz.

1. The role of violin paint

The texture, gloss and transparency of the paint are intrinsically related to the sound of the violin, and are factors that we must consider when making violins. In this regard, a lot of work has been done at home and abroad to explore the preparation methods and processes of violin paint. There is also a lot of information introduced, but in fact there is very little that can be applied. The structure of the violin sound box is different, the materials used are different, and the production methods are different, so different paints should be used. Defective sound cannot be compensated for using a single paint method. Therefore, a good white violin cannot become a perfect instrument without a good paint.

Since the reform and opening up, the level of our violin making industry has improved by leaps and bounds, but in the overall violin making process, the imbalance in paint is particularly obvious. Therefore, I hope that everyone will not be satisfied with the status quo and put more effort into the paint of the violin. Violin paint has special materials and formulas, but now some people use wood paint to paint violins. There is a fundamental difference between wood paint and violin paint. Wood paint only has a protective effect and does not take into account the impact on vibration. If you use wood paint, experienced people will find that there is very fine powder on the paint surface during the final polishing. This means that the wood paint is too hard and has no good effect on the sound of the violin. The sound of the violin made with wood paint is muffled, the sound cannot be heard, and the volume is low. Therefore, some manufacturers make the soundboard thinner and enlarge the arch. The sound becomes muffled after applying wood paint like this. It's okay to hear it from a close distance, but it's not audible from a distance. The sound part doesn't have explosive energy, so painting the wood won't have a good effect.

2. About the materials of violin paint

After many years of research, I have summarized some better materials suitable for violin paint. There are two types of paint materials: one is liquid material and the other is solid material.

Liquid materials include: linseed oil, turpentine, cottonseed oil, castor oil, and peanut oil. The above liquid materials have different properties; different degrees of dryness, including semi-dry and non-drying oils.

Linseed oil is a dry material that can be dissolved in ethanol and turpentine. Natural oxidation is the best. It can also be heated by water to oxidize it. There are three ways to oxidize linseed oil. One is to directly heat it with fire, because linseed oil will not ignite when heated directly to 300oC. Heating for 6 hours is most suitable and promotes faster drying. Generally, it can be dried after 24 hours of painting. The second is the water heating method, which is relatively slow. Another method is natural oxidation. Linseed oil dissolves relatively quickly when added to paint, and can be directly dissolved in ethanol and turpentine.

Cottonseed oil is a semi-drying oil that is best for natural oxidation. It is not good for heating over water because it has a low boiling point and can easily catch fire.

Castor oil has a small market and is a semi-drying oil.

Terpentine, which refers to plant turpentine, has a boiling point of 160oC. It is best to oxidize naturally. The method is to plug a ball of absorbent cotton on the mouth of the bottle. Over time, the calcium iron phosphorus in the turpentine will naturally precipitate. Direct heating with fire is too dangerous and can easily catch fire. There are many burn accidents due to oxidized turpentine.

Why advocate natural oxidation of turpentine? Because turpentine is mentioned in many violin paint recipes, turpentine plays a major role in violin paint. Mineral turpentine cannot be used.

It is best to use analytical alcohol for ethanol. It decomposes immediately after the paint is synthesized. It precipitates easily and dissolves quickly.

The solid materials of paint, that is, the resin part: gumbaba, mastic, sandal, danish gum, benzoin, rosin, shellac (paint flakes).

Cuban gum is a hard resin. Semi-soluble in ethanol, the material is characterized by good toughness and transparency. The melting point is above 200oC, higher than rosin and amber. It is easier to heat after being made into paint. There is no problem at 200oC~250oC.

Frankincense is a soft resin. Semi-soluble in ethanol and turpentine, the material is characterized by high viscosity and opacity. Since China's Chinese herbal medicine industry is relatively developed, it can be purchased from traditional Chinese medicine stores. However, the amount of frankincense added when preparing the paint is not appropriate because it is not easy to dry and the transparency is not good.

Sandar and Danish glue are more difficult to buy and the price is high. Shandar is a better material. It is colorless and can be fully soluble in ethanol and semi-soluble in turpentine.

Danish gum is the opposite of Sandal, semi-soluble in ethanol and fully soluble in turpentine, but the cost of the above two materials is very high.

Benzoin, soluble in ethanol, semi-soluble in turpentine, colorless. Benzoin is better than gumbaba and frankincense because it makes ethanol and turpentine compatible, is colorless when applied, and promotes drying. The benzoin conjunctiva is not thick and has strong toughness. It can act as a brightener and toughening agent in paint.

Rosin is a commonly used material that is directly soluble in ethanol and turpentine. It can promote the quick drying and brightening effect of paint. However, the amount added should not be too much. If it is too much, the paint will easily become soft, especially when the weather in the south is hot. Rosin should be processed and heated directly over a slow fire for 1 to 3 hours to soften it. The iron, calcium and other substances absorbed by the rosin from the soil will be precipitated and carbonized through heating.

Shellac (paint flakes) is completely soluble in ethanol. It dries quickly, has strong adhesion, and will not fall off. It is a hard paint. But for our violins, it is best to use raw shellac, which is not processed paint flakes but a soft resin. Raw shellac dissolves well and has strong adhesion. It has a light golden color and is a very high-grade resin.

Pigment part

Rosewood can produce a good golden color, just soak it in ethanol. In order to make the color of the red sandalwood better, we remove the precipitate from the dissolved solution and put the red sandalwood again to continue dissolving. Rosewood is a very beautiful pigment that does not fade easily and has good lightfastness. The more it is exposed to sunlight, the brighter the color will be. As it ages, the color will become darker.

Dragon’s Blood and Garcinia. Anyone who has seen Italian guqin knows that there is no yellow component in the background color of the violin, and the yellow color is dissolved in the brown color.

Therefore, when I was mixing colors, I mixed the two substances dragon blood and garcinia together and dissolved them into one color, that is, the deep red dragon blood color and the golden garcinia color were combined into one. If I do this, in 100 years my color may be close to the color of an Italian harp, but this color is difficult. We have gone through many detours in the past, because these two substances are hard resins, and have different boiling points and different cracking degrees, so it is difficult to combine them. We first grind the dragon's blood and garcinia into powder, then heat it over a low fire. After heating, add nothing until about 290oC. When the dragon's blood and garcinia are dissolved, add a certain amount of linseed oil and a very small amount of linseed oil. It turns into a paste, and then begins to slowly cool down, but be sure to have a thermometer next to it to observe how much it drops. Because the boiling point of turpentine is 160oC, when the purple paste solution drops to 150oC, dilute it with turpentine. At this time, the golden color will be black and red. With this color, you can use it directly on the background color of the violin. This black, red and yellow color can get the most ideal and best color through the refraction of the violin wood. Even if the patent leather fades, the color remains.

In fact, the alcohol-soluble red, alcohol-soluble yellow, alcohol-soluble brown and oil-soluble black sold on the market are all unreliable. Because the standards for each batch are not accurate, and the things we use are all for the future. If you want to make a perfect violin, you must have a long-term concept, so chemical pigments bought from the market are unreliable.

Red wood glue is a good color, but it is difficult to buy on the market. Zheng Quan is currently doing experiments in this area. It is a good brown color, but it lacks the color of red sandalwood. golden.

In our piano-making process, alkaline substances cannot be used, and active substances cannot be used. There are 60 to 70 kinds of resins, including pigments, suitable for our piano-making.

3. Preparation of Violin Paint

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Through repeated experiments and arduous study, and through more than 40 years of exploration, I have summarized three more suitable methods: Fiddle paint recipe.

The first one is a hard paint

100g shellac

2ml castor oil

400ml ethanol

Castor oil is a non-drying oil with good toughness, and all ingredients are easily available. It’s also simple to make.

The second formula is neutral paint

70g shellac

5g rosin

25g Cuban gum

Turpentine 5ml

Linseed oil 2ml

Alcohol 400ml (95%)

Be careful when using turpentine in this recipe. It must be processed and naturally oxidized. , otherwise cracks will appear. There are two reasons for cracking, one is the way turpentine is used, and the other is the effect of alkaline substances, such as sweat stains. This formula is more problematic to use in the south because the weather is humid, but there is no such problem in the north.

The third paint formula is a semi-oil paint

Shellac 35g

Frankincense 50g

Danish gum 12g

< p>Turpentine 8ml

Linseed oil 2ml

Ethanol 400ml

Liquid substances must be oxidized, and linseed oil must be heat treated for at least 3 hours.

4. Regarding the painting method:

First of all, it must be polished and smooth. There are two methods: burn it with alcohol, but it is more dangerous. The small wings of the sound hole are easily burned. Treat with water to make the burrs stand up and then rub with emery cloth 10 times.

The next step is color treatment, also called background color treatment. There are several methods spread around the world:

1. It is potassium dichromate, which is not recommended in the world.

2. Direct color contact method. (depending on wood color)

3. Acid treatment such as nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. Acidic treatment can cause uneven color and is also corrosive to the strings.

4. In order to make the annual rings clear, apply varnish directly to seal the wood pore fibers. Then add color to make the color clear, this is one method. It looks good on the surface, but it doesn’t necessarily look good in reality. Compared with the method of relying on the color of the wood mentioned above, this method is not as good as the method of relying on the color of the wood in the long run. The method of directly applying color to the piano does not look as good. The method of applying varnish has clear growth rings, but it is good for the long term, and it also has certain benefits for the sound (no sound for now). The method that depends on the color of the wood is the best method, but it is difficult and can easily make the violin "rough" and "dirty". In order to avoid these problems, it is best not to add yellow or black, but only a very light red. After the red color enters the wood tube hole, it will produce a golden color, which will not look rough. If yellow is added and enters the wood tube holes, it will appear as a black component when combined with red. Finally, it is worth noting that when brushing the base color, do not use a cotton ball. As long as the color becomes uneven over time, it will look rough after being uneven. It is best to use spray painting, and an airbrush used for fine art photography is best. The base color is very important during the entire painting process.

After the base color is completed, start applying varnish. After 6 to 7 times, the film will appear. After the film appears, the color will be added. The color depends on everyone's hobbies and personal pursuits. The paint should be beautiful, beautiful, translucent, three-dimensional and realistic. This is the key to the color of the violin.

In the process of gradually adding color, after painting it several times, if it is found to be dirty, cover it with varnish immediately. The purpose of covering with varnish is to polish the dirt together. Apply 4 to 5 coats of varnish, then apply water-based sandpaper, and then apply color varnish. After working this way 40 to 50 times, you can get a beautiful piece of work. The color needs to be a little darker than ideal, and the final lighting will make it lighter. When polishing, you must use more than 500 grit sandpaper, and then use sand wax or toothpaste to polish. There is another method, which is to use large varnish for oil paintings, also called varnish. It is an art supplies and has a protective effect on oil paintings. This material is more useful to us. It is worth emphasizing that when adding color gradually, you do not need to add too much varnish to the color. Too much varnish will increase the thickness of the paint film and affect the sound. The thickness of the paint film is generally designed to cover the micropores of the wood. The best paint film thickness is to this extent. At the current level, satisfactory paint can be obtained using the above methods.

The best thing about a Stradivarius is the paint. Only because he had such a good violin paint that the elasticity and sound of his violin were protected, the violin that had lasted for nearly 300 to 400 years still looked like a modern violin. Why is this? Because Italy shows a yellow color in the middle part of the piano and a black color in the edge part, why so many people in the modern world cannot match such a good color when making pianos? This is the mystery of the St. Petersburg piano. There is a layer of black color floating around the edge of the violin, which is caused by the oil dissolving into black. Oil-soluble black is relatively light and will not completely dissolve, even in turpentine. But if you don’t use black when making colors, you won’t be able to get a good color. Since the recipe for Italian violin paint is lost, we can only assume that Stradivarius also added black at that time. With daily touch, some of the black color disappears, and the blackness remains where it cannot be touched. The best golden color appears in places that are frequently touched.

In the process of making pianos, we cannot ignore the composition of paint materials in order to achieve the best level. We can only explore and research unremittingly. The above views are all speculated without losing the paint formula of St. Petersburg pianos. , for reference only.

I have another suggestion here. I suggest that you restore more guqins and explore the mysteries of the violin. We Chinese violin makers should go our own way. It is not easy to take it from others. This is a very simple truth. We can continuously improve our guqin-making skills and theoretical knowledge by repairing guqin.