Handbook of Materials for String Musical Instruments (eBook)

Dr. Voichita Bucur, currently a senior visiting research fellow at CSIRO, Australia,  received her bachelor in Engineering in 1962 from Polytechnic Institute Brasov, Romania, and her PhD in Mechanics and Ultrasonics in 1984 from the Institut Supérieur des Materiaux, St Ouen, Paris, France. In Romania she was a scientist at the Wood Research Institute in Bucharest until 1978. Then she moved to France where she worked at the Forestry Research Centre in Nancy in charge of the development of acoustic (ultrasonic) nondestructive techniques for quality improvement of wood and wood based products. She was also in charge of the research programmes for PhD and MSci students at the Université "Henri Poincaré" - Nancy, France, for the development of ultrasonic technique in Wood Science. In December 2005 she retired from these positions and moved to Australia. A member of 5 wood and acoustical societies, Dr Bucur published 6 books and more than 140 articles and other publications, she was a reviewer for journals on wood science, and has 1 patent in France. Her fields of research encompass development of non-destructive techniques (vibrational, acoustic, ultrasonic , X- rays) for the assessment of the quality of trees, wood products and wood-based composites, mechanical characterisation of materials with non-destructive techniques, wood science and technology, and mechanical characterisation of wood for musical instruments.

Introduction.- Description of String Instruments for Classical Music.- Mechanical Characterization of Materials for String Instruments.- Measuring Vibration Modes of Violins’ and Other Instruments’ Plates.- Material Properties and the Modes of Vibration of the Piano Soundboard.- Material Properties and the Modes of Vibration of the Concert Harp Soundboard.- Ageing of Wood.- Ageing of Musical Instruments – about the ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Violins.- The Varnish.- Strings for Musical Instruments of the Baroque and Romantic Periods.- Bridge, the Sound post and the Bass Bar for Violin Family Instruments.- Pieces for String Fitting.- The Bow.- Dendrochronology and Wood Resources for Authentic, Historical Period Musical Instruments.- Restoration of Historical Musical Instruments.- Preservative Conservation of Musical Instruments.- About Traditional and New wood Species for String Instruments.- Composite Materials for Musical Instruments.- Materials from Sustainable Resources for Musical Instruments.- String Musical Instruments as Educational Tools.- About the Economic Value of Musical Instruments.- Index.