Music in the making; History of string instruments

Music in the making. Produced by Millikan university under a grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center in cooperation with the National Association of educational broadcasters. We were in the studio. Professor Clyde Hess chairman of Millikan's violin department for the purpose of talking with them on recording about the history of string instruments. He was surrounded by an assortment of violins and bows. Mr. Hayes I'd like to learn more about that intriguing violin of yours. But yeah just some questions and maybe even illustrate a little. I'd be glad to Jerry. Well let's start with the bowl. I see you have three boys there and they all look about the same to me. Are they different in some way. This one is an ordinary bowl with only about $50. And this an exam all this however is a Francoise toit finest made and the cheaper one is $50. Where would you play if you made yours with each of these three bows so you start with the ordinary one and work up to the

finest one and see if I can tell the difference because I had to you listen carefully. Will the ball really seems to make a lot of difference in the tone quality of a violin.

It's a world of difference Jerry and the boy you know has a very interesting history. The early blows were short and curved outward like a boy of archery. They were so crude and heavy that it was a major operation to adjust the tension on them which I might add is a very important and necessary adjustment for a violinist. Well this fall you spoke of a few moments ago friends walk toward one of the lives you noted in the eighteenth century the modern boat with its very beginning to him the like the board which was determined to be twenty nine and a half inches. A Fine Balance his choice award many being Bernabeu cord and they had just to make it in that we call a frog. All of these improvements were work of Francoise toward a lot of minutes in his bows are pretty expensive today though you are right.

You're very right. I've seen them listed as high as forty five hundred dollars. No other boys like like a torch you know. Well they must be the best. There was a difference in the bows again after the difference in price I'm sure I can appreciate it even more surely. You know something with an exam.

Well that's much better because there has not either friends who want to it.

Never again will I underestimate the importance of a good bow. Well now about the instrument

itself. Can you tell me who invented the violin. The violin wasn't invented by any one individual. The first ones were made during the 60s and that's when the shape of I mean as we know it today was determined. Also the numbers trainees was decided upon to be for Inform. Well that makes it well over 400 years old and still I think one of the most expressive of all musical instruments. But today whenever people talk about violin was the name Stradivari comes up. Was he the greatest violin maker. Well Jerry that's of course a matter of opinion. Much could be said about Stradivari. He was fortunate in many ways Stradivari lives at a time when he followed the great kimono makers who had been making violins for hundred years a family father and son improving the instruments little by little and Stradivari studied with the greatest of a

nickel on my and carried on from where Nikola finished his work. Naturally he made wonderful violin. He made violins over a period of time longer than any other system that has ever lived here for 17 years he made. Well are there any violins that you like better than his own. Well personally I prefer the thought of the joys of dull days ago when I let my name isn't as familiar as Stradivarius but I suppose that's because Stradivari may be made more vile limbs. What are your reasons for preferring one of his instruments. You remember what I said about strata following the work of these teacher money. One area on the other hand turned back to the early five model of MMA Gini and acquired an entirely different result from that of Stradivari.

And lead violinist daubers balding summed up the difference for me once he called is going to marry the man because it gave him the impression of strength and power. He held up the Stradivarius violin and called the female. Why because it then looked much more delicate in comparison with. Well then each one is superior in it in its own way then that's exactly right. Well we've heard about the two best violins made and it's just about as different as can be from the other in tone. There certainly must be a quite a wide variation in the quality of all those violins that are made today. Do you have a cheaper violin with you here in the studio. Yes I have a student violin here. Well then could we make that your test again this time with the violins. If it weren't for the bows it should work even better for the instruments themselves. When you play a short piece for us

on the cheaper violin I well but you won't like it. Well that's really quite enough on that one as you're here now I think the best way for us to close the program is for you to play our composition. I would really play on your fine violin. Why.

Professor Klein has been talking with us on recording about the history of string instruments. And has played a number of musical illustration. Music in the making was produced by Milliken university under a grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center. This program is distributed by the National Association of educational broadcasters. This is the Radio Network.