Violin Forum/Message Board

[stanleypajak]

Some violins have big middle bouts while others have narrow middle bouts (waist), how does that affect sound, playability, does that indicate country of maker, the same applies to upper bout (shoulders), why small middle and upper bouts or large ones, would like to understand the principle, did some violin makers like their violin to have the same shape as their woman lol

[Dave Chandler]

I find it a good thing you've noticed these nuances. You've asked a question that would fill volumes to answer.

The shape has evolved over centuries, but you will see some variations that different makers have adopted, the two most recognizable being Stradivari and Guarnari styles, contemporaries from late 1600s through mid 1700s.

The shapes do affect the sound, but you need to look beyond just the outline and take a look at the arches of top and bottom plates (or belly and back) and other dimensions like the height of the ribs, and thickness of these plates and how the thickness is distributed. While one maker may present wider bouts you may find that he accommodates these wider dimensions with flatter belly and back, keeping to somewhat standard dimensions in terms of volume. All these variations affect sound, and the outcome is that they don't sound alike, which makes them each unique, and have their own sound.

If you're really interested in the historical aspects of their shape I'd recommend you find a copy of a book by Edward Heron-Allen "Violin-Making, A Historical and Practical Guide". You can get a paperback copy off Amazon.com for not too much, and it goes through the historical development to the 20th century. You might even borrow it through interlibrary loan from your local library.

This I hope satisfies your immediate interest, and you can "google" both Antonio Stradivari or Andreas Guarnari and get loads of historical and biographic info right off the internet about the two most influential makers in the violins development.
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo