Mexico’s Killing Fields

Violin Lesson

Violin Lesson on acoustics. Every solid body is composed of a number of minute particles, called molecules. Each time that a body is caused to emit a sound, these molecules tend to vibrate with regularity and symmetry. That this is the case may be readily demonstrated by the following experiment. Hold a small round plate of metal, such as brass, or of glass, of which both surfaces are perfectly parallel, between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and sprinkle upon the upper surface a light coating of the finest silver sand, which must be perfectly dry. Then with the right hand draw a well-resined bow vertically across the edge of the plate:
the sand will be at once seen to arrange itself into a definite and regular form, resembling a star with four or six points, or even more.
Few players, even those whose study of the instrument is scarcely advanced beyond the elementary stage, can have failed to notice the peculiar manner in wlich the strings of their violin divide themselves, when put into vibration by the bow, into two, three or more parts, which vibrate separately, the point which divides the vibrating portions being termed the node. The same phenomenon is

March 18th, 2010

Posted by admin in Uncategorized |