The Martin Schleske Master Studio for Violinmaking is renowned for forging a creative link between the art of violinmaking and the science of acoustical research. The research section of my website is divided into two areas:
- Introduction to violin acoustics: Fundamental principles of acoustic research in violinmaking are described using numerous illustrations, audio examples, photos, diagrams and vibration animations.
- Violin acoustics handbook: The handbook is updated from time to time with current research results and includes numerous articles and insights reflecting day-to-day research at the Martin Schleske Master Studio for Violinmaking.
I consider my research like a tool for tracking down clues. By seeking to decipher the fascinating acoustic secrets of magnificent old Italian instruments, I have compiled an impressive body of experience. My acoustic analysis work makes it possible to visualize the tonal concept of an instrument by the likes of Antonio Stradivari or Joseph Guarneri “del Gesù”, allowing these masters of violinmaking to tell volumes about how they made their instruments. There is no comparable technique for doing this today.
Over the years, these great masters have gone from being historical examples to become my contemporary teachers. While concentrating on an arching or thickness graduation, or developing my new model, or brewing a batch of varnish, I have repeatedly felt as if one of those great teachers had tapped me on the shoulder and explained his formidable tonal concept. However, the explanation did not come in the language of a visual wood sculpture. Instead, it was much deeper, consisting of an explanation in the language of acoustics. Such is the definition of tonal sculpture. It reveals the living vibrations of the corpus, its individual resonance profile with all of its acoustic vibration patterns. This is how, in creating my own instruments, the true tonal concept of the master manifests itself...
- Rafting wood, a tradition in violinmaking since the early days. ©Courtesy of: www.lineatus.ch
How did the great Italian violinmakers of the 17th and early 18th centuries manage to produce such perfect works? The golden age of classic violinmaking was actually a product of a living tradition that came to life over generations. Any attempt to "conserve" this tradition would necessarily break with it. Anything that improved the sound was kept, and everything else was discarded. Each generation passed its experience along to the next in a process of constant trial and error. This meant the heyday of the violin represented the result of centuries of empirical research.
