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Why Stradivari violins, worth millions, sound so exceptional

"The strongest one was found in an old Italian violin, made in Bologna in 1700."

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The ‘Leonora Jackson’ Stradivari. (Jan Röhrmann/Wikimedia Commons)

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

The exceptional sound of Stradivari violins is due to greater vibrancy, according to new research.

When two musical notes are played simultaneously, the human ear can perceive weak additional 'combination tones.'

The subjective noises result from the amplification powers of a bone in the inner ear called the cochlear. They are perceived by individuals with different intensities.

An Italian team of acoustics experts has explored this phenomenon for the first time.

The combination tones produced by the best violins were much stronger - and clearly audible.

They are present in the air so can be detected by sensitive microphones, measured and recorded.

Lead author Professor Giovanni Cecchi, of the University of Florence, said: "Up to now, the combination tones generated by the violin were considered too small to be heard, and therefore, of no importance in music.

"Our results change this view by showing that combination tones generated by violins of good quality can be easily heard, affecting the perception of the intervals."

A professional violinist standing on stage in a musical auditorium played a series of two-note combinations, called dyads, using five violins of different ages and qualities.

The team recorded and processed the resulting audio signals. Each violin produced combination tones during the playing of all the dyads.

The strongest tone was found at a frequency below the lower note of the dyad. The harmonic distortions and air resonance developed in each violin contributed to its unique combination tone amplitude.

Prof Cecchi said: "We found combination tones were much stronger and clearly audible in good violins.

"The strongest one was found in an old Italian violin, made in Bologna in 1700 by the famous luthier Carlo Annibale Tononi. Combination tones were instead negligibly small in violins of poor quality."

A genuine Tononi violin can sell for around $400,000. Results from the study link powerful air resonance to sound quality.

The most noticeable combination tones correlated with air resonance peak amplitude.

The higher-quality violins produced a stronger air resonance due to several factors, including structural material and crafting techniques.

Violins built by Antonio Stradivari and his family during the 17th and 18th centuries are considered some of the best acoustic instruments ever made.

He was commissioned to make instruments by King James II and King Charles III of Spain. In 2022, a Stradivari sold for $20 million.

Regularly reaching seven-figure sums, the 'Strads' are the pinnacle of the stringed instrument world.

It is believed that the greatest musical instrument maker created 1,100 stringed instruments which included violins, violas, guitars and cellos.

Prof Cecchi and colleagues now plan to analyze a greater number and variety of violins to identify which part serves as the exact origin of combination tones.

The study was published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

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