![]() ![]() For example, a 3/4 size steel string guitar might have a scale length of 23 inches (580 mm).Įlectric guitars reflect the range of scale lengths found with steel-string acoustics. Small travel guitars and guitars specifically designed for children can have even shorter scales. The steel-string acoustic guitar typically has a scale slightly shorter than the classical instrument, the most common scales ranging between short scale (24 inches (610 mm)) and long scale (25.5 inches (650 mm)). However, from the mid- 20th Century luthiers seeking increased volume have moved to a 26 inches (660 mm) scale, which is now the standard for such leading makers as Ramirez. Antonio De Torres (1817–1892) used a scale length of 25.6 inches (650 mm), and later makers have followed suit. Like that of the violin, the scale of the classical guitar was standardized by the work of its most famous maker. Most basses are 3/4 or 7/8, and younger players can use 1/2 or even 1/4 size instruments. The system of conventional fractions is taken to its logical conclusion with string bass sizes, in that a full-size (4/4) bass is uncommon. ![]() Smaller scale instruments are also quite commonly used by fully-grown players in jazz, folk music and similar ensembles. There are also smaller versions of this "full scale" double bass with the same scale length but with a smaller sound box, intended for other musical idioms. There is some variation in the scale length of an orchestral double bass, generally in the range 41.3–43.3 inches (1,050–1,100 mm). At least one of the surviving Stradivarius violas has a scale length of 14 + 1⁄ 4 inches (360 mm). Common sizes include 17 inches (430 mm), 16 + 1⁄ 2 inches (420 mm), 16 inches (410 mm), 15 + 1⁄ 2 inches (390 mm), 15 inches (380 mm), 14 inches (360 mm), and less commonly 12 inches (300 mm), smaller than a standard violin These measurements are nominal and approximate. Secondly, student sizes are not as often required, as most viola players who start learning at a young age start on the violin. First, unlike that of the violin and the cello, the viola scale length has not standardised, but rather advanced players use whatever scale length best suits them. Violas are commonly described in terms of their body length rather than by a fraction. As with the violin, the Stradivarius scale is regarded as standard for orchestral work This is about 27.4 inches (700 mm). (A full-size instrument is described as 4/4.)Ĭellos exist in a smaller range of sizes than violins, with 4/4, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/10 being reasonably common. 1/8, 1/10, 1/16 and 1/32 and even 1/64 violins also exist, becoming progressively smaller, but again in no proportional relationship. For example, a 7/8 violin has a scale of about 317 mm, a 3/4-size instrument a scale of 307 mm, a half-size one 287 mm, and a quarter-size one 267 mm. The size of these is described by a "conventional" fraction that has no mathematical significance. Smaller scale instruments are used extensively to teach younger players. (There was variance in scale length in the earliest violins, and almost all of those in current use have had the necks replaced, with the original scroll grafted, so statements of consistent scale length during that time is somewhat speculative.) Later makers have been unwilling to deviate from this. The two most famous violin makers, Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù (1698–1744), both used an open string length of 12.8 inches (330 mm) for their violins, which had already been established a generation before by Jacob Stainer (c. Generally, a string instrument has all strings approximately the same length, so the scale length can be expressed as a single measurement, e.g., the violin and most guitars.īowed strings Violin family The range of tones these strings can produce is determined by three primary factors: the linear density of the string, that is its mass per unit length (which is determined by its thickness and the density of the material), the tension placed upon it, and the instrument's scale length. String instruments produce sound through the vibration of their strings. On instruments in which strings are not "stopped" (typically by frets or the player's fingers) or divided in length (such as in the piano), it is the actual length of string between the nut and the bridge. The scale length of a string instrument is the maximum vibrating length of the strings that produce sound, and determines the range of tones that string can produce at a given tension. JSTOR ( January 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "Scale length" string instruments – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification. ![]()
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