Violin Tap Tone Tuning Home Page by David Langsather, Salem, Oregon USA

(7/2024)
Page V_68

...Tap Tone measurement and adjusting has a long history in violin making. Historically makers have tapped various parts of the violin plates (front and back ot the violin sound box) and made judgments about how to regulate the plates during construction or modification (re-graduating, which is reducing the thickness of the wood at various locations on the plate).
... I have expanded the concept to include all the parts of the instrument. Tap tones produced by the various parts can be used to evaluate and adjust each part of the instrument so that it works in concert with the whole for a better, purer, more powerful sound production. ...After a (22) year journey, I believe that here is now a workable method to regulate the entire violin for peak performance.
... This Tap Tone tuning technique may, in time, find its useful place in the world of Luthier.

...In its simplist form, a piece of wood is tapped with the knuckle of the finger {but not the first knuckle of the middle finger : That generates the "Wood Tone", which does not change for a particular piece of wood!} or perhaps another object, such as a wooden pencil (which should give a similar sound response, as the knuckle). This tap tone response tone gives clues as to the proper shape of that part of the violin. For example, if the back plate is tapped in a certain position, the plate frequency can be determined by comparing the tap tone to a piano, or other sound reference. For violins to sound properly, the back plate tap tone should be 242 HZ (approximately B below middle C of the piano. The top plate frequency should be 213 HZ (vibrations per second) exactly. {the note A, below middle C is 220 HZ.}
...All the various parts of the instrument have an ideal goal tap tone frequency. Please CLICK HERE to see chart which lists these for you...

Considered two ways:
...The tap tone method provides a scientific method for building an instrument to a predetermined goal acoustical pattern {the one that works best!}.
...Violin Society of America hosts an international violin making contest every two years and as part of the judging they consider whether entered instruments sound good. Based on their judging results, only about 5% of professionally make instruments sound good! I would suggest that this is not the kind of outcome considered expectable of most other professions. The reason of these kind of results can (unless I am mistaken) be properly laid at the variability of instrument making wood. If each piece of wood had identical acoustical properties, then ridgidly following a set of measurements would ensure success.
...The Tap Tone measurement and adjustment offers a technique for making and regulating successful instruments.
... In concert with a properly regulated (Tap Tone Tuned) violin, the proper wood needs to be selected before the building process even begins. Unless I am badly mistaken, the new fields of Wood Tone and Rub Tone material selection will almost ensure success for a fine instrument. Please see discussion of these topics elsewhere on this web site....
 https://www.violinresearch.com/woodselection_010.htm

...Please click here for a pictorial guide, including about 100 short videos and 300 pages of instructions I have made to demonstrate the tap tone approach and how it is used.

..Please click here to a summary of Tap Tone Project .

..Tap tone checking a violin plate frequency. (photo from some years ago; I look much younger now!)

The original wood block SoniDeciFer (Latin for : sound / 10 / carry), with Hewlet/Packard labratory sound analyzer that was used to tune the reference Tap Tone wood blocks exactly, in steps of 10HZ, over a wide range of frequencies.

..Please click here to a summary of Tap Tone Technology.