Difference in violin string sounds
Hi folks. First i would like to say that VIOLINIST.COM forums have the most knowledgeable and respectful folks i have come across. My question is something that baffles and intrigues me at the same time. Why would a violins with steel strings sound so different then the same one with synthetic strings. Both will tune to GDAE but the synthetic strings sound so different except the steel E. The synthetic A Sounds lower then the synthetic D and a lot lower the the steel A. If 6 violinist were playing 3 with steel and 3 with synthetic would they all sound in tune. I am new to playing (trying to play) the violin and this issue i am having makes no sence to me. Will bowing a G string on a violin and a viola or playing a G on a piano sound the same??? Thank You
Replies (6)
And the same instrument with the same strings and the same bow and rosin will sound different with a different player.
Thank you very much. I get it now. Did not realize a different player would also effect sound. Its amazing an orchestra can sound so in tune and produce such beautiful music
The OP sounds really confused. An "A" is an A regardless of what type of string it is played with, or whether it is played on the violin, piano, or some other instrument. (Some wind and brass instruments transpose, in which case the written note is not the same as the "concert" pitch, but a concert A on a C-trumpet, for instance, still sounds like an A.)
Generally speaking the same note is the same for all instruments, but typically strings tune notes to the chord they're being played in, whereas keyboards can't adjust the pitch of their notes. The equal temperament system isn't quite perfect; an "E" that sounds in tune with A440 won't sound perfectly in tune with a "B" defined with the equal temperament frequencies. If you tune your A to the keyboard and then tune an E so that its sound "lines up" with the A, your E won't sound exactly the same as the keyboard's E.
Thanks to everyone for the impute and your knowledge. It is much appreciated. Anthony
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January 8, 2017 at 11:08 PM · A musical sound consists of the fundamental tone, which is the named note, and a series of overtones. All of these tones will vary in their relative intensity, attack, duration, etc., depending on the instrument, whether one violin to another, different strings, different player, etc., or a piano compared to a glockenspiel or synthesizer. Any sound has a complex set of characteristics. That's why we perceive them differently.