George Gemünder's Progress in Violin Making / With Interesting Facts Concerning the Art and Its Critics in General

by George Gemünder

For the benefit of the learner, however, I will enter more nearly upon the knowledge which is required, especially in a conservatory, and to the imparting of which the teacher should attend. First I will mention as an example the conservatory at Leipsic when it was under the management of Director David. Most of his scholars were then compelled to play on new violins made by Bausch, which for their stiff and tough tone are for the greater part unfit for those who would become artists. This quality of tone, together with the fact that students were forced into a certain position and fatigued, caused them to become nervous; but many parents who had no knowledge of it, sent their sons to that institute, even from America, and they had no idea that many of them brought back a nervous disease and were thus ruined. I heard this of no other conservatory in Europe. Thus it would appear that David pursued his own interest rather than that he cared for the good of his pupils.

Here in America we have violin teachers whose methods are preferable by far to such.

The following is a method according to which students should be instructed: The student must not be forced into a position of holding the violin so as to cause the ruin of health, but on the contrary, by means of a free position and natural holding of the violin the chest will be enlarged. This does not only benefit the health, but also facilitates the learning and progress.

It is of the greatest importance that students learn on violins which have good tone, for instruments which have a bad quality of tone usually discourage the beginner, so that he becomes nervous and soon considers playing an unpleasant work, and gives it up without knowing the reason why. Teachers, therefore, should have the necessary knowledge of the qualities which a violin must possess. A knowledge indispensable for them and a great benefit for the learner. For only a good tone has a charming influence upon the mind, and owing to this many beginners advance early to a high degree of perfection; therefore it must also be in the interest of the students to get familiar with the good tone of a violin, that their ear may not be accustomed to a sickly tone. Alas! This point is mostly disregarded by their parents, who have little or no knowledge of a violin, and it provokes some indignation in scientifically instructed teachers to teach their pupils on miserable fiddles.

If a teacher knows how a violin should be arranged, it is above all his duty to examine the instrument, and ascertain whether it can be used for the instruction of a learner; for as the violin is first arranged for him so he will ever be accustomed to have it afterward. For instance, on the violin of the solo player Ed. Mollenhauer, the strings lie on the finger-board lower than on any other that I ever saw. No doubt he has learned on such an instrument. It is true that the virtuosoship is facilitated, but the strength of tone is impaired by such an arrangement.

The ingenious artist Brume, however, was so great a master that he played even on violins the strings of which lay very high, although he did not know this. Many, again, are accustomed to bridges that are very much curved towards the E string, because they did not know, when learning, how badly their violins were arranged.

A correct system must be the foundation of everything, but as the theories in this art are still dead letters for most violin players, there have arisen fantastical ideas, especially among the greatest of them. Ole Bull did his best to impart such ideas to others, yet many of them were, no doubt, excellent. Ole Bull always had a vehement desire to find something better beyond all possibility. Many of his ideas were contradictory to all the rules, and although he put some in practice he did not persevere in any of them for a long time, for a new idea occurring to him all others were supplanted by it.

It happened once that Ole Bull was visited in New York by another artist, who was called the "American Sivori." He, as well as many others thought that Ole Bull had a perfect knowledge of the structure of violins. Sivori, seeing that Ole Bull had a bridge on his violin which stood quite oblique—for the upper part of the bridge was bent backwards by a quarter of an inch,—adopted this idea. When his violin had been provided with such a bridge he came to me, and with great satisfaction he showed me this queer position of the bridge on his violin. I was highly astonished at him that he could approve of an idea which is against all correct theory and is nothing but a farce. I then explained to him not only the consequences which must arise from it, but also the impossibility, by such an arrangement, of bringing to bear an even horizontal pressure on the bridge. But he thought that which came from Ole Bull was better than that which came from my knowledge. Let us see what happened later. In a concert of his, while he was playing with enthusiasm, the bridge fell and broke!

Another day an Italian artist came with his Maggini violin to show me where the sounding post must stand in his violin, having obtained his information about it from Ole Bull. I could not help smiling when I saw that the sounding post was placed quite near the f hole. Upon expressing my surprise, he replied with the following insult: "What do you know about the position of the sounding post? You are no violin player like Ole Bull, therefore you cannot know about it." My answer simply was: "Only a fool can talk to me in that way, and very soon you will find out that you will have to give up such an insane idea!"

It was on the third day after that he came back begging me to place the sounding post in his violin according to my judgment. When he had apologized for his indiscretion, I fulfilled his wish.