I do not think many will object if I state that it takes a certain length of time for a newly made violin to settle down to its work; that the fullest measure of its tonal beauties become available to the player only after the instrument becomes accustomed to the tension of its strings, and when the varnish is settled and seasoned. All this is purely mechanical. There is no creative force at work. It is simply an adjustment of the various parts to the work for which they are intended, and, after much experience, I find the time required for these beneficent changes to be from three weeks to three months, depending on the season. I have even known instances where they became operative within the space of a few days. After this the violin may be expected to improve slowly, or not to improve at all, for about a year, depending upon the instrument, and the amount of time required to put the final seasoning touch to the varnish, and accomplish the last adjustment of its various parts under the strain of concert pitch and use.
The effect of age on tone is, therefore, practically nil. It does not and never has created it. The instrument may, indeed, be consumed by the rotting of its wood, or fall to dust through the corroding influence of time, or be totally splintered by an accident, or even injured by fire when, without any doubt, its tone will disappear. I have indicated wherein and why time may be of some aid to tone, but the idea that it takes a lengthy period to “bring out the tone” in a finely constructed and properly tone-developed violin, in whatever age its maker lived, I characterise as sheer nonsense.
Let me make this appeal to all lovers or owners of a violin, old or new, or to all who contemplate the purchase of either: Do not allow the inexperienced, self-constituted expert, who usually appears in the guise of a “candid friend,” or one who possesses that type of knowledge which is little and dangerous, to lead you astray on this matter of age and tone. If your violin is a year old you may consider its tone has acquired from age all it is ever likely to receive. If the instrument be heavily built it may be extended to eighteen months. In any case, such improvement as the tone will receive after this will be so small as to be scarcely worth considering. Remember that tone is not created by age, nor has age any power (other than that which I have indicated) to destroy it. In a word, if your fiddle be well built, its tone (whether good or bad) may improve slightly, and it will not deteriorate if the instrument receives ordinary care.
CHAPTER XV
VARNISH AND TONE
Among the attributes which constitute the finished violin, varnish holds the premier position as a controversial subject. For more than a century it has provided an unfailing source of argument, speculation, experiment, and theory, waged around two issues, the material itself, and its effect on tone. The first is concerned with efforts to discover the formula[O] of the “old Cremona” varnish, and the second with the effect of all varnish on tone. Notwithstanding the claims which appear (and disappear) with unfailing regularity that this “secret” of the old Italian varnish has, at last, been found, the world remains unconvinced, and the subject therefore remains very much where it was. And where, for my part, I am quite content to leave it.
The effect of varnish on tone would appear to be equally uncertain if we are to judge by the statements we see in print from time to time. We are confronted with such widely divergent statements as, on the one hand, the effect of varnish on tone is absolutely nil; and, on the other, that varnish actually creates the tone. There is an indication here that investigators have not yet succeeded in convincing each other, and, until some closer agreement is come to, they can hardly blame the public for its attitude of profound and uncompromising scepticism towards individual statements and theories. I believe most violin makers have solved this problem to their satisfaction and in their own way. Those with much experience of fiddles “in the white,” as well as instruments coated with various kinds of varnish, are well enough aware of the effect of varnish on tone. Experiment in this matter is particularly ineffective, especially when it seeks to determine a result which may be considered uniform, for the reason that, while the cause is well enough understood, the effect is not. The cause is varnish and the effect is its influence on tone, and the elements of tone are never exactly the same in any two violins, and are rarely affected by varnish in the same manner. The effect of varnish on tone cannot, therefore, be considered in the light of exact science.
It is for this reason that failure so often follows the second application of a successful experiment; or a series of failures may be punctuated with a few successes varying from partial to full. If the varnish and method of application be the same, it is fairly obvious the failures, as well as the successes, can only be due to the different tonal conditions presented by the instruments. Yet it would seem this is not appreciated, and investigators are led astray through efforts to produce a varnish capable of meeting all these changes—an impossible task. Tone is the determining factor and not varnish. A good, modern oil varnish will leave unaffected all the varying conditions which tone presents, provided the latter be carefully regulated so as to offer, as far as it is humanly possible, a uniform tonal combination in each violin.
If the tone of a violin be developed to a rich, telling, and vigorous quality, with the element of vigour slightly in excess of what is required (particularly in the lower register), experience indicates that such a tone would be best preserved and most (if at all) improved by the application of a fine oil varnish. The best varnish will, however, affect one or another of the elements of tone to its detriment if wrongly applied. It is the fashion among many violin makers to aim at the production of a fine mirror-like surface. While this undoubtedly adds to the appearance, the “rubbing down” and polishing necessary to its achievement is bound to affect the texture of the varnish and, under certain tonal conditions, the voice of the violin. In our opinion it is better to sacrifice this superfine surface and allow the varnish to remain as applied, with all its natural softness undisturbed. It is unlikely the old masters acted otherwise; the fine, flat surface which their varnish now presents, being due to use.
CHAPTER XVI
TONE AND THE VIOLIN PLAYER
Let us first briefly consider the relationship between the player and the violin. Here we find a condition unlike that existing, to the same degree, in any other combination of player and instrument. While it would be far from fact to say the piano, for instance, produces its tone-quality quite independently of the player, it does, none the less, produce its tone mechanically. That is to say, one may believe that a person inexpert in playing upon the instrument and unable to execute even the simplest of airs, capable of striking one key and producing a tone of more or less quality and refinement—depending upon the instrument. This is far from the case with the violin. In the hands of the inexpert even the finest-toned violin will produce only a vile, scraping noise; if it produces anything at all. Everybody is aware that the beginner draws forth a miserable and irritating noise; the amateur will achieve anything from very bad to very good, and the artist a tone of ethereal beauty—all from the same instrument! Let us look into the reasons for this. The first fact to be noted is that the violin does not produce its tone mechanically; the second, that a really fine instrument, although it possesses all the possibilities, gives forth only that tone which the player is capable of demanding from it.