Bridge
The bridge is a precisely cut piece of maple, preferably with prominent medullary rays, showing a flecked figure. The bridge forms the lower anchor point of the vibrating length of the strings, and transmits the vibration of the strings to the body of the instrument. Its top curve holds the strings at the proper height from the fingerboard, permitting each to be played separately by the bow. The mass distribution and flex of the bridge, acting as a mechanical acoustic filter, have a prominent effect on the sound.
- Violin bridge, as unfitted blank, and finished
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Blank, back side
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Finished back
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Blank, front side
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Finished front
Tuning the violin can cause the bridge to lean, usually toward the fingerboard as the tightening of the strings pulls it. If left that way, it may warp. Experienced violinists know how to straighten and center a bridge.
Read more about this topic: Violin Construction And Mechanics
Famous quotes containing the word bridge:
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Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
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Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
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—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“I see four nuns
who sit like a bridge club,
their faces poked out
from under their habits,”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“I was at work that morning. Someone came riding like mad
Over the bridge and up the road—Farmer Rouf’s little lad.
Bareback he rode; he had no hat; he hardly stopped to say,
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—Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840–1894)