Charles Taylor’s 1989 Christmas Lectures 3/5: Science, Strings and Symphonies

In this third lecture, Charles Taylor explores how flat plates and hollow bodies work in amplifying sounds. All stringed instruments start out with very quiet string vibrations that need amplifying, and we shall start by looking at way in which flat plates and hollow bodies work in amplifying sounds. Our exploration of musical instruments will cover two different groups that both use strings as their primary source of sound. First group uses plucking as way of setting strings in vibration and includes all fascinating instruments like lyres and lutes that have eventually led up to modern harps and guitars. Science has begun to contribute to our knowledge of way in which guitars work and computer techniques are now being used to show how the top plate of guitar vibrates when string is plucked. Second group is one of largest families of instruments, bowed strings, which derive from quiet viols. Then came baroque violins, cellos and other related instruments. But as orchestras became larger and composers of symphonies and concertos demanded more powerful sound, baroque instruments were rebuilt to give our present day violins and cellos. Even great instruments of Antonio Stradivari are no longer in their original form. And yet there is still magic about them. Can science help to reveal secret of &How far can scientific methods complement the skill of craftsman in making instruments? Among other, modern developments we shall see how latest advances in laser interferometry can...