Acoustic and performance-based ipe wood selection for violin bows
Pernambuco wood is the most used material for making professional violin bows. Since the 18th century, it has been known as the best wood for this purpose. However, it is classified as an endangered species. Some researchers looking for alternative woods for bow making have pointed out that ipe woo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad del Bío-Bío
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Maderas: Ciencia y Tecnología |
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.ubiobio.cl/index.php/MCT/article/view/7329 |
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| author | Igor Mottinha Fomin Thiago Corrêa Freitas Silvana Nisgoski Jorge Matos |
| author_facet | Igor Mottinha Fomin Thiago Corrêa Freitas Silvana Nisgoski Jorge Matos |
| author_sort | Igor Mottinha Fomin |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Pernambuco wood is the most used material for making professional violin bows. Since the 18th century, it has been known as the best wood for this purpose. However, it is classified as an endangered species. Some researchers looking for alternative woods for bow making have pointed out that ipe wood may have desirable features for making violin bows. Therefore, the objective of this research was to define an evaluation method that could guide selection steps in order to find suitable wood for violin bows testing it in practice. To carry out this research, ipe wood samples were selected from lumber companies and analyzed. Afterward, five violin bows were made and evaluated by professional violinists using a 6-point scale questionnaire. As a result, ipe bows were highly rated by professional violinists, with mean scores spanning 4.21 to 5.10, suggesting a positive level of acceptance. Furthermore, there was a coherence between the scores given by musicians and the estimated potential quality of wood which also had a larger proportion of fibers and lower apparent density, in conformity with other studies. It was concluded that the method adopted worked to find ipe wood suitable for violin bows with characteristics needed to produce professional violin bows even among piles of discarded wood at lumber companies.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-96cd416bc59f4d5cbcd99db3e4370cf2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0717-3644 0718-221X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Universidad del Bío-Bío |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Maderas: Ciencia y Tecnología |
| spelling | doaj-art-96cd416bc59f4d5cbcd99db3e4370cf22025-08-20T03:35:53ZengUniversidad del Bío-BíoMaderas: Ciencia y Tecnología0717-36440718-221X2025-07-012710.22320/s0718221x/2025.30Acoustic and performance-based ipe wood selection for violin bowsIgor Mottinha Fomin0Thiago Corrêa Freitas1Silvana Nisgoski2Jorge Matos3Universidade Federal do Paraná. Setor de Ciências Agrárias. Departamento de Engenharia e Tecnologia Florestal. Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Florestal. Curitiba, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Paraná. Setor de Educação Profissional e Tecnológica. Curso Superior de Tecnologia em Luteria. Curitiba, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Paraná. Setor de Ciências Agrárias. Departamento de Engenharia e Tecnologia Florestal. Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Florestal. Curitiba, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Paraná. Setor de Ciências Agrárias. Departamento de Engenharia e Tecnologia Florestal. Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Florestal. Curitiba, Brasil. Pernambuco wood is the most used material for making professional violin bows. Since the 18th century, it has been known as the best wood for this purpose. However, it is classified as an endangered species. Some researchers looking for alternative woods for bow making have pointed out that ipe wood may have desirable features for making violin bows. Therefore, the objective of this research was to define an evaluation method that could guide selection steps in order to find suitable wood for violin bows testing it in practice. To carry out this research, ipe wood samples were selected from lumber companies and analyzed. Afterward, five violin bows were made and evaluated by professional violinists using a 6-point scale questionnaire. As a result, ipe bows were highly rated by professional violinists, with mean scores spanning 4.21 to 5.10, suggesting a positive level of acceptance. Furthermore, there was a coherence between the scores given by musicians and the estimated potential quality of wood which also had a larger proportion of fibers and lower apparent density, in conformity with other studies. It was concluded that the method adopted worked to find ipe wood suitable for violin bows with characteristics needed to produce professional violin bows even among piles of discarded wood at lumber companies. https://revistas.ubiobio.cl/index.php/MCT/article/view/7329Bow makingHandroanthus sppviolin bowwood technologywood acousticsmusical performance evaluation |
| spellingShingle | Igor Mottinha Fomin Thiago Corrêa Freitas Silvana Nisgoski Jorge Matos Acoustic and performance-based ipe wood selection for violin bows Maderas: Ciencia y Tecnología Bow making Handroanthus spp violin bow wood technology wood acoustics musical performance evaluation |
| title | Acoustic and performance-based ipe wood selection for violin bows |
| title_full | Acoustic and performance-based ipe wood selection for violin bows |
| title_fullStr | Acoustic and performance-based ipe wood selection for violin bows |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acoustic and performance-based ipe wood selection for violin bows |
| title_short | Acoustic and performance-based ipe wood selection for violin bows |
| title_sort | acoustic and performance based ipe wood selection for violin bows |
| topic | Bow making Handroanthus spp violin bow wood technology wood acoustics musical performance evaluation |
| url | https://revistas.ubiobio.cl/index.php/MCT/article/view/7329 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT igormottinhafomin acousticandperformancebasedipewoodselectionforviolinbows AT thiagocorreafreitas acousticandperformancebasedipewoodselectionforviolinbows AT silvananisgoski acousticandperformancebasedipewoodselectionforviolinbows AT jorgematos acousticandperformancebasedipewoodselectionforviolinbows |