Throughout its history the violin has had a mystique with many curious beliefs. This book, now available in paperback, offers an explanation, without assuming any scientific background, of how a violin produces sound, and of how that sound causes what we hear. This explodes many of the long-standing myths. It also shows there is no place for modern technology in making or playing. Practical advice for players and parents is included.

Covers much of the acoustics a student needs, without mathematics or scientific background. Choice Outstanding Academic Title A survey of intervals and scales, tone pitch, loudness and time in Western music raises many questions about the hearing mechanism and throws doubt on the conventional role of harmonics. James Beament's account of how musical sounds are coded by the ear and the brain's processing units, provides answers to most of these questions. It concludes that music started with simple instruments which voices imitated, and that the need to know sound direction determined the characteristics of hearing. This book will interest students, practising musicians and music psychologists, and assumes no scientific knowledge. The late ProfessorSir JAMES BEAMENT was a distinguished scientist and musician, who taught and examined music students at Cambridge University.