Wood may never be replaced as the material of choice for violins, and there may never be a more appropriate material than brass for constructing trumpets and horns. Still, instrument makers use materials as a way to differentiate their products from others, and even traditional craftspeople have been known to tinker with advanced materials for better sound quality—if only in the details of an instrument.
While materials selection plays a role in all instrument production, the extent of a material’s effect on the sound varies from one instrument to the next. “In some instances, the material is directly involved in sound generation, while in other instruments, this is not the case,” said Gregor Widholm of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. “For the violin, the material is extremely important, because the body generates the sound that we hear. The other extreme is the clarinet, where the air column inside generates the sound and the material is only needed to form the shape of the air column. In this case, you can take any material.”
From wind instruments to violins, scientists and musical instrument makers continue to test the use of traditional materials, while looking for ways to integrate new ones.
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