The Careful Harvest of Tonewood for Violins

For the finest tonewood, trees are harvested during the dormant season to ensure the lowest possible sap content. This is crucial because the resin in sap can degrade the wood's acoustic qualities. The best time to cut the trees is when the temperature is 3–5°C (37–41°F) and the ground is covered in heavy snow. Cutting in freezing temperatures, however, risks damaging the wood when the tree hits the ground.

What is a Tree's Dormant Season?

The dormant season is a tree's natural defence against harsh environmental conditions, most notably the cold temperatures of winter. It's a survival strategy that can be compared to an animal's hibernation. A tree enters a state of dormancy when it detects changes in the environment, such as shorter days and colder temperatures. This triggers internal changes, including a slowdown of its metabolism and a cessation of outward growth. The tree focuses its energy on protecting itself from freezing temperatures and storing resources for the spring, when it will be able to resume growth.

How Does Snow Protect Trees During Harvesting?

Snow acts as both a blanket and a mattress to protect the trees during felling in cold temperatures. When trees are cut in freezing conditions, the wood becomes more brittle and susceptible to damage upon impact. A thick layer of snow can:

• Cushion the Fall: Similar to a mattress, the soft, deep snowpack absorbs some of the impact energy when a tree falls, reducing the stress on the wood and minimizing the risk of cracks or splits, especially in the more fragile parts of the trunk and branches.
• Provide a Uniform Landing Surface: Snow can help ensure a more even distribution of the impact force across the length of the falling tree, rather than concentrating it on a few points of contact with uneven ground or obstacles.
• Insulate Against Extreme Cold: While the primary purpose of snow in this context is cushioning, it can also provide a degree of insulation to the ground, potentially preventing the wood from impacting extremely frozen and hard surfaces.

Without a significant layer of snow, the impact of a large tree hitting frozen, uneven ground could easily lead to defects in the tonewood, negating the careful harvesting practices taken beforehand.

What is Tonewood?

Tonewood refers to specific types of wood that possess superior acoustic properties, making them ideal for use in the construction of musical instruments, particularly stringed instruments like violins, guitars, cellos, and pianos. These woods are chosen for their ability to vibrate freely and resonate with a rich, clear, and sustained sound.

What are Wood's Acoustic Qualities?

A wood's acoustic qualities refer to its ability to transmit and resonate sound waves effectively and beautifully. Key characteristics that define good acoustic wood include:

• Low Density: Affects the speed of sound transmission. For musical instruments, a low-density wood is preferable. Lighter, less dense woods, such as spruce, are able to transmit sound vibrations more efficiently and at a faster speed, which allows the instrument to respond quickly and produce a clear, articulate sound.
• High Stiffness (Modulus of Elasticity): For violins we need a low-density wood with a high stiffness-to-weight ratio. The ideal tonewood is like a well-crafted archery bow: it's made from a light but strong material that can store a great deal of energy when bent, releasing it with maximum speed and efficiency to propel the arrow forward.
• Damping: Damping refers to the rate at which vibrations decay. Low damping allows for longer sustain. Denser woods tend to have higher damping, meaning they absorb vibrations and cause the sound to die out more quickly. Lower-density woods have less internal friction, which allows the sound to sustain for a longer period.
• Grain Structure: Straight, even grain is generally preferred for consistent sound transmission.
• Resonance: The ability of the wood to vibrate sympathetically with different frequencies.

The specific combination of these qualities determines the tonal character of the instrument built from the wood.

The uniqueness of each instrument is a direct result of the specific, and often unpredictable, variations in the wood itself. Even two pieces of wood from the same tree can have slight differences in their cellular structure, density, or grain pattern.

Thanks to its wonderful forests, which provide amazing tonewood, Romania has emerged as one of the world's most important centers for violin making.

The Role of Damping in Violin Making

As mentioned above, damping refers to a material's ability to absorb vibrations and cause sound to decay or die out. A low-damping material allows sound to ring out and sustain, while a high-damping material quickly mutes or absorbs vibrations.

A violin is an exquisitely engineered system where each part plays a specific and complementary acoustic role.

The Spruce Top (Low Damping): The spruce soundboard (or top) is the engine of the violin's sound. It needs to vibrate freely and efficiently to transmit the energy from the strings into rich, loud sound. Spruce is used for this part because it has a very low damping coefficient, meaning it loses very little vibrational energy. This allows the sound to resonate and sustain, giving the instrument its powerful, singing voice.

The Maple Back and Sides (Higher Damping): The maple back and sides of the violin are crucial for shaping the tone. Maple is a denser, harder wood with a higher damping coefficient than spruce. While it still vibrates, it does so in a way that helps to focus and clarify the sound. Instead of sustaining every frequency equally, the maple helps to control and shape the overtones, creating a bright, clear, and "bell-like" tone. This higher damping prevents the sound from becoming muddy or chaotic, giving the violin its characteristic brilliance.

It's a perfect partnership: the spruce top provides the powerful, resonant sound, while the maple back and sides provide the clarity and focus. It’s this precise interaction that gives each violin its unique and individual voice.