Box and Fiddle
Year 19 No 07
April 1996
The Sound of Music
by Dr Kevin McCann
It’s only 80 years since musicians stood around a big horn to cut the first recordings of fiddle music. Here we are in the 90’s ; digital technology has given us D.A.T. and hard disc recorders and of course ……CD format.
CD is not simply a great commercial format to release music on. New CD recorders present archivists with a convenient and practical format, offering random access at the touch of a remote.
The practices of ‘acoustics’ is as old as the practice of Lutherie (instrument making). Throughout history the science of acoustics has been studies by students of architecture, physics, philosophy and music. From the time of the ancient Greeks, this science has been used to amplify sound and to create natural reverb in performance theatres.
Since the advent of electricity (the same invention that brought us digital technology) this practice has been lost to architects and interior designers. Sure, they are still building great theatres, churches, studios and other performance spaces but the ‘traditional’ environment of the acoustic musician is often overlooked. Many acoustic musicians are unaware of the fact that their surroundings directly affect the performance of their equipment and consequently their own performance.
Carpet is one of the worst acoustical offenders. It can suck the life right out of the fiddle, the player, and the listener too! If you play the fiddle at home, and you find that you get disgusted and frustrated, and your wife and kids are cringing every time you take the fiddle out of its case, then chances are it’s not just your playing, but it’s also the room. Acoustics that cause the fiddle to sound shrill, cutting and lifeless.
A poor room can quickly steal away the sonority and soul the fiddle maker spent so much time developing. You have to really struggle to play the fiddle! Combine that with a roomful of noisy people and you have a battle!
Carpet, foam, suspended ceilings, fibreboard, foam furniture……this stuff is all used extensively in modern homes and buildings. Such materials cause sound to be absorbed and reflected unevenly. The result is a sound from the fiddle that is lacking in low and mid frequencies with louder high frequencies that are rough, shrill and cutting. This type of fiddle tune can trash the human ear in a very short time and extended playing can result in severe ear fatigue. At this point nothing sounds good!
If you want to hear the pure tone from your fiddle, take it outside and play it. Air absorbs component frequencies and harmonies move evenly through it than any other material.
Although you will hear a dry sound with zero reverb time, playing the fiddle outdoors can reveal hidden secrets in its tone that perhaps you haven’t heard before.
We can look to tradition for solutions to these acoustical problems. A walk through any of the classic old homes in Scotland can reveal practical and suitable acoustic designs. It’s also important to consider what is a practical space for the performance of music. A church may have a lovely sound for choirs and orchestras, but for fiddle music something a lot more intimate is required. In smaller rooms with hard plasters in combination with a generous coverage of wood creates a lively space for a fiddle. Plain wooden furniture is a better choice for playing music. A hardwood floor is nice and bright but a softwood floor is just as suitable. Personally I’ve found that a cement floor or flagged floor found in so many kitchens in farmhouses in Scotland and Ireland is best of all.
I still remember with affection and enjoyment the fiddle music heard in the kitchen of John Junner of Aberdeen played by the late Bill Hardie and Sean McGuire, the grand sound of a dozen fiddles played in the upper storey of an old distillery with a wooden floor at New Meldrum, near Banchory, and dozens of fiddle sessions in kitchens in Ireland where the cement floor provided dancing room for the dancers and the fiddler sitting in a corner knocking music out of his fiddle to beat the band. It’s hard to beat a good kitchen for good sound.
by Dr Kevin McCann
It’s only 80 years since musicians stood around a big horn to cut the first recordings of fiddle music. Here we are in the 90’s ; digital technology has given us D.A.T. and hard disc recorders and of course ……CD format.
CD is not simply a great commercial format to release music on. New CD recorders present archivists with a convenient and practical format, offering random access at the touch of a remote.
The practices of ‘acoustics’ is as old as the practice of Lutherie (instrument making). Throughout history the science of acoustics has been studies by students of architecture, physics, philosophy and music. From the time of the ancient Greeks, this science has been used to amplify sound and to create natural reverb in performance theatres.
Since the advent of electricity (the same invention that brought us digital technology) this practice has been lost to architects and interior designers. Sure, they are still building great theatres, churches, studios and other performance spaces but the ‘traditional’ environment of the acoustic musician is often overlooked. Many acoustic musicians are unaware of the fact that their surroundings directly affect the performance of their equipment and consequently their own performance.
Carpet is one of the worst acoustical offenders. It can suck the life right out of the fiddle, the player, and the listener too! If you play the fiddle at home, and you find that you get disgusted and frustrated, and your wife and kids are cringing every time you take the fiddle out of its case, then chances are it’s not just your playing, but it’s also the room. Acoustics that cause the fiddle to sound shrill, cutting and lifeless.
A poor room can quickly steal away the sonority and soul the fiddle maker spent so much time developing. You have to really struggle to play the fiddle! Combine that with a roomful of noisy people and you have a battle!
Carpet, foam, suspended ceilings, fibreboard, foam furniture……this stuff is all used extensively in modern homes and buildings. Such materials cause sound to be absorbed and reflected unevenly. The result is a sound from the fiddle that is lacking in low and mid frequencies with louder high frequencies that are rough, shrill and cutting. This type of fiddle tune can trash the human ear in a very short time and extended playing can result in severe ear fatigue. At this point nothing sounds good!
If you want to hear the pure tone from your fiddle, take it outside and play it. Air absorbs component frequencies and harmonies move evenly through it than any other material.
Although you will hear a dry sound with zero reverb time, playing the fiddle outdoors can reveal hidden secrets in its tone that perhaps you haven’t heard before.
We can look to tradition for solutions to these acoustical problems. A walk through any of the classic old homes in Scotland can reveal practical and suitable acoustic designs. It’s also important to consider what is a practical space for the performance of music. A church may have a lovely sound for choirs and orchestras, but for fiddle music something a lot more intimate is required. In smaller rooms with hard plasters in combination with a generous coverage of wood creates a lively space for a fiddle. Plain wooden furniture is a better choice for playing music. A hardwood floor is nice and bright but a softwood floor is just as suitable. Personally I’ve found that a cement floor or flagged floor found in so many kitchens in farmhouses in Scotland and Ireland is best of all.
I still remember with affection and enjoyment the fiddle music heard in the kitchen of John Junner of Aberdeen played by the late Bill Hardie and Sean McGuire, the grand sound of a dozen fiddles played in the upper storey of an old distillery with a wooden floor at New Meldrum, near Banchory, and dozens of fiddle sessions in kitchens in Ireland where the cement floor provided dancing room for the dancers and the fiddler sitting in a corner knocking music out of his fiddle to beat the band. It’s hard to beat a good kitchen for good sound.